The Cincinnati Bearcats take to the road as they look to improve to 2-0 on the year. The Bearcats travel to face the Purdue Boilermakers in a non-conference matchup Saturday afternoon. The game kicks off at 12:00 pm ET from Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. The game is nationally televised on the Big Ten Network. The current Vegas odds have Cincinnati as a 5.5 point favorite in this contest with the over/under set at 59 points.
Cincinnati opened the 2016 season by knocking off FCS school Tennessee-Martin 28-7 last Thursday night. Purdue managed to get a win in their season opener by handling FCS school Eastern Kentucky, 45-24, Saturday. This is the third all-time meeting between the schools. The teams play for the third time in history in this contest. Each team has a victory to their credit. Cincinnati crushed Purdue 42-7 in the last meeting between the schools back in 2013.
Cincinnati generated all kinds of press when Hayden Moore won the starting QB job during camp. Earlier in the summer, Tommy Tuberville made a statement saying that Ross Trail was #2 and Gunner Kiel, who was the starter the last two seasons, was #3 on the depth chart. Knocking a guy that threw for 6,031 yards and 50 TDs in two years to #3 on the chart was surprising. If Moore and the offense fails to do much early in this one as they did last week, will Tuberville make a move? Last week’s victory was unimpressive and that’s being generous.
The Bearcats trailed 7-6 at the half and led 14-7 late in the fourth quarter. It took two fourth quarter touchdowns in the last five minutes to ice the game for Cincinnati. Moore connected on 21 of 34 passes for 260 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Tion Green led the Bearcats on the ground as he had 16 carries for 97 yards. Mike Boone, who was a force last season, was limited to 35 yards on 12 carries though he did score a touchdown. Nate Cole led the Bearcats with six receptions for 64 yards plus a score. Devin Gray added five catches for 111 yards. Cincinnati can ill afford to turn the ball over multiple times as they did in the opener.
Purdue picked up a win in their opener though, being Purdue, they tried giving the game away. The Boilermakers jumped to a 21-0 advantage in the first quarter and then went stagnant for most of the next two quarters. Purdue held a 28-18 edge entering the fourth before finally putting the Colonels away. Long lulls like what we saw in the opener are a major reason why the Boilermakers struggle in the Big Ten. One can ill afford to take plays off in the Power Five conferences, much less multiple series. It’s a 60 minute game and Purdue has to play that way.
David Blough was solid in his first start as the undisputed #1 on the depth chart. He completed 25 of 43 passes for 245 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He chipped in 18 yards and two scores on the ground. Markell Jones hit the 100 yard rushing plateau for the second time in his career. He finished with 24 carries for 145 yards and a score. Brian Lankford-Johnson had four carries for 58 yards and a touchdown. Domonique Young led Purdue with eight grabs for 74 yards in the game. Purdue’s defense had four takeaways, including an interception they ran back for a score. The Boilermakers need that aggressive focus on taking the ball away every week, not just in the opener.
The Bearcats are in a state of adjustment: most people expected that Kiel was the starter given his performance the last two seasons. Moore needs to step things up and that starts by identifying key receivers. The Bearcats lost a lot of depth from that skill position from a year ago. Purdue is developing young talent but can Darrell Hazell survive a few losses in a row? It bears watching given his struggles since taking over the program. With the line under a touchdown, give the points as Cincinnati scrapes one out. To get an idea of who we’re favoring in other week 2 action, click here!
Cincinnati is 5-1 ATS in their last six after a straight up win by at least 20 points and 6-2-1 ATS in their last nine after allowing less than 20 points. Purdue is 1-5 ATS in their last six in September and 1-6 ATS in their last seven at home.