By Packy Moore

CINCINNATI BEARCATS NOTES

https://gobearcats.com/documents/2024/9/16/Game_4_vs._Houston.pdf

CINCINNATI – Big 12 Conference play is on the docket for the Cincinnati football team this Saturday as it welcomes Houston to Historic Nippert Stadium at 12 p.m.

The Bearcats are coming off a 27-16 win in the Battle for the Victory Bell against Miami (Ohio). The victory avenged last season’s overtime loss to take the lead in the 128th Battle for the Victory Bell. Cincinnati now holds a 61-60-7 record in the country’s oldest non-conference rivalry. UC won its seventh-straight meeting at Yager Stadium.

Cincinnati hopes to bring the positive momentum from a rivalry win into Saturday’s battle with the Cougars, the first conference game of the season.

Houston enters the game with a record of 1-2, but its losses have come against undefeated UNLV and nationally-ranked Oklahoma.

“They have a lot of speed outside at wide receiver and their quarterback has played a lot of ball,” head coach Scott Satterfield said. “He’s a really big guy, we know he can run, and he’s got a big-time arm as well. Their return game really stands out too. I look at their punt returner, kick returner and they have a really good return game. It is a great challenge this week against Houston in our Big 12 opener and we ‘re excited about it. We need to feel the energy at Nippert and have everybody out there cheering us on. This is a big-time game for the Big 12.”

After going 2-1 across three non-conference contests, Cincinnati will turn its focus to Big 12 play this weekend. Getting off to a good start in conference play is important, as is defending its home turf.

“Our whole deal this year is just moving forward, talking about taking care of our home field,” Satterfield said. “It’s a big game for us. It’s the first Big 12 game. We’re playing a team that Cincinnati has played in the past. For us, the first Big 12 game is a huge game. And playing a team like Houston, who is playing really good football. They had an opportunity to beat Oklahoma two weeks ago. This is huge for us. And all our focus and attention is on Houston right now.”

During the game, UC will honor the 2024 James P. Kelly UC Athletics Hall of Fame class, an esteemed class that includes football legends Mardy Gilyard and Mike Woods.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
The game will be televised at 12 p.m. ET on FS1 with Dan Hellie (pxp) and Petros Papadakis (analyst) on the call. Dan Hoard (pxp) and Jim Kelly (analyst) will call the game for 700 WLW on the radio with Tony Pike on the sideline and Mo Egger on the pregame show.

WATCH PRESS CONFERENCE HERE
Head Coach Scott Satterfield, quarterback Brendan Sorsby, and linebacker Jared Bartlett met with the media on Tuesday.

Watch Here.

RECENT MATCHUPS WITH THE COUGARS
Houston owns a slim 15-14 advantage in the all-time series, but Cincinnati leads 8-6 all-time at Nippert Stadium.

The last time these two teams met, Corey Kiner rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 23 carries in the 2023 victory over the Cougars. UC held Houston QB Donovan Smith to just 102 yards passing and secured three interceptions, including one by current redshirt sophomore DB Ken Willis, while redshirt sophomore CB Kalen Carroll recorded two pass breakups.

The last time the Cougars traveled to Nippert Stadium, UC and Houston competed for the 2021 AAC Championship – a game in which the Bearcats won 35-20. QB Desmond Ridder passed for three touchdowns and RB Jerome Ford rushed for 187 yards and two scores in the landmark program victory that propelled Cincinnati into the 2021 College Football Playoff Semifinals and secured a second consecutive conference championship.

Punter Mason Fletcher, offensive lineman John Williams and defensive end Eric Phillips are the only remaining Bearcats who played in the 2021 game.

VICTORY BELL STARS
While Kiner led the way in the Miami victory, several other plays were stars, as well.

Kicker Nathan Hawks, an Enon, Ohio native and a walk-on from Wittenberg University, had never attempted a field goal in an FBS game entering Saturday. His first attempt came from 55 yards, which he made, tied for the second-longest in UC history. His second, from 50 yards, came with 59 seconds left, sealed the victory, and made him the first Bearcat with two 50-yarders in a single game in the 137-year program history.

The performance put Hawks in incredibly rarified air. He is just the fourth FBS kicker since 1996 to have his first two career field goal attempts come from 50-plus yards and make both, joining South Carolina’s Mitch Jeter (2022), North Carolina’s Dan Orner (2002), and Texas A&M’s Terence Kitchens (1999). Additionally, Hawks and Michigan’s Quinn Nordin (2017) are the only two FBS kickers since 1996 to make multiple 50-plus yard field goals in their first career FBS contest.

Led by sixth-year defensive end Eric Phillips (two sacks) and sixth-year safety Derrick Canteen (INT), the UC defense held Miami to just 24 rushing yards – the fewest by an opponent since allowing just five yards to Memphis on Oct. 31, 2020.

Fifth-year wide receiver Xzavier Henderson finished with 10 catches for 108 yards. He ranks tied for second in the Big 12 and tied for sixth nationally with 23 receptions this season. He has five 100-yard games at UC and six overall.

BEARCAT FACTS

• 34 new players (freshmen or transfers) saw their first action as Bearcats in Week 1. Led by S Jiquan Sanks, seven true freshmen have played a total of 226 snaps through three weeks, which is already more than the 2022 and 2023 seasons combined (164).
• TE Joe Royer (Ohio State transfer) leads all Big 12 tight ends in receptions (11), receiving yards (165) and touchdowns (2).
• P Mason Fletcher leads the Big 12 in punting average (47.5), 50+ punts (6) and I20 punts (6).
• DT Dontay Corleone, a 2022 All-American, returned to the starting lineup in Week 2. More on The Godfather on page 6.
• Corleone (2022), Fletcher (2022) and RG Luke Kandra (2023) are all AP Third Team All-Americans.
• Corleone and Kandra were 2024 preseason All-Big 12 selections.
• RB Corey Kiner has two straight 100-yard games and nine career 100-yard games. UC is 3-1 when he has 20+ carries. He is PFF’s second-highest graded Big 12 RB behind UCF’s RJ Harvey in 2024.

SORSBY LEADS NEW ADDITIONS

• QB Brendan Sorsby has completed 65 of 103 passes for 867 yards and six touchdowns with no INTs through three weeks.
• He hasn’t thrown an interception in 115 passes dating back to the 2023 season with Indiana.
• On third down, he has been especially lethal, completing 17 of 25 attempts (68%) for 236 yards and two TDs.
• Sorsby’s 658 passing yards in the first half are the most in the Big 12 and fourth-most nationally. He has five 1H TD passes.
• The Indiana transfer started seven games and passed for 15 TDs for the Hoosiers in 2023.
• He collected Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors for Week 1 after passing 383 yards and four total TDs – the most by a Bearcat in a debut since 2014. He led UC to 683 total yards – the most in the Big 12 and fifth-most in the nation in Week 1.

AN ELITE PROGRAM BY THE NUMBERS

• Cincinnati, which started playing football in 1885, is in its 137th season and owns an all-time record of 664-609-50.
• 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the dedication of James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium. (See page 11 for more)
• Cincinnati is 58-21 (.734) since the start of the 2018 season, which ranks among the Top 15 best FBS records during the stretch.
• Cincinnati (2021) was the first G5 team and one of just 15 teams to make the College Football Playoff in the four-team era (2014-23) and one of just two current Big 12 teams (TCU, 2022) to make it. UC was the only non-Power Five program to ever earn a CFP berth in the four-team format.
• Since the start of the 2015 season, the Bearcats are 45-16 (.738) at Nippert Stadium and did not lose a home game from 2018-21. Overall, UC is 110-34 (.764) when playing at Nippert since the start of the 2000 season.

COURTESY UC SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS