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Sport Spies previews the ESPN Thursday Night College Football Game between the ACC and Big East with both teams being challenged by a quick turnaround.
Cincinnati football team will play its third game in 12 days Thursday as it travels to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the NC State Wolfpack in a nationally-televised ESPN game. The team is coming off a less-than-impressive 40-7 victory over Indiana State, extending the squad’s 13-game home winning streak. New head coach Butch Jones has taken over for the recently departed Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), after spending the previous three seasons at Central Michigan producing a 27-13 record. Despite losing some key individuals, the team returned 13 starters, including four of its top six tacklers from 2009. QB Zach Collaros has struggled at times early on due to the offensive line play, but is certainly capable after completing 93 of 124 passes for 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
The Bearcats rank 92nd in the nation in passing and 78th rushing and Jones is certainly not happy with the team’s production. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. “We have some players playing for the first time and players in different roles.” The rushing game was instrumental in last week’s win, piling up 263 yards on the ground without the services of lead running back Isaiah Pead. He is expected back in the lineup tonight after sitting out with swelling in his knee. On the other side of the ball, Cincinnati’s rush defense leads the Big East Conference and ranks 10th nationally, giving up an average of 71 yards per game. Cincinnati is a dismal 3-10 ATS in non-conference games the past three years.
NC State has produced its first 2-0 start since the 2002 campaign and will be challenged by a dangerous opponent that will test the Wolfpack on both sides of the ball. The team definitely has a clear advantage in being the home team in this scheduling nightmare, but head coach Tom O’Brien is still unhappy. Only twice since 1980 has the team had a five-day turnaround that included at least one game on the road. O’Brien has coached one game against the Bearcats, which occurred during his first year at Boston College, dropping a 24-6 contest. It’s important to note that the team is leading the ACC in total defense after two games (248.5 ypg) and lead the league in turnover margin, with no giveaways and six takeaways.
The Wolfpack is led by quarterback Russell Wilson, who has had a hard time getting the offense moving in the early going, coming off a 10 of 30 performance and 105 yards against Central Florida. He will need to produce a major performance in this contest due to the team’s lack of an established running game. Wilson may still appear rusty in the third game of the season due to missing the entire offseason by playing baseball for the school in the spring and for the Colorado Rockies minor league organization in the summer. NC State is 14-8 ATS in all games over the past three years.
Bettors will certainly be torn between backing either of these squads, considering the Bearcats are 0-7 ATS in their last seven games overall and the Wolfpack bringing a 2-5 ATS record against the Big East.
Sport Spies previews the ESPN Thursday Night College Football Game between the ACC and Big East with both teams being challenged by a quick turnaround.
Cincinnati football team will play its third game in 12 days Thursday as it travels to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the NC State Wolfpack in a nationally-televised ESPN game. The team is coming off a less-than-impressive 40-7 victory over Indiana State, extending the squad’s 13-game home winning streak. New head coach Butch Jones has taken over for the recently departed Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), after spending the previous three seasons at Central Michigan producing a 27-13 record. Despite losing some key individuals, the team returned 13 starters, including four of its top six tacklers from 2009. QB Zach Collaros has struggled at times early on due to the offensive line play, but is certainly capable after completing 93 of 124 passes for 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
The Bearcats rank 92nd in the nation in passing and 78th rushing and Jones is certainly not happy with the team’s production. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. “We have some players playing for the first time and players in different roles.” The rushing game was instrumental in last week’s win, piling up 263 yards on the ground without the services of lead running back Isaiah Pead. He is expected back in the lineup tonight after sitting out with swelling in his knee. On the other side of the ball, Cincinnati’s rush defense leads the Big East Conference and ranks 10th nationally, giving up an average of 71 yards per game. Cincinnati is a dismal 3-10 ATS in non-conference games the past three years.
NC State has produced its first 2-0 start since the 2002 campaign and will be challenged by a dangerous opponent that will test the Wolfpack on both sides of the ball. The team definitely has a clear advantage in being the home team in this scheduling nightmare, but head coach Tom O’Brien is still unhappy. Only twice since 1980 has the team had a five-day turnaround that included at least one game on the road. O’Brien has coached one game against the Bearcats, which occurred during his first year at Boston College, dropping a 24-6 contest. It’s important to note that the team is leading the ACC in total defense after two games (248.5 ypg) and lead the league in turnover margin, with no giveaways and six takeaways.
The Wolfpack is led by quarterback Russell Wilson, who has had a hard time getting the offense moving in the early going, coming off a 10 of 30 performance and 105 yards against Central Florida. He will need to produce a major performance in this contest due to the team’s lack of an established running game. Wilson may still appear rusty in the third game of the season due to missing the entire offseason by playing baseball for the school in the spring and for the Colorado Rockies minor league organization in the summer. NC State is 14-8 ATS in all games over the past three years.
Bettors will certainly be torn between backing either of these squads, considering the Bearcats are 0-7 ATS in their last seven games overall and the Wolfpack bringing a 2-5 ATS record against the Big East.
