“I think they know they got talent. They got speed at the wide receiver position; they know they will have to get the ball into those guy’s hands. I do believe they got the pieces and talent, anytime a team’s back is against the wall, you know you are going to get their best,” said Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell.
The Bearcats dominated the run game versus Tulsa as they finished with a team high 11 sacks, but the held Tulsa to just 36 yards on the ground compared to the 297 yards they gave up in 2021. The Bearcats defense will be a huge problem for the Bulls running back room as Brian Battie leads the team with 51 carries for 391 yards, averaging 7.7 yards per carry. The Bearcats defense is led by Ivan Pace who leads the country with 13.5 tackles for loss, which is four more than the next closest player in all of college football. The Bearcats defense will look to stand tall as they currently lead the nation in tackles for loss (50), sacks (23) and defensive touchdowns (4).
The Bearcats high powered offense will look to keep the momentum going as Ben Bryant has been settling in the last couple games as he is 107-of-164 on the season, completing nearly 65% of his passes on the season as he has tallied for 1,383 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season as has been making tremendous strides here the last few games. Bearcats’ wide receiver Tyler Scott was just named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List as he continues to shred opposing teams’ defenses as the junior receiver has 28 receptions for 500 yards and six touchdowns on the season and has seemed to be the Bearcats number one target on offense, as Scott averages nearly 18 yards per catch. However, a little side note tight end Josh Whyle has found the end zone in every match the Bearcats have played versus the Bulls throughout his career and will look to do so again come Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd.
The Bearcats will look to have a tremendous crowd this Saturday as they kick off Homecoming weekend, for Bearcats defensive lineman Jabari Taylor this will be his 6th and final homecoming of his Bearcats career.
“It is always a great experience. Everybody gets to come home, all the past players back on the sideline and in the locker room. It brings another level of excitement because it brings another level of support as well. It feels more of a family type thing because it’s about everybody who has come through Cincinnati. it’s pretty exciting,” said Taylor.
Fans attending the game this weekend should arrive early due to the homecoming festivities as the Bearcat faithful will be out and about as they welcome a lot of present and past alumni to Nippert Stadium when the Bearcats kick off vs USF this Saturday at 2:30 pm.
