Week 2 of the college football season kicks off Thursday, with Oregon State visiting Cincinnati in the most evenly matched game of the night. (Louisville will destroy Middle Tennessee in the other Thursday night game.)
The Beavers (1-0) opened their season with a solid 24-7 victory over Utah. In that game, Yvenson Bernard ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns, and the OSU defense held Utah to 196 total yards of offense, with only 18 on the ground.
Oregon State was without its top receiving threat in that game as Sammie Stroughter, who would be the Pac-10's top returning receiver, had taken a leave of absence from the team.
However, he made the trip with the team to Cincinnati and will suit up. Stroughter, a third-team All-American last year, caught 79 passes for 1,293 yards last season and scored eight TDs.
"It's conceivable he could play," Coach Mike Riley said.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati (1-0) is coming off a 59-3 victory over Southeast Missouri State in the Bearcats' first game under Coach Brian Kelly, formerly of Central Michigan. It was the Bearcats' most lopsided victory since a 63-0 win over Louisiana Monroe in
1977, and their 615 yards of offense were their third-most ever.
Bearcats QB Ben Mauk, who missed most of last season with injuries, completed 18-of-27 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
Mauk, a former Mr. Football in Ohio, leads a new no-huddle attack that should put points on the board against Oregon State. However, the difference in this game should be the Beavers' Bernard, a first-team All-Pac-10 selection last year who is on pace to finish his career with 3,982 yards, which would rank sixth in Pac-10 history.
"He's a special player," UC coach Kelly said of Bernard. "He's in the top of backs that I've ever gone against and I've gone against Mike Hart at Michigan and seen some very good ones."
So look for the Bearcats (+3.5 on WagerWeb.com; over/under 45.5) to score some points Thursday night but for Bernard and the Beavers to wear them down and cover.
Bet on NCAA Football at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook
No comments:
Post a Comment