Big East Championship - #5 Cincinnati Bearcats vs. #15 Pittsburgh Panthers

College Football Betting – Game Match-Up 12/5 - 12:00 ET

All of the marbles in the Big East will be on the line on Saturday at Heinz Field, where the Cincinnati Bearcats (11-0, 6-5 ATS) will square off with the Pittsburgh Panthers (9-2, 6-4 ATS) in a college football betting battle. The winner of this game is most likely heading to the Orange or Fiesta Bowl as the top team in the Big East, but should the Bearcats post an impressive victory and hop TCU in the BCS rankings, they'll most likely be playing for the National Championship if Nebraska can upset Texas later on Saturday night in the Big East Championship game.

The oddsmakers are having a tough time picking a clear favorite in this game, but the college football point spread at BetUS Sportsbook features the #5 team in the land as two-point favorites over #15 Pitt. The posted 'total' is 58.

There's no doubt that the offense is firing on all cylinders for HC Brian Kelly right now. The Bearcats dropped 49 points on the Fighting Illini last weekend in the home finale, marking the fifth time over the L/7 games in which they have scored at least 34 points in a game. The numbers are simply staggering across the board for the last unbeaten team standing in the Big East.

Cincy ranks #4 in the land in total offense (472.7 yards per game), #6 in passing (321.9 yards per game), and #6 in scoring (39.4 yards per game). Had QB Tony Pike not missed several games due to injury, he'd also be in the running for the Heisman Trophy on top of everything else on the line for the Bearcats in this game. Pike has completed 65.3% of his passes this year for 2,047 yards and a very impressive 23 TDs against just three INTs.

The Panthers had their chance to make a case for a BCS bid even if they had failed to beat Cincinnati this week, but losing in last weekend's Backyard Brawl in Morgantown really made this one a do-or-die for HC Dave Wannstedt's crew. RB Dion Lewis is going to have a ton of pressure on him to perform once again if U-Pitt is headed to an elite bowl game. He has already rushed for 1,441 yards and 13 TDs on the season, as he continues to break all sorts of freshman records at the university.

The defense hasn't allowed any team to score more than 22 points on it since NC State scored 38 back on September 26th. Since that point, the Panthers are 4-3 ATS, with the 'under' cashing in six times in the seven games.

These teams have combined to fail to cover five straight spreads between them, which makes backing either squad very difficult. That said; if the Panthers can find a way to contain Pike and the Bearcats explosive offense, this game should be one that ekes its way 'under' the 'total'.

Rose's Recommendation: 2* Cincinnati Bearcats/Pittsburgh Panthers Under

Rating Scale 1* - 5*