Football On The Road To Face No. 18/15 USF Saturday

CINCINNATI NOTES | USF NOTES | AMERICAN NOTES

CINCINNATI BEARCATS (2-4, 0-2 American)
Head Coach: Luke Fickell
Record at Cincinnati: 2-4 (First Year)
Overall Record: 8-11 (Second Year)

No. 18/15 USF BULLS (5-0, 2-0 American)
Head Coach: Charlie Strong
Record at USF: 5-0 (First Year)
Overall Record: 58-37 (Ninth Year)

GAME INFORMATION
Live Stats: Click Here
Facility: Raymond James Stadium
Capacity/Surface: 65,857/Tifway Bermuda 419
TV: ESPNU/WatchESPN (Click Here To Watch)
Radio: 700 WLW AM
Online: TuneIn.com
Series Record: Cincinnati leads 8-6
At Cincinnati: USF leads 4-3
Last Meeting: Nov. 12, 2016 - USF won 45-20

Football On The Road To Face No. 18/15 USF Saturday
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati football team looks to snap a three-game skid and a six-game losing streak in American Athletic Conference play Saturday at No. 18/15 USF. Kickoff at Raymond James Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. with the game airing on ESPNU and 700 WLW AM. The Bulls are the second-straight ranked league opponent for the Bearcats (2-4, 0-2 American) in a game that was originally scheduled for Oct. 28, but moved due to Hurricane Irma. The Bulls are 5-0 (2-0 American) and coming off a bye week.

THE SERIES
Saturday marks the 15th meeting in a series which dates to 2003. Cincinnati leads the all-time series 8-6 with USF holding a 4-3 edge in Tampa.  The Bulls have won two consecutive games in the series and UC has won three of the last  five at Raymond James Stadium. 

THE COACHES
Luke Fickell was named the 42nd Football Head Coach at the University of Cincinnati in December 2017. He took the reins of UC's program after spending 15 years at his alma mater, Ohio State. An 18-year coaching veteran at the FBS level, Fickell was a part of nine Big Ten Conference titles (seven as a coach, two as a player) and two national championship squads with 15 postseason games and 12 NFL Draft selections under his belt.

CHARLIE STRONG is 5-0 in his first year at USF and 58-37 in nine years as a college head coach. He was most recently the head coach at Texas, was 2-2 against UC while HC at Louisville and was the DC on the University of Florida staff which defeated UC in the 2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl.

STREAKS, STORYLINES, SIDEBARS ...

• The University of Cincinnati football team plays its 130th season in 2017. The program dates to 1885 and is one of the 10 oldest in major college football. UC has won a league title in five of the last 10 seasons and played in a bowl game nine time in the past 11 years. 
• UC is one of 30 NCAA FBS teams with 100 wins since 2005. The Bearcats' .667 winning percentage since 2007 ranks among the Top-20 teams in the NCAA FBS, winning at least nine games seven times in the last 11 years.
• The Bearcats returned to Nippert Stadium in 2015 after a 20 month, $86-million renovation and drew 222,578 fans in the first year back at Nippert Stadium, a single-season record average of 37, 096. The Oct. 24, 2015 attendance of 40,124 was the largest in Nippert Stadium history. The previous stadium record was 40,101 set on Oct. 1 against Miami (Fla.).
• UC won back-to-back American Athletic Conference FB Team Academic Excellence Awards in 2015 & 2016.
• UC had 28 players take the field for the first time during the opening three games of the 2017 season.
• Almost sixty-nine percent of UC's roster (77 of 112) is made of up freshmen, RS freshmen and sophomores.
• Due to Hurricane Irma, UC will now face USF on Oct. 14 at Raymond James Stadium and have their bye week on Oct. 28.
• UC recently wrapped up its first three-game road trip in 17 years. The Bearcats played at Michigan, at Miami (OH) and at Navy.
• UC's next two opponents, USF and SMU and its first two league foes, Navy and UCF, rank as four of the Top-5 teams in the American Athletic Conference in total offense and all rank in the Top-13 of the NCAA FBS. Navy and USF rank No. 1 & No. 5, respectively, in the NCAA in rushing offense.
• UC's offense has struggled early in games this season, being outscored 62-24 in the first quarter
• The Bearcats have found success against the American's best defensive units, setting season highs in nearly every offensive category at Navy, including 439 yards of total offense on what was then the No. 2 defense in the American. UCF entered last Saturday's game ranked No. 1 in the AAC in scoring defense and No. 2 in total defense and gave up a season-high 23 points and 396 yards of total offense to UC.
• LB Jaylyin Minor has averaged 9.8 tackles per game, hitting for double-digits in four of six contests, leading The American.
• DE Kevin Mouhon (4.5 TFLs) and DT Marquise Copeland (4.5 TFLs) lead a disruptive defensive front which has averaged almost 6.0 TFLs per game.
• RB Mike Boone (46.0 ypg, 2 TDs), the Bearcats' leading rusher, returned against Marshall after missing two games with an ankle injury. RB Gerrid Doaks has averaged 44.6 yards per game with three TDs (2 rushing, 1 receiving) in the last four games.
• QB Hayden Moore has taken all the snaps for UC this season, completing 53.3 percent of his passes, going 129-of-242 for 1,375 yards and 10 TDs.
• WR Kahlil Lewis (31 rec, 4 TDs) and Devin Gray (16 rec., 1 TD) lead the receiving corps. Gray has 11 catches for 155 yards in the last three games.