The Bearcats will look to keep Ben Bryant and their high-powered offense rolling after dominant performances versus Miami and Indiana, as Bryant started 17-of-21 in the first half with as many touchdowns as incompletions behind a huge first half from Tyler Scott where he recorded 158 yards and three touchdowns in the teams 45-24 victory over Indiana last weekend. The Bearcats come in averaging 42.5 points per game leading the American Athletic Conference through the first four weeks of the season. The Bearcats will look to keep the air raid going as we have seen Bryant start to settle in and sling the rock as of late, and you can see the relationships he has built with his offense as he continues to improve as the season moves on as they head into conference play. Look for the Golden Hurricane to really find a way to contain Tyler Scott who is coming off a historical performance where he reeled in 10 catches for 185 yards and three touchdowns last weekend versus Indiana. The Golden Hurricane secondary is led by graduate cornerback Tyon Davis who has played in 37 games and has recorded a 122 career tackles during his career, and currently has 22 tackles on the season along with 17 pass break ups, two forced fumbles and an interception. The Golden Hurricane secondary also will be highlighted by graduate safety Bryson Powers who is coming off a dominant performance versus Ole Miss where he led the team with 11 tackles. Powers leads the Golden Hurricane with 38 tackles on the season and continues to be a huge part of Phillip Montgomery’s defense.
The Bearcats know the task at hand as the Golden Hurricane have played the Bearcats very well the last couple seasons and have dominated the run game the last few seasons, however, look for the Golden Hurricane to sling the rock a little bit especially as the Bearcats saw cornerback Arquon Bush go down with an undisclosed injury early in the teams 45-24 victory over Indiana, but coach Fickell didn’t rule him out for this weekend and said he would be evaluated throughout the week and did say it was not a long term or season ending injury. If Bush isn’t able to go Saturday look for Justin Harris to fill in like we saw or Saturday with guys like J.Q. Hardaway in the mix, and versus a very high-powered offense and a quarterback who has shown he likes to sling the rock like Davis Brin has, this is something to keep an eye on most defiantly for the Bearcats as they look to contain such an elusive receiver in Keylon Stokes.
My Predication- I think the Bearcats contain Davis Brin as the Bearcats defensive line is going to make it very hard for Brin to get anything going through the air, so I expect Tulsa to try to get the run game going early so they can open up passing game, but the Bearcats defense is looking to show why they are one of the top in the country as Ivan Pace continues to lead this Bearcats defense. Look for Ja’von Hicks to have a big game as well at that safety position along with Bryon Threats as Tulsa will look to strike in the passing game and try to make some of those big splash plays and take their shots when they have them, but I expect this one to be a close battle just due to the team’s history over the last couple seasons. I expect the Bearcats to come out victorious over the Golden Hurricane this Saturday as the Bearcats offense will just be too powerful for Tulsa’s defense.
The Bearcats will kick off conference play this Saturday at 7 pm live from H.A. Chapman Field in Tulsa, Oklahoma in what will be their final season within the American Athletic Conference as they make the transition to the Big 12 in 2023.
