This weekend the Cincinnati Bearcats who are still currently undefeated will play their final regular-season game against the East Carolina Pirates whose record is 7-4. The Bearcats are currently ranked No. 4 in the College Football Playoff. The Bearcats will travel to Greenville, North Carolina to play at Dowdy Ficklen Stadium this Saturday at 3:30 pm eastern standard. The game will air on ABC.
East Carolina is currently ranked No. 3 in the American Athletic Conference. The Pirates have been on a 4 game winning streak, with wins against Navy, Memphis, Temple and South Florida. The Pirates head coach is Mike Houston who has been under helm since 2019. Houston had a few compliments in his weekly press conference about the Bearcats offense, saying “Well, it’s obviously a very potent offense. They’re averaging 40 points a game. I think it all starts with the quarterback, Ridder, he came back to try to have a chance at a special season like they’re having and he’s the key to it all. He’s dynamic with his legs, he throws the ball very, very well. He throws the ball well in the pocket, he throws the ball well on the run.” The Pirates have some offensive firepower of their own with junior quarterback Holton Ahlers. Ahlers has thrown for 2,898 passing yards this season with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Ahler’s leading receiver is sophomore Tyler Sneed, who has 764 yards this season to go along with four touchdowns. Most of Sneed’s yards have come from in conference games. The Pirates leading rusher is freshman Keaton Mitchell who has 1,077 rushing yards on the season. Mitchell is a beast in the run game and can also catch some passes in the backfield. He is a very dynamic player in the offense.
Next, we will take a look at the Pirates defense, the pirates are ranked No. 50 in opponents/points per game which is okay. The Pirate’s defense is led by linebacker Bruce Bivens who leads the team with 53 tackles. The Pirates have 22 sacks on the year thus far, as well as 13 interceptions. On the defensive line, Elijah Morris can cause some havoc on the inside. Morris has 2.5 sacks on the season with 24 tackles. In the secondary, the Pirates have some solid cornerbacks. cornerback Malik Fleming has 24 tackles this season with two interceptions. Fleming is an aggressive cornerback with a nice frame who can defend bigger receivers. Alongside Fleming is the Pirate’s leading cornerback Ja’Quan McMillan. McMillan has 52 tackles on the season with one forced fumble and five interceptions. McMillan is someone to look out for because he has a good knack for where the ball is. Overall the Pirates should come out with a great effort. We will see if they can weather the offensive and defensive storm Cincinnati brings.
The Bearcats odds to win this game according to ESPN is at 85.2%. The No. 4 Bearcats will face some adversity since it’s a road game. But we look forward to the matchup this weekend.
