Cincinnati-Southern Miss

the Papajohns.com Bowl Saturday, December 22nd, 1:00pm Birmingham, Alabama
Cincinnati (9-3)_____Big East____298.97				Southern Miss (7-5)_____Conf USA____53.31
Week	Opponent	oPts	Res, Score	Week	Opponent	oPts	Res, Score
10	@ South Florida	316.42	W, 38-33	3	@ East Carolina	89.72	W, 28-21
11	Connecticut	232.43	W, 27-3	13	Arkansas State	-63.38	W, 16-10
2	Oregon State	209.72	W, 34-3	12	@ Texas-El Paso	-110.58	W, 56-30
6	@ Rutgers	146.23	W, 28-23	8	@ Marshall	-158.83	W, 33-24
3	@ Miami (Ohio)	-62.84	W, 47-10	10	@ Alabama-Birmingham	-232.53	W, 37-7
5	@ San Diego State	-84.17	W, 52-23	7	Southern Methodist	-292.91	W, 28-7
13	@ Syracuse	-156.53	W, 52-31	1	Tennessee-Martin	-	W, 35-13
4	Marshall	-158.83	W, 40-14	2	@ Tennessee	349.37	L, 19-39
1	Southeast Missouri State	-	W, 59-3	9	Central Florida	266.42	L, 17-34
12	West Virginia	364.93	L, 23-28	5	@ Boise State	229.42	L, 16-38
7	Louisville	106.21	L, 24-28	11	Memphis	21.53	L, 26-29
8	@ Pittsburgh	76.94	L, 17-24	6	Rice	-221.20	L, 29-31

The Bearcats have the clear edge in this game - better record, a lot of quality wins, no real bad losses.

Cincinnati had a drop-off in the middle of the season but has since rebounded. Southern Miss has worked their way back up from the red too, but they're much more stop and go.

Intangibles: Southern Miss is the opposite of interim'd for this game - it's Jeff Bower's last one, and you can bet he's going to do everything in his power to show the school's administration what a huge mistake they made in forcing him to resign.

The Line: Southern Miss +11.5

The Story: Cincinnati's skills vs Southern Miss's heart

The Call: Cincinnati wins, but Southern Miss covers the spread

The Result: Cincinnati 31-21 = Right on the money.