The San Diego State Aztecs and the Cincinnati Bearcats get together for a chance to close out the season with a victory in the Hawaii Bowl on Thursday, Dec 24. Cincinnati enters this game with a 7-5 record, while San Diego State has a record of 10-3. Players will take the field Thursday, Dec 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET and the game will air on ESPN.
Cincinnati picked up a close victory against East Carolina 19-16 in its last game. Shaq Washington had an outstanding performance in the victory, pulling in 15 receptions for 124 yards and one TD. Gunner Kiel had a great game as well, adding 270 yards and a TD through the air. San Diego State also won its game before the bye, squeaking by Air Force 27-24. Jemond Hazely had a quality performance for the Aztecs, recording five receptions for 78 yards. Christian Chapman also had a great game with 203 yards and a TD through the air.
Cincinnati is a slim two-point favorite at home against the Aztecs. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently 58 points.
The Bearcats enter the game with records of 7-5 Straight Up (SU) and 6-6 Against The Spread (ATS) this season. In their five most recent matchups, the Bearcats went 3-2 for both SU and ATS. The Bearcats offense is averaging 564.8 total yards per game during their last five games. Turning to the Bearcats defense, a few key spots could be deciding factors this week. The Aztecs will be matching up against a stout Cincinnati pass defense, which only allowed 230.8 passing yards over their last five matchups.
As for their opponent, the Aztecs head into this bowl game with records of 8-5 ATS and 10-3 SU. Over their last five games, the Aztecs have a SU record of 5-0 and a 4-1 record ATS for those betting with them. Offensively, the Aztecs have picked up the pace in the last five games. They have exceeded their season average of 31.4 points per game by averaging 37 during that stretch. Chances are San Diego State will continue to rely on its run game, where its 235.3 rushing yards per game ranks 15th in the nation. Cincinnati will be matching up against a stout Aztecs defense which has been playing better as well. They only allowed 14 PPG over their last five matchups, well below their season average of 17.2. The San Diego State defense has given teams problems during those games as well. During that time, opponents have gained an average of only 286 total yards against this terrorizing unit. If the Bearcats don’t do a good job holding on to the ball, they’ll have a hard time against the Aztecs defense, which ranks fourth in the country in turnovers with 2.4 per game. There is no feeling-out process to start a game for the Aztecs, who average 9.4 points in the first quarter. For the Bearcats, special teams is an area in need of improvement. Their 144.9 return yards allowed per game rank amongst the worst in the country.
Predictions: SU Winner – San Diego State, ATS Winner – San Diego State, O/U – Over
Notes
Cincinnati is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cincinnati’s last 8 games.
San Diego State is 8-1 SU when leading at the half this season. Cincinnati is 6-2 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Remarkably, San Diego State is only 2-3 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet undefeated (8-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
The San Diego State defense has forced an average of 2.4 turnovers per game this season. Cincinnati is just 1-2 SU when turning the ball over at least 2.0 times in a game.
