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Cincinnati Visits Kansas for Big 12 Opener on Saturday

Having won its last two games and coming off a bye week, Cincinnati will head to Lawrence, Kan. for its first Big 12 game of the year at Kansas. The Bearcats and Jayhawks will kick off at noon ET at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Game Notes (PDF)
Cincinnati Visits Kansas for Big 12 Opener on SaturdayCincinnati Visits Kansas for Big 12 Opener on Saturday
Avah Crane

CINCINNATI – Having won its last two games and coming off a bye week, Cincinnati will head to Lawrence, Kan. for its first Big 12 game of the year at Kansas this Saturday. The Bearcats and Jayhawks will kick off at noon ET at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

The game will be broadcast on TNT with simulcasts on truTV and HBO Max.

Saturday’s game will be the fourth all-time between Cincinnati and Kansas and the second as Big 12 foes.

The Bearcats are coming off back-to-back home wins, the latest being a 70-0 drubbing of Northwestern State on Sept. 13. The win was the largest in the modern era for the Bearcats and featured one of the best quarterback performances in recent memory by Brendan Sorsby. The UC signal caller completed 15-of-15 passes for 253 yards and five touchdowns, all of which came in the first quarter. Sorsby became the first QB in school history and eighth FBS quarterback since 1995 to throw five touchdowns in a quarter.

Sorsby has benefitted from outstanding offensive line play through three games. His linemen have kept him off the ground through the first three games of the season, as Cincinnati is the only team in the country to not allow a sack so far.

Redshirt senior Gavin Gerhardt, who has started more games at UC than any other current Bearcat, has been impressed with his fellow offensive linemen thus far. In fact, he thinks this line has a chance to be his best since he arrived on campus.

"I think as the season progresses, it could be the best,” Gerhardt said prior to the Northwestern State game. “I truly believe that. I think we have a great group of guys in that room, top to bottom, freshmen included. Guys that are really talented, that love the game, love playing for one another. I think it could be the best one. Obviously, I won't put that mark by us right now. We have to go out and prove it every day and every week, but that's our goal for sure."

Defensively, UC is again forcing opponents to put the ball on the ground after excelling at it a year ago. Cincinnati’s four forced fumbles are tied for second in the Big 12. Redshirt junior Antwan Peek Jr. forced a fumble vs. Northwestern State, the fifth of his career. That ranks sixth in school history, though he still has a ways to go before catching the record holder, his father Antwan Sr., who forced 17 fumbles in his illustrious career.

The Bearcats’ run defense has held each of the last two opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing and ranks third in the Big 12 in rushing yards allowed per game (92.0).

Kansas is 3-1 and won its first Big 12 game of the year this past Saturday, a 41-10 victory vs. West Virginia. Quarterback Jalon Daniels threw for three touchdown passes and Emmanuel Henderson Jr. returned a 94-yard kickoff for a touchdown en route to Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

BROADCAST INFO

The game will be broadcast on TNT and will be simulcast on truTV and HBO Max. J.B. Long (play-by-play) and Mike Golic Jr. (analyst), and Lauren Jbara (sideline) will have the call. The game will be broadcast on radio via 700 WLW and SiriusXM Channel 381 with Dan Hoard (pxp), Jim Kelly (analyst) and Tony Pike (sideline) on the call.

BEARCATS OPEN BIG 12 PLAY FOLLOWING HISTORIC WIN AND BYE WEEK

  • Following its first bye week of the season, the Cincinnati football team will travel to Lawrence, Kan., to open Big 12 play on the road against Kansas at David Booth Stadium. The Jayhawks are 3-1 and coming off a 41-10 victory over West Virginia.
  • The Bearcats picked up a resounding 70-0 victory over Southland Conference, FCS-opponent, Northwestern State in their last game on Sept. 13. The Bearcats set a school record with seven touchdown passes and tied a school record with 10 total touchdowns. QB Brendan Sorsby threw five touchdowns in the first quarter and UC recorded its second shutout in 15 games.
  • Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels, the 2023 Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, ranks third in the country with 12 TD passes.
  • Led by Sorsby (12 total TDs), All-Big 12 TE Joe Royer and an outstanding group of transfer WRs, the Bearcats rank third in the nation in yards per play (8.38). Sixth-year senior team captain Gavin Gerhardt leads an offensive line that is the only o-line in the country to not allow a sack yet. The Bearcats' line earned Big 12 Offensive Line of the Week for Week 2.
  • Two-time All-American NT Dontay Corleone was injured in the BGSU game. His status is week-to-week.
  • The Bearcats finished 1-1 following the bye week last season, winning at UCF and falling at home to West Virginia.
  • Saturday’s matchup marks the second game UC will play in the Kansas City area, having opened the season against Nebraska at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Cincinnati will stay in the same hotel as it did for the season opener.

 

A GLANCE AT THE RECORD BOOK

  • Cincinnati will play on Sept. 27 for the first time in 11 years - since Sept. 27, 2014 - when 10-year NFL veteran Chris Moore had one of the greatest games in UC history, tallying three catches for 221 yards and three touchdowns in a loss at Ohio State. His 221 receiving yards are still the third-most in school history. He had touchdowns of 83 yards, 78 yards and 60 yards.
  • DUAL THREAT SORSBY NAMED BIG 12 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
  • QB Brendan Sorsby was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for Week 3 following his incredible six-touchdown performance in the 70-0 win over Northwestern State on Sept. 13.
  • He completed 15 of 15 passes for 253 yards and five touchdowns through the air to go along with a rushing score.
  • He became just the fifth FBS quarterback in the last 30 years to finish a game with a perfect completion percentage on at least 15 pass attempts. His 99.8 QBR is the second-highest in Big 12 history and the highest by a quarterback in the country this year.
  • All five of Sorsby’s passing touchdowns came in the first quarter, making him the fifth FBS quarterback since 1995 to throw five touchdowns in a quarter. His five TDs set a school record for most passing touchdowns in a quarter and in a half.
  • Cincinnati threw for a school-record seven touchdowns vs. the Demons with Brady Lichtenberg and Samaj Jones also tossing TDs.
  • The last two games: Sorsby has completed 82.1% (32-39) passes for 586 yards and eight touchdowns with no interceptions and two rushing touchdowns. He has more touchdown passes than incompletions over the last two games.
  • Through three games this season, Sorsby is 45-for-64 (70.3%) passing with 655 yards and eight touchdowns, and he also leads the Bearcats in rushing yards (175) and touchdowns (four). He ranks sixth in the country in total QBR (89.0).
  • Sorsby’s best game as a Bearcat came in his first road Big 12 game last season when he passed for 426 yards and four touchdowns to go along with 52 rushing yards in a 44-41 shootout loss at Texas Tech. His 478 total yards were the most in a single game in the Big 12 in 2024. His nine rushing TDs in 2024 led all Big 12 QBs, as well.

 

HISTORY VERSUS KANSAS

  • Cincinnati is 1-2 against Kansas all-time, picking up a win in 1997 and losses in 1995 and 2023.
  • In the last meeting - the regular season finale at Nippert Stadium in 2023 - the Jayhawks used 562 yards of total offense to defeat the Bearcats, 49-16. The highlight for UC was Corey Kiner rushing for 106 yards to eclipse 1,000 yards. RB Ryan Montgomery caught a TD and threw a TD. LB Jonathan Thompson led UC with nine tackles and DT Dontay Corleone had a forced fumble.
  • UC defeated Kansas, 34-7, on Sept. 20, 1997, at Nippert Stadium. Cincinnati held Kansas to just 53 yards of total offense, including a school record low -46 yards rushing. The win was part of a historic 1997 season under Rick Minter as the Bearcats finished 8-4 and went to its first bowl since 1951.

 

NEWS AND NOTES

  • Senior LB Jake Golday was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week following his 12-tackle, one-sack performance versus Nebraska. He was one of three Bearcats on Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freaks” List, joining WR Jeff Caldwell and Corleone. Fellow senior LB Jack Dingle was on the list in 2024. Golday started his career as a DE at Central Arkansas. His 9.3 tackles per game average ranks second in the Big 12.
  • Led by Golday, Cincinnati’s defense ranks No. 18 in the country in yards per play allowed (4.14).
  • K Stephen Rusnak has made 14 straight FGs and is 3 for 3 in 2025 after making all 11 of his tries at Charlotte in 2024. He is the only kicker in the country to be perfect in 2024 and 2025.
  • Sorsby, Corleone, Gerhardt and seventh-year CB Logan Wilson are Cincinnati’s captains this season. Corleone and Gerhardt are the just the third and fourth players to be named three-time team captains in school history.
  • UC brought in 39 new scholarship players in 2025, including 21 transfers - led by Tennessee DB Christian Harrison, All-MAC G Taran Tyo, All-Sun Belt CB Matthew McDoom and FCS All-Americans WR Jeff Caldwell and LT Joe Cotton.