By Packy Moore

GAME NOTES

https://gobearcats.com/documents/2024/10/21/UC_Football_Game_Notes_at_Colorado.pdf

TUESDAY OCTOBER 22, 2024 PRESS CONFERENCE WITH COACH SATTERFIELD & PLAYERS PREVIEWING GAME

https://youtu.be/5XPrN7b5M4Y

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati football team will make its longest trip of the year to Boulder, Colo. this weekend to face Colorado at Folsom Field on Saturday, Oct. 26. The game will kick off at 10:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Bearcats and Buffaloes enter the game with identical 5-2 records and 3-1 marks in Big 12 play. A win would push either team into bowl eligibility, and also thrust them into the Big 12 Championship picture.

Head Coach Scott Satterfield and his staff are solely focused on one thing, however, and that is preparing for a talented Colorado squad.

“We’ve certainly talked about where we’re sitting in the standings and where we’re at right now,” Satterfield said. “Game number eight, playing for a Big 12 Championship, two teams with the same record. There’s a lot on the line and that’s what we talk about. All the other stuff is what everybody else talks about. For us, it’s about our preparation and putting together a great gameplan. Going against their offense, their defense, their kicking game, and then going out and working on that plan this week and having great confidence in that plan when we go into the game. All that other stuff is for fans and the media. For us, it’s about the ball.”

Cincinnati’s defense will face a stiff test on Saturday. The Buffaloes boast one of the best passing offenses in the country, ranking seventh in yards per game (324.0) and fifth in completion percentage (71.4%). Quarterback Shedeur Sanders is among the national leaders in completions per game (27.86, 2^nd), completion percentage (72.2%, 4^th), passing yards (2,268, 5^th), and passing touchdowns (19, 5^th).

“He’s very elusive,” Satterfield said about Sanders. “He gets outside, and all he’s doing is buying time. He’s buying time for those guys to either go deep or come across, and then he has the athleticism and accuracy to be able to put it on them. We have to stay in coverage. I think sometimes you have a tendency to think ‘Oh, man, the quarterback is out. Let me come out of coverage’. He’ll [Sanders] make you pay, so you better stay in coverage and see what’s going to happen. But he’s looking up the field to try to make the big plays, and he’s had a bunch of them outside the pocket.”

The Bearcats boast their own star at quarterback in redshirt sophomore Brendan Sorsby, setting up quite the QB battle in Boulder. Through seven games he has totaled 1,928 passing yards with 13 touchdowns and four interception while completing 67.2% of his passes (156-232). His completion percentage currently ranks as the third-best in a season in school history. Sorsby ranks among the national leaders in several categories including passing yards (1,928, 14th), completions per game (22.3, 18th), completion percentage (67.2%, 19th), and total offense (289.1, 21st).

Both teams are bolstered by strong defenses. Cincinnati ranks fourth in the Big 12 in scoring defense (19.3) and are among the leaders in forced fumbles (nine). Colorado has one of the best red zone defenses in the nation(68.0%, 8^th) and leads the Big 12 in sacks (21) and tackles for loss (49).

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday’s game will be broadcast on ESPN with Mark Jones (play-by-play) and Roddy Jones (analyst) on the call and Quint Kessenich reporting from the sidelines. The game will be broadcast on radio via 700 WLW and SiriusXM Channel 384 with Dan Hoard (pxp), Jim Kelly (analyst) and Tony Pike (sideline) on the call.

BEARCATS FACE BUFFALOES IN THICK OF BIG 12 RACE

• Cincinnati travels to Boulder, Colo. to face the Buffaloes on Saturday at 10:15 ET at Folsom Field (ESPN). The Bearcats are coming off a decisive 24-14 victory over previously 5-1 Arizona State on Homecoming this past Saturday at Nippert Stadium.
• Cincinnati and Colorado are both 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12 – both one game out of first place.
• This weekend’s trip will be more than 1,200 miles and marks the longest away game of the season for the Bearcats.
• The Bearcats are a mere four points from being 7-0 having lost to Pittsburgh (6-0) by one point and at Texas Tech (5-2) by three.
• Cincinnati is one of the most improved teams in the country. After going 3-9 in 2023 under first-year head coach Scott Satterfield, the Bearcats brought in 47 new scholarship players including stars: QB Brendan Sorsby (Indiana), TE Joe Royer (Ohio State), LBs Jared Bartlett (West Virginia) and Jake Golday (Central Arkansas) and safety Derrick Canteen (Virginia Tech). The transfers along with returning Cincinnati natives 2022 All-America DT Dontay “The Godfather” Corleone, 1,000-yard rusher Corey Kiner and 2023 All-America RG Luke Kandra have Cincinnati poised to return to a bowl game and conference title contention in 2024.
• A win Saturday would give UC six victories and make the Bearcats bowl eligible for the sixth time in seven years.
• UC has played in 22 bowls all time, including back-to-back NY6 bowls in 2020 (Peach) and 2021 (CFP Semifinals at Cotton Bowl).

BEARCATS BUILDING A RESUME

• Cincinnati has the nation’s 15th-most efficient offense according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.
• ESPN’s FPI rates Cincinnati as the 34th-best team in the country and gives the Bearcats an 93% chance of reaching six wins.
• Cincinnati ranks third in the Big 12 and 24th nationally in total offense (451.4) and keeps opposing defenses on the field longer than most, ranking second in the conference and 13th overall in time of possession (32:50).
• UC leads the Big 12 with 20 plays of 30+ and 14 plays of 40+. RB Evan Pryor has a league-best three 50-yard TD runs.
• S/Star Antwan Peek Jr. is the top-ranked safety in the country (90.4) according to PFF.
• G Luke Kandra (77.8), LB Jake Golday (84.7) and DT Dontay Corleone (79.4) join Peek Jr. as the highest-rated players in the Big 12 at their positions. Kandra, a preseason All-Big 12 pick along with Corleone, rates as the No. 3 guard in the Power 4.
• TE Joe Royer continues to lead the Big 12 tight ends in receptions (32) and yards (387). The single-season school records for tight end receptions (45) and yards (722) are owned by Travis Kelce in the 2012 season.

TWO OF THE BIG 12’s BEST QBs FACE OFF

• Cincinnati QB Brendan Sorsby and Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders are two of the best field generals in the Big 12 and the country.
• Sanders (161.56) and Sorsby (152.08) rank 1-2 in the league in passer rating and 1-2 in completion percentage (72.7%-67.2%).
• Sanders leads the Big 12 in TD responsibility (21) with Sorsby tied with TCU’s Josh Hoover in second-place (19).
• Sorsby leads all Big 12 QBs in rushing touchdowns (6) and is tied for sixth in the conference overall.
• Sanders (91.0) is PFF’s highest-graded Big 12 QB, while Sorsby rates third (84.9).
• Sorsby’s 478 yards at Texas Tech is the most in the Big 12 this season. Sanders’ 462 vs. NDSU ranks second.
• Sanders’ 445 total yards vs. NDSU is the top passing performance in the league with Sorsby’s 426 at Texas Tech second-best.
• According to On3, Sorsby was a three-star prospect and the No. 203 player in Texas out of Lake Dallas HS in the 2022 class, while Sanders was a three-star prospect and the No. 71 player in Texas out of Trinity Christian HS in Cedar Hill, Texas in the 2021 Class.

MORE ON THE WIN OVER ARIZONA STATE

• RB Corey Kiner rushed for 102 yards on 22 carries and Sorsby tallied two rushing touchdowns as the Cincinnati defense held ASU star RB Cam Skattebo to just 75 rushing yards. The Sun Devils jumped out to a 7-0 lead as the Bearcats went 3-and-out and threw an interception on their first two possessions. However, Peek Jr. punched the ball out from Skattebo to spark 24 straight points for the Bearcats. UC finished with 191 rushing yards – a season-best in Big 12 play – as Pryor added a 55-yard TD run.

DEFENSE LIVES HERE

• Cincinnati’s defense has allowed the fewest points in the Big 12 in conference games (71) and leads the league in scoring defense in conference-only games (17.75). Since Texas Tech scored 44 vs UC, the Bearcats have allowed just 27 points the last two weeks.
• UC is allowing 19.3 ppg in all games – which ranks fourth in the Big 12 and 28th overall.
• The Bearcats were the first team to shut out an FBS opponent on Sept. 21 when they shut out Houston, 31-0.
• Peek Jr. leads the Big 12 and is tied for the national lead with four forced fumbles this season. He also is tied for the team lead with 37 tackles despite logging only two starts (ASU, UCF). The former walk-on is the son of UC great Antwan Peek Sr.
• Cincinnati ranks third in the Big 12 with 17 sacks. LB Jared Bartelett (4.5, third), DE Eric Phillips (4.0, fifth) and Corleone (3.0, eighth) all rank in the Big 12’s Top 10 in sacks.

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