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UCLA Football open as underdogs for their season opener vs. Cincinnati

By Mike Regalado

PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 01: Michael Warren II #3 of the Cincinnati Bearcats follows a block from Dino Boyd #70 on Krys Barnes #14 of the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl on September 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 01: Michael Warren II #3 of the Cincinnati Bearcats follows a block from Dino Boyd #70 on Krys Barnes #14 of the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl on September 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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The online site, Sports Betting, has come out with the lines for the UCLA football team’s first game of the season against Cincinnati and the Bruins open as slight underdogs.

The closer we get to the start of the season, the more we will see a myriad of predictions in a variety of forms. One of those forms includes betting lines, and one going by the name of Sports Betting has the UCLA football team starting the season as underdogs.

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The Bruins will begin Year 2 of the Chip Kelly era on the road as they play the second of a home-and-home series at Cincinnati. The game, which was initially scheduled for a Saturday, will kick off on Thursday, August 29 at 4 p.m. PT. The opening line for the game has the Bruins as +4 underdogs.

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Though this is quite a favorable line for the Bruins who finished last season with a 3-9 record, in this writer’s opinion, it seems a bit low from a betting standpoint. Though we have proclaimed  UCLA should improve in 2019, they still have to get through a Cincinnati team that opened a lot of eyes last year when they went an astounding 11-2.

Though a number of outlets have them regressing in 2019, they will still give UCLA a tough matchup.

Seeing as this is a home game for the Bearcats, they have been given a little bit more than a “pick’em” to win, predicting that they will claim victory by just over a field goal.

What is interesting is that this line is closer to a field goal than a touchdown. Do the oddsmakers think Cincinnati will be considerably worse than last season (they beat the Bruins at the Rose Bowl by a score of 26-17)? Do they see a positive trajectory for the Bruins to start the season?

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In comparison, SB Nation’s Bill Connelly has UCLA losing by 6.5 points. If anything, this goes to show you that no one knows what will happen with Kelly in his second year as the head of the program.