By Bane Rossi

WATCH WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE

https://gobearcats.com/news/2023/11/21/football-watch-satterfield-players-meet-with-media.aspx

GAME NOTES

https://gobearcats.com/documents/2023/11/21/UC_vs_Kansas_Game_Notes.pdf

CINCINNATI – More than 20 Bearcats will play their final collegiate game when the Cincinnati football team hosts Kansas on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Historic Nippert Stadium (ESPN2).

Despite a challenging season in UC’s transition year into the Big 12 Conference, the Bearcats will honor one of the greatest senior classes in school history. Cincinnati’s 2023 seniors helped lead UC to two American Athletic Conference Championships, two New Year’s Six Bowls, including the 2021 College Football Playoff Semifinals, and into a Power 5 conference.

Cincinnati’s two sixth-year players, defensive end Malik Vann and safety Taj Ward, enter their final game with a record of 56-19, while UC’s fifth-year players, including running back Ryan Montgomery, defensive end Eric Phillips and cornerback Justin Harris, bring a 45-17 record into Saturday’s clash with the Jayhawks.

“We’re looking forward to this weekend, honoring these seniors,” head coach Scott Satterfield said. “There are more than 20 seniors that’ll be walking. I’m looking forward to that. Some guys have been here six years like Malik Vann, Taj Ward and a couple guys that have been here a lot, won a lot of football games and done a lot of great things. Ryan Montgomery has done a lot of great things. Of course [Jowon] Briggs after transferring from Virginia. There is a lot to celebrate with these guys. We certainly want to send them out on a high note.”

Kansas started the season 7-2, but enters Saturday’s contest having lost two straight at home, 31-27 to Kansas State and 16-13 to Texas Tech. The Jayhawks started third-string true freshman Cole Ballard at quarterback last week after backup Jason Bean was injured the week before. QB Jalon Daniels was the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, but he only played in three game due to injury. Running back Devin Neal ranks fifth in the Big 12 with 1,104 rushing yards and third with 13 rushing TDs. Kansas ranks fourth in the league with 202.4 rushing yards per game. The Jayhawks have the nation’s top punt return defense (-3.00) and No. 2 punt return offense (21.60), while DB Ra’Mello Dotson has four interceptions.

“We know Kansas is coming in here arguably one of the better teams in the Big 12,” Satterfield added. “They’ve done a tremendous job over the last three years if you look at where they’ve come from, three years ago, when the coaching staff got there to where they are right now. Just a tremendous job. They are coached very well.”

Cincinnati and Kansas will meet for just the third time ever and the first time since 1997.

UC defeated Kansas, 34-7, on Sept. 20, 1997, at Nippert Stadium in the last meeting in the series. Cincinnati held Kansas to just 53 yards of total offense, including a school record low -46 yards rushing. The win was part of a historic 1997 season under Rick Minter as the Bearcats finished 8-4 and advanced to their first bowl since 1951.

ON THE AIR

TV: ESPN2
John Schriffen (PxP), Rocky Boiman (Analyst), Dawn Davenport (Sideline)

Local: 700 WLW
Satellite: SiriusXM Channel 113 or 203
App: IHeart Radio App and Varsity Network: “Search Cincinnati”

KINER EYES 1,000, POWERS NATION’S NO. 6 RUSHING ATTACK

UC ranks third in the Big 12 and No. 6 nationally with 215.8 rush yards per game, up from 93rd in 2022 (129.7).

Cincinnati has run for 200 or more yards in eight of 11 contests.

Corey Kiner has rushed for 941 yards and five TDs on 174 carries (5.4 ypc), moving him just 59 yards shy of the 20th 1,000-yard season in school history. He looks to become the 13th different Bearcat to break the 1,000-yard barrier.

Kiner has five 100-yd games in 2023, which is tied with Jerome Ford (2021) for 12th-most in a single-season at UC.

Four different Bearcats have rushed for 100 yards in a game this season: Kiner (five times), Ryan Montgomery (twice), Myles Montgomery (once) and Emory Jones (once).

Myles Montgomery’s 6.6 yards per carry average is the highest among the Big 12’s top 30 rushers and he is the fifth-highest-rated running back in the Big 12 according to Pro Football Focus (85.3).

All five starters on UC’s offensive line have at least one year of eligibility left, and redshirt junior Luke Kandra is the nation’s highest-graded right guard (78.5), according to Pro Football Focus. His 821 snaps are the most of P5 guard this season.

SIXTH-YEAR BEARCATS’ FINAL GAME

DE Malik Vann and S Taj Ward will play their final collegiate games on Saturday. Both players are in their sixth seasons with the program.

The duo entered the program in 2018 – one year before 2022 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Sauce Gardner arrived.

Vann, a Cincinnati native who starred at Fairfield High School, enters his final game with totals of 102 tackles, 23.5 TFLs and 10.5 sacks over 60 games, including 12 starts. He started nine games and made 33 stops with 8.5 TFLs during Cincinnati’s run to the College Football Playoff in 2021.

Ward, a Solon, Ohio, native who is cousins with Browns star Denzel Ward, enters his final game with totals of 92 tackles, five TFLS, seven passes defended and one interceptions over 61 games with 22 starts. He started 11 games at nickelback in 2022 and has started all 11 games at safety in 2023.

QUICK NOTES

• All 11 offensive starters in the season opener were starting their first game ever for UC. C Gavin Gerhardt was the only returning offensive starter for the Bearcats. He did not start Game 1, but he has started the last 10 contests.
• The Cincinnati wide receiver room returned just one scholarship receiver in redshirt junior Chris Scott.
• After the 2022 season, Cincinnati had 15 players enter the transfer portal and leave the program and another 17 either graduated or declared for the NFL Draft. The Bearcats brought in 23 college transfers for this fall.
• Cincinnati is 662-607-50 (.521) all-time and is playing its 136th football season in 2023 (since 1885, one of 10 oldest in FBS).
• Sixth-year senior defensive end Malik Vann rates as the Big 12’s No. 3 top edge (77.1) according to PFF.
• Cincinnati’s defense is allowing only 159.0 passing yards per game over the last three games.

COURTESY UC SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS