| Cincinnati Bearcats 2009 College Football Picks |
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| Written by Steve Hastings | |||||||
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Friday, 04 September 2009
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Cincinnati Bearcats 2009 College Football Picks: Cincinnati is coming off of its first back-to-back 10 win season in history and its first outright Big East Championship since 1964. Losing the Orange Bowl to Virginia Tech to end the 2008 season may have been a sign of things to come. With 14 starters not returning, 10 of which on the defense, and six were drafted into the NFL, the Bearcats will look to avoid falling back into the well known cellar of the Big East. The college football picks experts at online sportsbook SBG Global has the Cincinnati Bearcats listed at +8500 odds to win the 2010 BCS National Championship Title. #17 UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI2008 Final Record: 11-3 Big East Champions 2008 Final Rank: 17 Returning Starters on Offense: 7 Returning Starts of Defense: 2 Pros: Coach Brian Kelly and the Bearcat offense. Ever since Kelly has taken the reins in Cincy, the team has played extremely well, going 22-6 and making an appearance in the Orange Bowl last season. A big reason for Kelly’s success is quarterback Tony Pike who has been nothing short of outstanding. After only attempting 20 passes in his collegiate career, Pike threw for 2,407 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2008. Pike will also have one of his top receivers returning in Marshawn Gilyard who broke out for 1,276 yards on 81 receptions and danced into the end zone on 11 occasions. As long as Gilyard can create separation without last season’s top receiver Dominick Goodman on the other side of the field, the offense should run smoothly and put up points for a team that was second in the Big East in passing offense in 2008. Cons: A truck load of starters will not be returning to a defense that was average in 2008. On top of replacing so many starters on defense, the Bearcats will also be tackling for a new defensive coordinator, Bob Diaco. Diaco has young talent to work with like defensive end Derek Wolfe, but the young talent cannot replace the all-stars that will not be returning. Leading tackler, linebacker Ryan Manalac si gone, so is and defensive end Connor Barwin who led Cincinnati with 11 sacks. In the secondary, cornerback Mike Mickens, who was second on the team with 70 tackles, and had four interceptions for 158 yards, will also not be returning. DeAngelo Smith accompanied Mickens in the Bearcat secondary, and will now be playing cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys. Those are just some of the names of departed stars, and Cincinnati will have to do a lot to fill their voids on defense. Even with so many defensive gems on the team in 2008, Cincinnati still only finished atop the Big East in sacks with 2.21 per game. The college football picks odds makers at SBG Global have the Cincinnati Bearcats +700 odds favorites to win the Big East Conference Title. Overall Outlook: Historically Cincinnati has not been the most established football program in college football. The last two seasons have been great successes for the school and the Bearcats have that to build upon. The question is going to be if 2009 will be more of a rebuilding year, with the 14 starters gone from a 10 win 2008 tear, or if Cincinnati can ride its offense and compete for another Big East title. Marcus Barnett will be moved from wide receiver to cornerback in 2009 to bolster the position. If Barnett can do as well defending passes as he did catching them the past two seasons, it will be a big relief for head coach Brian Kelly. If the defense can stay in the middle of the pack in the Big East, the Bearcats should be in good shape and win some shoot-outs this season behind a good offense. Keys to Success: A solid defense and running game will lead Cincinnati to another successful season. Running back Jacob Ramsey returns with his 664 rushing yards from last season, but he will have to put more of the load on his shoulders in 2009 without John Goebel. Ramsey will have to do more in the red zone and keep some pressure off of Pike and the passing game. The defense is not going to be good, and it’s not going to lead the Big East in pretty much anything, but if they can keep the Bearcats in games and cause more turnovers than the team did in 2008, Cincinnati will compete for another Big East championship. Cincinnati has had two back-to-back 10 win seasons for the first time in school history. Cincinnati won its first outright Big East Championship last season since 1964. Cincinnati finished with 253.00 passing yards per game in 2008. Online Sportsbook SBG Global has posted the following odds to win the 2010 BCS National Championship: Alabama +2200 Arizona St +7000 Arkansas +7000 Auburn +9000 Boston College +7500 California +2200 Cincinnati +8500 Clemson +7500 Colorado +8500 Florida +150 Florida St +4000 Georgia +7500 Georgia Tech +1200 Illinois +4500 Iowa +8500 Kansas +4500 Kansas St +8500 Kentucky +8500 Louisville +8500 LSU +3200 Miami FL +3200 Michigan +8500 Michigan St +1700 Missouri +8500 Nebraska +4500 Notre Dame +1200 Ohio St +800 Oklahoma +650 Oklahoma St +2700 Oregon +4500 Penn St +1500 Rutgers +4500 South Carolina +8500 South Florida+5000 Southern Cal +600 Tennessee +8500 Texas +650 Texas A&M +8500 Texas Tech +6500 UCLA +8500 Virginia Tech +1700 Wake Forest +8500 North Carolina +4500 West Virginia +6000 Wisconsin +6500 Field (All Others) +1200                        |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 04 September 2009 ) | |||||||