This weekend the No. 3/4 Cincinnati Bearcats will host the No. 16/21 Houston Cougars at Nippert Stadium in the AAC Championship Game. The defending AAC Champion Bearcats will be playing at home in front of a sold-out crowd this Saturday, the game will air at 4 pm eastern standard time on ABC.
The Cougars hold a 15-12 lead all-time in the series against the Bearcats. The past few seasons the Bearcats have been victorious and look to continue so this weekend. The Cougars offense averages 38.8 points per game with 421.7 yards per game. While the Cougar’s defense allows their opponent 19.8 points per game with 290.3 yards per game. In the regular season, the Cougars tallied 11 giveaways with 22 takeaways. The Cougars only loss came in their season opener against Texas Tech. Since the loss, they have been on an 11 game winning streak. The Cougars are coached by Dana Holgorsen. Holgorsen has been the Cougars head coach since 2019.
Houston is led by quarterback Clayton Tune. Tune has 3,013 passing yards on the season with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Tune has been sacked 27 times in the regular season. Houston’s leading running back is Alton McCaskill, he has 844 rushing yards on the season with 16 touchdowns. Houston has solid wide receivers as well, including Nathaniel Dell and Jeremy Singleton. Between Dell and Singleton, they have 16 touchdowns and over 1,400 yards. Houston’s kicking team is automatic, they are 58-58 on extra points this season.
Next, we will look at Houston’s defense. Houston’s defense has totaled 41 sacks in the regular season for a loss of 254 yards. Houston’s defense gets after the quarterback. Houston’s defensive line and linebackers get a lot of pressure up the middle. Defensive lineman Derek Parish and Logan Hall lead the team with five sacks each. In Houston secondary, they have forced 14 interceptions against their opponents. Houston is currently ranked No. 16 in passing yards allowed as well as No. 20 in red zone defense, this is compared to Cincinnati’s No. 3 ranking in both categories.
The upcoming AAC Championship Game will prove to be an anticipated matchup. We look forward to be an exciting game. Tune in this weekend to watch live.
