Birmingham Bowl Odds: Boston College vs. Cincinnati Spread, Over/Under & Our Projections

Birmingham Bowl Odds: Boston College vs. Cincinnati

• Odds: Cincinnati -6.5
• Over/Under: 55.5
• Date: Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020
• Time: 3 p.m. ET
• TV channel: ESPN
• Location: Birmingham, Ala.

Odds as of Sunday afternoon. Get live college football odds here.

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Boston College Betting Stats & 2019 Season Profile

• Season Record: 6-6
• Against-the-Spread Record: 7-5
• Conference: ACC
• Offense Yards Per Play Rank: 59
• Defense Yards Per Play Rank: 112
• S&P+ Special Teams Rank: 118

Analysis: Locking up six wins in a defeat of Pitt was not enough to retain Steve Addazio. Boston College will have interim coach Rich Gunnell assume command for the bowl trip. Gunnell, who was Matt Ryan’s primary target at Boston College, has been on the Eagles staff since 2016 as a wide receivers coach. The interim coach has no play-calling experience on either side of the ball since his days as a high school coach in Framingham, Mass., in 2014. RB AJ Dillion is expected to declare for the NFL draft, while sophomore RB David Bailey wilted down the stretch. Boston College has covered just one bowl game in four appearances since 2011. — Collin Wilson

All stats are regular season only

Cincinnati Betting Stats & 2019 Season Profile

• Season Record: 10-2
• Against-the-Spread Record: 7-5
• Conference: AAC
• Offense Yards Per Play Rank: 88
• Defense Yards Per Play Rank: 32
• S&P+ Special Teams Rank: 25

Analysis: Anyone expecting Luke Fickell’s program to take a big leap in Year 3 definitely got it, but the boxscore results don’t tell as pretty of a picture. The Bearcats have been outgained in all but two games since the start of October and their +.31 yards per play differential ranks a pedestrian 62nd nationally. Cincy is +4 in close games, and +3 in wins where it’s been outgained in yards per play. They’re top-five in second order win total, meaning they were extremely fortunate to go 10-2 in the regular season — this is more like an 8-4 team. Much of the offense’s struggles could be due to quarterback Desmond Ridder, who has apparently been dealing with a shoulder issue for part of the year. — Steve Petrella

All stats are regular season only

Birmingham Bowl Projections & Picks

• Our projected spread: Cincinnati -4.5
• Our projected over/under: 54.91