College football betting: Liberty Bowl Preview

The Liberty Bowl Preview pits the Bearcats of Cincinnati against the Vanderbilt Commodores, and SportsOptions.com offers up a brief look at the players, team stats and some unique trends.

(243) CINCINNATI vs. (244) VANDERBILT (-1, 49.5)  3:30 PM – Liberty Bowl – Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium – Memphis, TN

Cincinnati (9-3 SU/7-5 ATS) will be making their 13th bowl appearance and first in the Liberty Bowl after missing the postseason a year ago. Cincinnati doubled its win total of four games from a season ago thanks to a defense that leads the nation with 3.6 sacks and 8.9 tackles for loss per game. Cincinnati won a share of the Big East championship, but the Bearcats were edged out by West Virginia in the tiebreaker for the conference’s automatic BCS bowl bid. After going 4-8 in 2010, the Bearcats turned things around, going 9-3 in coach Butch Jones’ second season. QB Zach Collaros, the catalyst of the offense, broke his ankle in a 24-21 loss to West Virginia on November 12th, but he has been cleared to play in the bowl game and he’s hoping to be ready as the Bearcats try for their first bowl victory in four years. Collaros, the Big East leader in passing yards and touchdowns last season, finished as the conference’s second-rated passer for a second straight year. He completed 63.4 percent of his throws for 1,860 yards, 14 TDs and eight interceptions. Collaros also ran for eight scores. While Collaros has keyed Cincinnati’s strong season, the defense may be a bigger reason for the turnaround. The Bearcats allowed an average of 20.0 points in 2011 – down from 28.0 last season – and led the nation with 3.6 sacks and 8.9 tackles for loss per game. Senior defensive tackle Derek Wolfe ranks sixth nationally with 19½ tackles for loss and has 9½ sacks. 

Vanderbilt (6-6 SU/9-3 ATS) is making just their fifth all-time bowl appearance but second in the past four seasons. Vanderbilt finished 2-10 for the last two seasons, but first-year coach James Franklin injected some life into the program and he was rewarded with a lucrative contract extension at the end of the season. The season got off to a rough start for Franklin when running back Warren Norman, the SEC freshman of the year in 2009, failed to recover from a knee injury that kept him from the final four games of last season. However, junior Zac Stacy proved more than capable of carrying the offense. After running for a combined 809 yards in 2009 and ‘10, he broke Vanderbilt’s single-season rushing record with 1,136 yards after averaging 125.8 over the final six games. Vanderbilt opened the season with three straight wins, including a victory in its SEC opener, but lost its next five conference games – three against teams in the top 15 at the time.

The Commodores came back to win two of their final three games to become bowl eligible, surrendering 15 points in those victories. Defense has been critical all season for Vanderbilt. The ‘Dores are tied for 19th in the FBS, giving up 324.6 yards per game, and is 27th in points allowed at 20.8 per game.  The Commodores are looking to win their second straight postseason game after defeating Boston College 16-14 in the 2008 Music City Bowl. Prior to that, their last bowl game was in 1982. Vanderbilt leads the all-time series against Cincinnati 4-3, with the last meeting coming in 1994. The teams have two common opponents, with both defeating UConn at home while losing to Tennessee on the road. Vandy is on a 9-3 ATS run and 4-1 ATS as a favorite. Cincinnati counters with a 5-1 ATS mark against non-conference teams; although the Bearcats are only 5-12 ATS off a SU win. If Collaros stays healthy, Cincy should win it….

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