Cincinnati Bearcats vs Alabama Crimson Tide - Cotton Bowl Game Preview
When: Friday, December 31st, 2021 at 3:30pm E.T.
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX.
How: ESPN.
Spread: Crimson Tide -13.5.
Total: 57.5.
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Bearcats Spotlight
The Cincinnati Bearcats finished their undefeated regular season with a victory over the Houston Cougars as 10.5-point favorites. The Bearcat’s offense ranks 9th in points per game, 61st in pass yards, 53rd in rush yards, and 5th in yards per play. Defensively, the Bearcats rank 4th in points allowed, 2nd in pass yards allowed, 43rd in rush yards allowed, and 3rd in yards per play.
Crimson Tide Spotlight
The Alabama Crimson Tide cashed their ticket into playoffs by taking out the top team in the country, the Georgia Bulldogs, despite being 6-point underdogs. The Crimson Tide’s offense ranks 5th in points per game, 8th in pass yards, 79th in rush yards, and 10th in yards per play. Defensively, the Crimson Tide rank 16th in points allowed, 43rd in pass yards allowed, 4th in rush yards allowed, and 9th in yards per play.
Final Say
Alabama is coming off a big victory over the Georgia Bulldogs, but not really surprised as Saban owns Georgia, and in all reality, Alabama needed that game way more than Georgia did. Cincinnati did what they had to do to get to this point, winning every game on their slate, while they have showed up against worthy competition as they went 6-0 ATS in their last six games versus a team with a winning record. They’ve also played the underdog role well, going 5-0 ATS in their last five instances. Alabama is going to be Cincinnati’s toughest competition yet, but they have a solid defense that should be able to hang with Alabama’s offense for most of the game. Alabama’s defense is good, but this isn’t one of their better defenses, and they are giving up nearly 20 points per game. If Cincinnati’s offense can get it around there, then they should have a good chance at covering the double-digit spread. I’ll take my chances on the 13.5 point spread as one close half should be all Cincinnati needs to cover.
Pick: Cincinnati Bearcats +13.5
