No. 2 Cincinnati vs. Navy picks and best bets for Week 8

The Cincinnati Bearcats and Navy Midshipmen meet as Cincinnati continues their quest for a College Football Playoff bid.

By Erik Buchinger Updated Oct 23, 2021, 10:40am PDT

Desmond Ridder of the Cincinnati Bearcats throws a pass in the second quarter against the UCF Knights at Nippert Stadium on October 16, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Update Saturday 1:40 p.m. The Bearcats have scratch and clawed their way to a 13-10 lead at halftime. Right now UC is down to a 14-point favorite on the live line at DraftKings Sportsbook.

The No. 2 Cincinnati Bearcats will go for their seventh consecutive victory on Saturday as heavy favorites on the road against the Navy Midshipmen, which will enter with a 1-5 record, and quarterback Tai Lavatai will get the start at quarterback. Cincinnati should be in blowout mode the rest of the season to give the College Football Playoff committee no excuses to leave the Bearcats out of the top four, and they’ve been doing just that. In two AAC games, Cincinnati has scored a combined 108 points in victories over the Temple Owls and UCF Knights.

Here’s all the data you’ll want, and a pick for the game!

SP+ Rankings

Cincinnati: 10 overall, 24 offense, 8 defense
Navy: 110 overall, 123 offense, 88 defense

Injury update

Cincinnati

No injuries to report

Navy

QB Tai Lavatai - Questionable (head)
S Mitchell West - Questionable (leg)

ATS/Total

Against The Spread

Cincinnati: 5-1 ATS
Navy: 3-3 ATS

Total

Cincinnati: Over 4-2
Navy: Over 3-3

Returning/Overall Talent from 247Sports

Cincinnati: 48 overall, 50 offense, 50 defense
Navy: 130 overall, 129 offense, 128 defense

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Cincinnati -28
Total: 49
Moneyline: Cincinnati -3800, Navy +1600

Opening line: Cincinnati -24
Opening total: 51.5

Weather

66 degrees, 8 MPH, 9% chance of rain

The Pick

Over 49

Cincinnati played three Group of 5 opponents to this point of the season and scored at least 49 points in every one of those matchups, so we’re going after the over here. The obvious detractor to this pick is how often Navy runs the ball with 82.7% of their snaps, which will keep the clock moving and limit possessions. However, as mentioned above, the Bearcats are looking to blow teams out as much as possible as we’ve seen early on in conference play. If Navy can get to 10 points, have plenty of faith Cincinnati can take care of the rest.

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