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No. 17/16 Cincinnati Takes Seven-Game Winning Streak Out West to No. 24 Utah

No. 17/16 Cincinnati will head west with a seven-game winning streak when it visits No. 24 Utah this Saturday, Nov. 1. The Bearcats and Utes will kick off at 10:15 p.m. ET on ESPN from Rice-Eccles Stadium, and the game will be televised on ESPN.

No. 17/16 Cincinnati Takes Seven-Game Winning Streak Out West to No. 24 UtahNo. 17/16 Cincinnati Takes Seven-Game Winning Streak Out West to No. 24 Utah
Abdoul Sow

CINCINNATI – No. 17/16 Cincinnati will head west with a seven-game winning streak when it visits No. 24 Utah this Saturday, Nov. 1.

The Bearcats and Utes will kick off at 10:15 p.m. ET on ESPN from Rice-Eccles Stadium, and the game will be televised on ESPN.

The ranked matchup will be one of the main college football attractions this weekend, as ESPN’s College GameDay will be in attendance. It’s the third time in program history that Cincinnati will be on College GameDay and the first time since 2021.

The 2021 appearance came during UC’s historic College Football Playoff season. Ranked No. 6 in the country and riding an eight-game winning streak, the Bearcats hosted Tulsa and came away with a thrilling 28-20 victory. They needed to make three consecutive stops on the one-yard line to keep Tulsa out of the end zone late in the fourth quarter. On a fourth-and-one near the end of the game, UC linebacker Darrian Beavers forced a fumble that was recovered by Jabari Taylor to seal the win.

Cincinnati’s first appearance on College GameDay came in 2018 when it visited No. 11 UCF, then in the midst of a 22-game winning streak. The Knights would win that game, 38-13.

During their seven-game winning streak, the Bearcats have risen into the Top 25 and positioned themselves atop the Big 12 standings. Their 5-0 ledger in league play puts them in a tie with BYU for first place in the conference.

Cincinnati will host BYU in a massive Big 12 showdown on Saturday, Nov. 22.

Led by quarterback Brendan Sorsby, the UC offense ranks among the national leaders in yards per play (7.36, T-4th), passing efficiency (175.38, 4th), yards per carry (5.89, 8th), and scoring (38.3 ppg, 13th).

This past weekend against Baylor, the Bearcats’ defense turned in an outstanding performance and shut down the nation’s top passing attack. The Bears threw for just 137 yards last Saturday, more than 200 yards fewer than their average entering the game. Head coach Scott Satterfield was pleased with his team’s resilience against a Baylor squad that can light it up through the air.

“The big thing for us was we felt they may hit a few plays here and there, but let's keep them out of the end zone,” Satterfield said. “Early in the game, I thought we did a great job with that, right there at the end of the first half, they go and get a touchdown, and then get another one right at the beginning of the third quarter, and they started grabbing some momentum. They cut it to within seven points. I thought our team did a great job at that point of starting to make plays. We get the ball back, we go, and the offense goes and scores. We get the fumble, we score again. We responded in a great way at the end of that game to grab that momentum back when it could have gone the other way.”

The Bearcats will need to step up on defense again vs. the Utes, who rank fifth nationally in rushing offense (267.1).

Utah is coming off a 53-7 dismantling of Colorado where it rushed for a season-high 422 yards. That’s the sixth-most rushing yards in a game by any team in the country this season, and just the eighth 400-yard game by a team this year.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

The game will be broadcast on ESPN and Dave Pasch (play-by-play) and Dusty Dvoracek (analyst) will have the call and Taylor McGregor will be reporting from the sidelines. The game will be broadcast on radio via 700 WLW and SiriusXM Channel 385 with Dan Hoard (pxp) and Tony Pike (analyst) on the call.

RED HOT CINCINNATI HEADS TO UTAH FOR RANKED BATTLE

  • 17/16-ranked Cincinnati travels to No. 24/24-ranked Utah for a 10:15 p.m. ET on Saturday in a matchup at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN and the network’s College GameDay three-hour program will be live from Salt Lake City, Utah.
  • The last time Cincinnati played a game at a College GameDay site came on Nov. 6, 2021 vs. Tulsa when the crew appeared in Queen City outside of Nippert Stadium for the first time ever. Cincinnati won 28-20.
  • The Bearcats are coming off a 41-20 victory over Baylor in which the defense held the nation’s No. 1-passing offense to 137 yards through the air - more than 200 yards off the Bears’ average (344 per game) entering the contest. Quarterback Brendan Sorsby had a 23-yard touchdown rush and tossed two touchdown passes, including Cyrus Allen’s Big-12-leading ninth scoring grab. Cincinnati rushed for a season-high 265 yards as senior running backs Evan Pryor and Tawee Walker both rushed for scores.
  • The Bearcats have won seven straight for the first time since the 2021 College Football Playoff season in which UC finished 13-0 in the regular season en route to the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Cotton Bowl Classic.
  • UC’s No. 17 (AP) and No. 16 (Coaches) rankings are also the highest since the 2021 season.
  • Saturday's game will be Cincinnati's 13th ranked vs. ranked matchup since the 2018 season, and its first since 2022. UC holds a 5-7 in those 12 games.
  • Cincinnati will face Utah for the first time in school history and travel to Salt Lake City for the first time since battling BYU for a 10:15 p.m. ET kick on Sept. 29, 2023. UC will stay in the same hotel it did for the BYU game in 2023.
  • Utah's two losses have come against a pair of Big 12 heavyweights in Texas Tech and BYU. The Utes are coming off a 53-7 drubbing of Colorado where they put up 587 yards of offense and a season-high 422 rushing yards.

CINCY BUILDING A RESUME

  • UC ranks fourth in the nation in yards per play (7.36) and has proven to have the most balanced offense in the country, ranking eighth nationally in yards per rush (6.05) and fourth in pass efficiency (175.38). Cincinnati leads the country in fourth down conversion percentage (.909) and fewest sacks allowed (2.0), and is tied for fourth in red zone offense (.971). The only time the Bearcats have failed to score once getting into the red zone was at the end of the Baylor game when they kneeled down to run out the clock after getting to the 17-yard line. UC’s scoring defense (19.0) ranks No. 6 in the Big 12 and No. 28 in the nation. Cincinnati has only turned the ball over four times - fewest in the Big 12.
  • Per ESPN, Cincinnati is the nation’s 15th-most efficient team, including the fourth-most efficient offense and the sixth-most efficient special teams in the country. The Bearcats have the nation’s 22nd-best Strength of Record per ESPN.
  • ESPN’s Football Power Index currently predicts the Bearcats to go 9-3 and gives them a 12.7% chance to win the Big 12 and a 13.7% chance of making the College Football Playoff.

SORSBY IS RANKED AMONG NATION’S BEST QUARTERBACKS

  • Brendan Sorsby, a Denton, Texas native, is the Big 12’s highest-rated QB by PFF (91.7) and Total QBR (84.8), ranking second (behind OSU’s Sayin) and No. 7 nationally in the metrics, respectively. He has 27 total TDs (20 passing, seven rushing) against just one turnover, in the season opener vs. Nebraska. His 27 total TDs are tied with Indiana's Fernando Mendoza for first in the country.
  • He is a two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, claiming the awards after the Northwestern State and Kansas games.
  • This season, he has a five-TD first quarter vs. Northwestern State, a game-winning come-from-behind TD drive on the road at Kansas, the nation’s highest single-game QBR (99.8, NW ST), two 300-yard passing games and six three-total-TD games.
  • Sorsby ranks among the Big 12 leaders in yards per completion (13.86, 2nd), yards per attempt (9.03, 2nd), passing efficiency (172.5, 2nd), total offense (283.5, 3rd), passing touchdowns (20, 3rd), and completion percentage (65.2%, 5th). His passing efficiency would be the highest single-season figure for a starting quarterback in school history.
  • Sorsby leads the country with 17 TD passes in the first half this season (two more than Indiana’s Mendoza). He has zero turnovers and 1,136 passing yards with a 187.03 passer rating before halftime this season.
  • Sorsby has carved up opposing defenses in Big 12 play this year, connecting on 88-of-140 passes for 1,188 yards and 12 touchdowns with zero interceptions. He has also rushed for three scores in conference play.
  • At home in 2025: Sorsby has completed 70-of-106 passes for 1,102 yards and 14 TDs with no turnovers. He has added 264 yards on 37 carries (7.1 ypc) with four TDs on the ground, as well.
  • Two of Sorsby's best performances have come on the road in the Big 12 this year. He threw for 388 yards and two TDs in a win at Kansas on Sept. 27, orchestrating a game-winning drive in the game's final minutes. In Stillwater against OSU, he threw for 284 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for another.

NITTY GRITTY NUMBERS

  • The current seven-game winning streak is the 12th streak of seven games or longer in program history. It's the longest winning streak for the Bearcats since they won their first 13 games of the 2021 season.
  • Cincinnati has tied the Big 12 record with seven straight games with two or more passing touchdowns while allowing one or fewer sacks. UC is the fifth team to reach that benchmark in league history and the first to do so since TCU (2023-24).
  • UC only has 32 negative plays on offense this season, fewest in the Big 12 and seventh fewest in the FBS. The Bearcats are averaging 3.60 points per drive this season, third most in the FBS.
  • Cincinnati is one of two FBS teams (excluding Independents) to have the fewest sacks allowed and fewest giveaways within its conference (Kennesaw State). The only Big 12 teams to finish a season like that are Kansas (2021) and Oklahoma (2008).
  • The only blemish on the Bearcats' schedule so far was a 20-17 loss vs. Nebraska in the first game of the season. That makes UC the only one-loss Power Four team whose only defeat came away from home by three points or fewer.
  • As good as the offense has been in the red zone, the defense has done just as fine of a job. UC ranks second in the Big 12 and No. 22 nationally in red zone defense (.769).
  • Cincinnati has four full-time team captains: QB Brendan Sorsby, DL Dontay Corleone, OL Gavin Gerhardt, and CB Logan Wilson.
  • UC's roster boasts 21 players who joined the program via the transfer portal this offseason, a list that includes starting wide receivers Cyrus Allen, Jeff Caldwell, and Caleb Goodie; running back Tawee Walker; offensive linemen Joe Cotton and Taran Tyo; cornerback Matthew McDoom; safety Christian Harrison; and kicker Stephen Rusnak.