Nippert Stadium - Cincinnati, OH
ESPNU
The Ohio Bobcats may want to double check the bus before leaving for Cincinnati this week. Ohio is facing Cincinnati this week, and the Bearcats are coming off a 63-7 pummeling of Alabama A&M. It was 28-0 after one quarter and 42-0 at the half.
The Bearcats, coached by Luke Fickle, appear to be turning the corner in the former Ohio State assistant’s second year at the helm. They are young, but fast and more than big enough.
“I think they’ve held (their) three opponents to eight points a game, which is a little scary,” Ohio head coach Frank Solich said. “They are very physical, very strong and they play with a lot of energy. It will be a really good football team we face.”
Ohio, meanwhile, is coming off a loss against Virginia. In its only other outing, OU sputtered early before rallying past Howard in Athens.
The two schools have met 50 times, with the series deadlocked at 23-2-4. They played 13 times between 1968 and 1981 with UC taking eight victories in that span. The Bobcats last trip to Cincinnati yielded a 27-7 Ohio win on Nov. 3, 1979. However, UC took the last meeting, a 19-9 victory in Athens.
➤➤ Cincinnati is a member of the American Athletic Conference.
➤➤ The Bearcats went 4-8 in Fickle’s first year as head coach. He spent toe previous five years in various coaching capacities at Ohio State, where he had previously been a player. He also one year as an assistant at Akron.
➤➤ UC kick-started its 2018 campaign with a 26-17 win at the Rose Bowl. The Bearcats broke a 17-all tie with a fourth quarter safety and added a clinching touchdown with 1:44 remaining.
➤➤ Cincinnati shut out the Miami RedHawks in Week Two. The two teams battled in steady rain and some gusty win at Paul Brown Stadium.
➤➤ Quarterback play was a concern last year, but freshman Desmond Ridder (6-4, 212) won the starting job and is providing another athletic option to the Bearcats offense.
➤➤ Ridder has completed 28 of 45 passes (62.2%), good for 344 yards with four TDs and no interceptions through three games. He has been sacked three times.
➤➤ Ridder’s 34 rushes for 175 yards (5.1 ypc) is second among Bearcat rushers.
➤➤ Sophomore Michael Warren II has a team-high 311 yards on 70 carries. He also owns 6 of 11 UC rushing scores. The six scores rank second nationally.
➤➤ Cincinnati is scoring 36.7 ppg and allowing 8.0 ppg. (1st AAC, second nationally).
➤➤ WRs Kahlil Lewis (8 catches, 117 yards, 1TD) and Jayshon Jackson (8 catches 108 yards) lead the receiving corps. Junior tight end Josiah Deguara has two TDs among his seven receptions.
➤➤ Kicker Cole Smith has yet to miss a kick this year. He has hit all 15 PATs, as well as the one field goal he has attempted (24 yards).
➤➤ UC’s defense ranks third nationally in total defense (228.7 ypg).
Sophomore safety James Wiggins leads the Bearcats with 14 tackles, while senior defensive lineman Cortez Broughton has 6.5 tfl, including a team-high 2.5 sacks.
➤➤ The Bobcats last outing -- against Virginia -- was moved to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville due to hurricane-related issues along the east coast.
➤➤ Ohio trailed Virginia 35-7 in the second quarter but battled back to make it a 10-point game in the third period.
➤➤ “I think we played more like we’re capable of playing in the second half. When you don’t have technique breakdowns and you’ve got goo personnel, it’s going to show,” Solich said. “It was no magic thing done at halftime in terms of a talk or in terms of major adjustments. They just started to play better.”
➤➤ Virginia rolled up 552 yards of total offense.
➤➤ Ohio ranks eighth nationally in fewest penalties and seventh in fewest penalty yards).
➤➤ Junior QB Nathan Rourke had a tough opening game against Howard, but the All-MAC player bounced back against Virginia. He finished with 16 completions in 21 attempts, producing 246 yards with two touchdown passes. He also chipped in a team-high 72 yards rushing.
➤➤ Maleek Irons (20 carries, 95 yards, 2 TDs and A.J. Ouellette (31 carries, 93 yards) lead the Bobcat rushing attack.
➤➤ Senior Papi White has hauled in 14 catches for 285 yards with two scores.
➤➤ Sophomore CB Jamal Hudson registered 10 tackles (6 solo) against the Cavaliers.
➤➤ Ohio’s defense is allowing 38.5 ppg. That is 11th of 12 MAC teams. Only Bowling Green is surrendering more (46.0 ppg). Thus far, opponents have been using the airways. Ohio 431.5 ypg is nearly 200 yards more than Kent State at 11th.
“We’ve had some discussions, obviously, … as a staff from the defensive end of it. First thing we’re going to do is get to be a better technique,” Solich said. “Then, (it’s) making sure that we’re not … having a guy bust here or there that causes a big and explosive gain when nine or 10 guys are playing really well.”