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In Gambling911.com's 2009 Orange Bowl betting preview, Sports Interaction betting analyst Frank Doyle wonders if the Bearcats can withstand a hard shot of Beamerball in the Orange Bowl?
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Cincinnati is enjoying its greatest ever time as a football program. The Bearcats are 11-2, they're champions of the Big East for the first time, and head coach Brian Kelly is 21-5 in his two years in charge. The only question is - good and all as Cincinnati is, can the Bearcats deal with Beamerball?
Frank Beamer has been head coach at Virginia Tech since 1987, and Bearmerball is the nickname given to the school's mix of low octane offense and high-octane defense, but it isn't until you look at the statistics that you realise just how unusual Beamerball is as a winning football strategy. Virginia Tech is ranked 94th in rushing yards, 100th in points scored, 107th in total yards are 110th in passing yards. Only seventeen schools in Division IA ball have scored less than the Hokies, and yet Virginia Tech is 9-4 for the season, 5-3 in the ACC and ACC Champion for the third time in five years.
All of which means that there are some bad, bad men on the Virginia Tech D, and nobody is going to mistake them for a bunch of old ladies anytime soon.
Cincinnati only joined the Big East three years ago, having been a founder member of the Conference USA. It's been a heady rise since, and you have to wonder if a balloon isn't about to be burst in Miami.
For instance: Cincinnati effectively won the Big East when it beat Pittsburgh 28-21 at home on November 20. Quarterback Tony Pike was the man for the Bearcats that day, throwing for 309 yards and three touchdowns. But here's the thing about Pike - he's the fifth quarterback that Cincinnati have used this year, and he's a junior. Now, it's possible to be three years in school and not get a shot, and it's possible to be a late bloomer, like Kurt Warner or Matt Cassel in the NFL. But it's also possible that Tony Pike will coming up against something that he's not used to when the Hokies put on the rush in the Orange Bowl, and that will be a real test of his mettle.
If Pike passes that test then Cincinnati justifies its favoritism and goes home with trophy. If not, it's another notch on Frank Beamer's belt. Virginia Tech +2.5 with Sports Interaction is the pick, with an additional recommendation of taking the under for the first half total points, which has been set at 21 by Sports Interaction. This will be a low scoring game anyway - it's hard to see too many fireworks in the early exchanges.
Frank Doyle, Gambling911.com
