Hawaii Bowl Preview: Cincinnati Bearcats vs San Diego State Aztecs
Written By David Hess (Follow me on Twitter @DavidHess311)
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 24, 2015
Where: Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii
Lines: San Diego State -2.5
Total: 56.5
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The Cincinnati Bearcats have had an up and down season and eventually finished at 7-5 on the year.Their biggest problems this year have been a leaky defense and injuries to QB Gunner Kiel, who has missed time a couple of times. He will be out for this game and that will put the ball in the hands of Hayden Moore, who had a decent, but not spectacular year. He threw for 1683 yards in the 7 games he played this year, but 557 of those yards came in the game vs Memphis. Since that game has has averaged just 223 ypg through the air. He has also completed just 58.3% and while he threw 9 TDs, je also tossed 8 INTs. He is no Kiel, who connected on 65% of his passes, while throwing 19 TDs and 11 INTs. The offense is still 4th overall and 3rd in passing, while scoring 36.1 ppg, which is 25th in the land. They have needed all the offense they can get as their defense checks in at 82nd in yards allowed and 89in points allowed, giving up 30.1 ppg. Their biggest weakness on defense is vs the run, where they rank 92nd in the nation and that is not good when you’re about to face the powerful ground attack of the Aztecs.
Speaking of those Aztecs, they have had a solid season this year as they have gone 10-3 on the year and won the Mountain West Title with a win over Air Force. The Aztecs are rolling as they come into this game on a 9 game win streak and they are seeking their first 11 win season since 1969. San Diego State’s offense is built around the running of Donnel Pumphrey, who has run for 1554 yards and 16 TDs on the year, while also posting 395 yards receiving and another 3 TDs. He leads an offense that is 14th in the nation in rushing and must be licking his chops at facing a bad Cincinnati run defense. The passing game for the Aztecs ranks 119th in the nation, but they are effective when they do throw it and that is thanks to their ground attack. The MO of the Aztecs this year has been to use that powerful ground attack on offense and then let their defense do the rest. That defense is very good as they come in ranked 5th in the nation in yards allowed, 13th vs the pass, 7th vs the run and 10h in points allowed, giving up just 17.4 ppg on the year. During their 9 game win streak they have been even stingier, allowing just 12.7 ppg over that stretch. This is clearly a clash of styles between these teams.
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[224] San Diego State/ Cincinnati Over 56.5
This is clearly a clash of styles between these teams, and I feel that both sides will make enough plays to put this game over the total. The Bearcats can be run on and that will only open up the throwing lanes for some big Aztec plays down field. San Diego State has averaged 36.9 ppg in their last 8 games and the Bearcats have given up 37 ppg vs bowl teams this year. Now I know that the Aztec defense has been very strong this year, but the Bearcats have had extra prep time and they will find away to score some points in this one. Even without Kiel in there they still have a strong offense that has scored 30 points or more in 8 games this year. The Over is 7-1 in Cincinnati’s last 8 games in December, while the Over is 9-4 in San Diego State’s last 13 games after allowing more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game. San Diego State just played a game with Air Force where both teams are top 20 in TOP and that game put up 51 points. I see this one hitting the 60’s rather easily. SportsBetCappers.com - Sports Picks Forums, The Best Sports Expert Sports Picks, Sports Blogs, Sports Odds, Free Picks, and much more!
