Week 1 of the college football season is here. Cincinnati plays Towson, and Heartland College Sports has your game prediction, preview, and betting odds ahead of the matchup.
GAME INFO
Saturday, August 31; 1:30 p.m. (CT); Nippert Stadium; Cincinnati, OH
TV: ESPN+
Cincinnati vs. Towson betting odds: Cincinnati (-31.5); Over/Under (OFF)
Records: Cincinnati (0-0); Towson (0-0)
Last Week: N/A
Series History: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
Fun Fact: Cincinnati will be looking to continue quite the impressive streak on Saturday, as the Bearcats will be looking to win their 23rd consecutive home opener at Nippert Stadium.
KEY PLAYERS
Towson Tigers
OFFENSIVE PLAYER
TE Carter Runyon: The Tigers’ best player, and arguably one of the best players in the FCS, tight end Carter Runyon, is coming off an All-American campaign in 2023 and is again receiving All-American recognition heading into 2024. Runyon recorded 43 receptions for a conference-leading 549 yards and four touchdowns. Undoubtedly Towson’s top offensive weapon, Runyon will be the player to watch when the Tigers’ offense is on the field.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER
DL Dion Crews-Harris: After starting out his career at fullback, Dion Crews-Harris switched things up to the defensive line in 2023, and it paid dividends almost immediately as he earned Honorable Mention All-CAA in his first year at the position. Crews-Harris finished third on the team with five sacks and second with 7.5 tackles for loss, having 37 tackles and two fumble recoveries on the year.
Home Team
OFFENSIVE PLAYER
QB Brendan Sorsby: Indiana transfer Brendan Sorsby is the man to replace Emory Jones after a disappointing 2023 season for the Bearcats’ offense. During his redshirt freshman season with the Hoosiers, Sorsby completed 57.2% of his attempts for 1,587 yards and 15 touchdowns with five interceptions, adding 286 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. He’ll have a good offensive line and some dangerous tools in the running game around him, so if he can take the reins and run with it, Cincy’s offense should be better.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER
DL Cam Roetherford: According to Scott Satterfield, Dontay Corleone is doing 7-on-7 work with the team, but has yet to run any 11-on-11 work in practice. While that certainly doesn’t incite confidence in his chances of playing this week, he’s not been entirely ruled out yet either. The Bearcats need Corleone to be as close to 100% as he can be when conference play starts, but their defensive front is in bad shape right now with Corleone missing and Jalen Hunt out for the year. Enter Cam Roetherford, who transferred in from Arkansas Pine Bluff. He’s had a good camp, according to Satterfield, but he’ll need to be a big-time playmaker while Cincy’s front gets closer to full strength.
KEY STORYLINES
Towson Tigers
Can the Tigers stop the Cincinnati rushing attack? The Bearcats ranked sixth nationally in 2023 with 217.1 yards per game and will certainly look to continue that kind of success on the ground while Brendan Sorsby gets familiar with his new team. Expect a heavy dose of Corey Kiner and Evan Pryor, and if Towson can’t stop the bleeding early, it will be a long day for their front seven.
Cincinnati Bearcats
How does Brendan Sorsby look in Scott Satterfield’s offense? The Emory Jones project looked like it was going to be a hit success in the 2023 season opener after a seven touchdown performance, but the rest of the season was closer to a nightmare than anything else. Sorsby showed promise during his time at Indiana, and looked to take fairly good care of the football. If he can do that this season, Cincinnati has a good shot of getting back to bowl contention.
Cincinnati vs. Towson Betting Lines
Line: Cincinnati (-31.5) | O/U: OFF | Moneyline: Towson +2500 | ESPN Matchup Predictor: Cincinnati (88.6%)
The start to the Scott Satterfield era at Cincinnati was about as sobering an experience as Bearcat fans have experienced in the last 10 years. But there’s reason to believe that better days could be on the horizon for a program that is so accustomed to winning. In a game like this, Cincy needs to come out early and assert itself as the “big dog” in this game, and that’s what they’ll do here. I’ll take the Bearcats to cover here in a good first impression from new quarterback Brendan Sorsby.
Picks – SU: Cincinnati | ATS: CIN (-31.5) | O/U: N/A
PREDICTION: Cincinnati 48, Towson 13
