Per GoBearcats:
When the Cincinnati football team welcomes Baylor to Historic Nippert Stadium at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday (Big 12 Now on ESPN+) both teams will be aiming to win their third game of the season.
The Bearcats (2-4, 0-3) are looking to stop a four-game slide and pick-up their first-ever Big 12 Conference victory, while the Bears (2-4, 1-2) are coming off a bye and hoping to bounce back from a 39-14 setback to Texas Tech on Oct. 7.
First-year head coach Scott Satterfield and the Bearcats are devoting all their energy to preparing for Baylor this week as they move on from a 30-10 defeat to Iowa State at home last weekend.
“Our mindset is 1-0 mentality,” Satterfield said. “You have to have a singular focus. We have to stay focused, today is a Tuesday practice and whatever we can do to get better today and try to be 1-0 this week. We can’t be looking back. We have to learn obviously from what we’ve done in the past and we can’t be looking ahead to a week from now or two weeks from now. It’s right here, right in this moment, right now what can we do to be the best we possibly can be. So, that’s kind of where our focus is, and all focus is on beating Baylor and that’s where we’re at.”
Baylor finished 12-2 and No. 5 in the country in 2021, winning the Sugar Bowl. The Bears famously defeated Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship Game, helping keep Cincinnati in the top four in the College Football Rankings and propel the Bearcats to the CFP Semifinals and the Cotton Bowl Classic.
This year, Baylor has relied heavily on newcomers and freshmen. The Bears had 19 players make their starting debut in the first three games of the year, while 20 freshmen saw action.
Baylor is led by junior quarterback Blake Shapen, the 2021 Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player, who passed for 2,790 yards and 18 TDs en route to honorable mention All-Big 12 honors in 2022.
Shapen was injured in the season-opener and missed three games before returning to lead Baylor to a 36-35 comeback victory at UCF on Sept. 30. The Bears trailed 35-7 midway through the third quarter in Orlando and scored 29 unanswered points to complete the biggest comeback in school history.
“Coach [Dave] Aranda does a great job,” Satterfield said. “He’s an outstanding football coach. They have lost some tough games… They are coming off a bye week so I’m sure they are going to be fresh and healthy and ready to go. I believe that this game is going to come down to who wants it more. It is going to come down to who is hungry in this week of preparation and who really wants this game. We must do a better job with our energy and our attention to detail as we come out to play this game this weekend.”
ON THE AIR
TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Shawn Kenney (PxP), Barrett Brooks (Analyst), Tori Petry (Sideline)
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