By Bane Rossi
GAME NOTES
https://gobearcats.com/documents/2023/10/11/Game_6_Cincinnati_vs._ISU.pdf
CINCINNATI – Six weeks into the 2023 fall season, the University of Cincinnati football team sits as one of only five teams in the nation to rank in the Top 20 in rushing offense and rushing defense.
The Bearcats are averaging 220.2 yards per game on the ground (No. 2 in the Big 12, No. 10 nationally), while allowing only 100.4 rushing yards to opponents (No. 2 in the Big 12, No. 19 nationally).
Cincinnati also ranks among the Big 12’s top three in both total offense (490.0 yards per game) and total defense (328.4).
It’s clear, the Bearcats are doing a variety of things well on both sides of the ball under first-year head coach Scott Satterfield. Unfortunately, turnovers and red zone inefficiency have hampered UC the last three games, leading to a string of close losses to Miami, No. 5 Oklahoma and at BYU before last week’s bye.
The Bearcats welcome Iowa State for Saturday’s Homecoming ready to get back in the win column by limiting mistakes, while building on their early-season statistical success.
“You look every week and see how even this league is and how many teams can win,” Satterfield said. “It just shows that you have to make the least number of mistakes. I told our team Sunday that five teams that won this weekend (in the Big 12) created 13 turnovers, and I think that’s a huge difference. Obviously, if you take care of the football, you have a chance to win. You go back to our last game; the same stat was true. We had the muffed punt and, in the pick six, they didn’t have any turnovers.”
Cincinnati received a much-needed idle week after playing at BYU in Provo, Utah, late on a Friday night (10:20 ET kick) with only six days rest following a hard-fought 20-6 loss to Oklahoma at Nippert Stadium.
The Bearcats held a commanding 498 to 295 edge in total yards against the Cougars but turned the ball over twice in the 35-27 loss. Those two turnovers led directly to a pair of BYU touchdowns, and were ultimately the difference in a game where tight end Chamon Metayer showed flashes of his immense potential with two touchdown catches and quarterback Emory Jones passed for three touchdowns and rushed for 94 yards.
“You have to score more and hold them to less but I think it comes down to taking care of the ball and creating those turnovers defensively,” Satterfield said. “I think that’s obviously a huge thing that we have to do better at and those are things that we tried to work on this past week.”
The Bearcats welcome an Iowa State team coming of a 27-14 win over TCU. The Cyclones (3-3, 2-1 in the Big 12) rank as one of the nation’s most disciplined teams, allowing only three sacks with a +5 turnover margin through six games.
“I think Coach [Matt] Campbell and his staff have done some good stuff,” Satterfield added. “They have a young team playing a lot of young players, including the quarterback. The way they’ve won is that what I just talked about – making the teams make mistakes and then not making their own mistakes. They have only given up three sacks this year, which is really good. They haven’t lost a fumble this year. That’s how you win and they’re doing some really good things with that. Defensively, they [Iowa State], have finished top three in defense in the Big 12 in the last six years. So, they’re always good and have been good on defense.”
ON THE AIR
TV: FS1
Eric Collins (PxP), Devin Gardner (Analyst)
Radio: Bearcats Sports Network
Dan Hoard (PxP), Jim Kelly Jr. (Analyst), Anthony Mazzini (Sideline), Mo Egger (Host/Engineer)
Local: 700 WLW
Satellite: SiriusXM 135 or 199
App: The Varsity Network: “Search Cincinnati”
BEARCATS HOST CYCLONES FOR FIRST TIME, CELEBRATE HOMECOMING
- Cincinnati welcomes Iowa State to sold-out Historic Nippert Stadium after a bye week looking to snap a three-game losing streak and get back in the win column against the Cyclones on Homecoming. UC and ISU will meet for the first time ever, kicking off a two-week home stretch where the Bearcats will host Big 12 opponents for the first time (Baylor, Oct. 21).
- The Bearcats are seeking their first Big 12 win and return to Nippert Stadium where they are 327-185-13 all-time (since 1924).
- Only Alabama (27-2) and Clemson (27-2) have more wins at home than Cincinnati’s 26 victories at Nippert Stadium since 2019. The Bearcats have won 89.7% (26-3) of their home games since 2019.
- Saturday’s matchup will feature two of the Big 12’s top WRs in ISU’s Jaylin Noel (31 receptions – third in Big 12) and UC’s Xzavier Henderson (30 receptions – fourth in Big 12). ISU DB Jeremiah Cooper is tied for the national lead with four INTs.
- UC has won four consecutive games coming off a bye with its last defeat coming in a 24-17 OT loss at Temple in 2018.
- Saturday’s contest marks the 15th consecutive sell-out of Nippert Stadium.
COURTESY UC SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS
