BCS Bowl Betting – Cincinnati vs. Florida in the Sugar Bowl

In the second BCS bowl betting battle of 2010, the Cincinnati Bearcats (12-0, 6-6 ATS) will square off with the Florida Gators (12-1, 6-6) in the Sugar Bowl. Controversy and storylines are abounding in the Sugar Bowl betting proceedings. For Florida, this will be the final game in the storied career of QB Tim Tebow.

HC Urban Meyer is also taking an indefinite leave of absence following this game as he tends to health issues. The Bearcats have had their share of drama as well. They came up a few inches short of playing for the National Championship, but after Texas made its field goal against Nebraska to win the Big XII and guarantee a spot in the BCS bowl betting bash for all of the marbles, HC Brian Kelly bailed on his team for the bright lights of Notre Dame.

In spite of all of the issues on both sides, the Gators have been lined as 12.5-point favorites on the Sugar Bowl betting line. The ‘total’ chimes in at 57.

The Bearcats come into this game as decided underdogs even though they ran the table this year and only played four games that finished within ten points. Three of those four game in the final six weeks of the regular season, though. QB Tony Pike will be playing in his final game for Cincinnati. If not for an injury that caused him to miss a month of the season, he may have won the Heisman Trophy this year. The senior complete 63% of his passes for 2,349 yards and 26 TDs against six picks. Cincinnati’s offense ranked sixth in the NCAA in passing (320.2 yards per game) and total offense (464.2 yards per game) and scored the fifth most points in the land (39.8 per game).

The oddsmakers are finding it difficult to believe that Tebow is going to go out losing in each of his final two games after running through well over a year’s worth of contests without a blemish on his resume. It’s fair to say that Tebow is the greatest Florida Gator of all-time. Not only was he a part of two National Championship teams and captured a Heisman Trophy, but he also recorded the most rushing touchdowns in SEC history (56).

In all four of his seasons at quarterback, he completed at least 64% of his passes and totaled 8,803 yards and 85 touchdowns against 16 INTs. Don’t rest on the Florida defense though, which finished the year ranked #3 in the land in points allowed at 11.5 per game.

It’s easy to promptly jump on the Florida bandwagon in this game, but there’s a reason that the Bearcats went undefeated. Unlike the Gators, who scheduled Troy, Charleston Southern, Florida International, and Florida State, Cincinnati went out and took on some hefty competition and lived to tell about it.

The bright lights won’t bother this team, nor will all of the pro-Florida distractions intimidate it. The Bearcats have something to prove, and they very well could wrap up a perfect season on Friday. Take any points you can get as a bonus, as this is a huge number.

Rose’s Recommendation: 4* Cincinnati Bearcats

Rating Scale 1* – 5*