The Cincinnati Bearcats host the North Carolina State Wolfpack tonight at 8pm ET as seven point favorites with a total of 60.5. The oddsmakers opened this game up at the Bearcats -6.5 and a total of 56.0 and action so far from the public has 60% of the college football picks on this game favoring Cincinnati and close to 80% of the total wagers on the over. Weather for this matchup will be mostly cloudy with 40% chance of showers late and a kickoff temperature of 70 degrees. You can catch the game on ESPN with a start time of 8:00pm ET.

Wolfpack quarterback Mike Glennon has been solid in his new starting position, completing close to 64% of his passes on the young season. Even though NC State is 2-1, both of those wins came due to lackluster wins over FCS schools (mighty South Alabama and Liberty). One x-factor in this game will be how a young Wolfpack squad (only two senior starters and 13 underclassmen) deal with a revenge minded Bearcats team they dominated at home last season. With Cincinnati having RB Isiah Plead playing in this game (missed the game last year), the Wolfpack could be in for a long night if they can't put up points to keep up with the Bearcats offense.

Cincinnati let out their frustration following the loss to Tennessee (45-13 and giving up 531 yards) by blowing out Akron 59-14. One thing to note on the scoreboard blowout of the Zips is that Akron actually had more yards (349-342), but fell victim to a 6-1 deficit in turnovers. The Bearcats are looking for revenge after getting destroyed last season on the road 30-19 and giving up close to 500 yards to the NC State offense.  Senior quarterback Zach Collaros has been stellar this season and has led this team to the 4th ranked offense in the country at 51.3 points to go along with an average of 433 yards.

The key to this game will be can NC State stop Bearcats RB Isiah Plead who ran the ball at will on Tennessee this season (155 yards) and Oklahoma last year (169). The focus for the media will be QB Zach Collaros, but if Cincinnati can open up the run game it could be a long night for the NC State defense. The Wolfpack have to do something in the red zone where they have been putrid all season long giving up scores on all eight opportunities (four touchdowns & four field goals). College Football Picks Prediction: Cincinnati Bearcats over NC State by 10


Free Picks: NC State at Cincinnati Betting
What college football bettors need to know about North Carolina State at Cincinnati (Thursday, September 22, 2011) from Pregame.com - Including a free best bet from Marco D'Angelo and analysis from host RJ Bell.