Week 3

Week 1: 3-1

Week 2: 2-2

As always, feel free to comment below or reach out on Twitter @Smithers513 with any questions. Good luck.

Cincinnati @ Miami Under 60

For anybody outside the southwestern Ohio area, this game probably doesn’t look like much, but it is actually a spirited rivalry, with Miami being about 35 miles apart and the victors taking home the Victory Bell. Cincinnati had a head scratching performance against Temple, completely dominating the Owls in the stat sheet, out-gaining Temple 557 to 296. However, Cincinnati had 5 turnovers which ultimately destroyed any chance of victory for the Bearcats. Now, the Bearcats get to take out some frustration against Miami. I looked long and hard laying the points with Cincinnati, but the more I handicapped the more the total seemed appealing. Miami has actually been shutout by Cincinnati the last two times these teams played in Oxford. Cincinnati should score, but I really think Miami could have a hard time scoring more than 14 points in this one. The Redhawks were anemic on offense last week in Wisconsin, mustering only 157 yards of total offense, and an impressive -3 in rushing yards. Simply put, Miami doesn’t have the talent to jump up in class and move the ball with any consistency against a Cincinnati team that is much more talented. I think the Miami defense gives us just enough to keep this one under the total.

East Carolina @ Navy Over 57.5

ECU was a team that had a number of question marks coming into this season, replacing an extremely successful QB in Shane Carden and OC Lincoln Riley left for Oklahoma, but I think they quelled some of that doubt with a strong performance at Florida last week. One of the reasons I like this game going over the total is the physical toll that game may have taken on the Pirates. Playing a physical team like Florida is no easy task for these non-Power 5 teams, and following that up against another uber physical team like Navy is not an ideal scenario. We know what Navy can do offensively, and how polished that option attack is spearheaded by Keenan Reynolds. I don’t think we see much of a problem with Navy scoring in the 30’s, and with how ECU loves to throw the ball, this sets up as an ideal scenario. The only worry here is that Navy doesn’t bleed too much clock running the ball, but with two potent offenses and two unproven defenses, I like our chances.

Temple @ UMass +10.5

Sometimes the hardest plays to make are the best plays to make. If you look at this game, you won’t find many reasons on the surface to back the Minutemen. If you read my article last week, you knew I was very high on UMass and expected a much better effort from them against Colorado. The game was tied 14-14, and then quickly got away from UMass due to a pourous run defense and turnovers. On the flip side, Temple is coming in at their absolute peak. The Owls have won two huge games against Penn St and Cincinnati, and now have the ultimate letdown game in a trip to New England, with a bye week on deck. I eluded to it above, but Temple got absolutely dominated in the stat sheet against Cincinnati, but benefitted from 5 turnovers. The Owls allowed 427 passing yards to Cincinnati, and that bodes well for a UMass offense that likes to throw the ball. I’m hoping UMass picks themselves back up after falling apart in Boulder, and should stay within the number in a game that Temple needs to be very careful with.