Cincinnati Faces First Road Test at Arizona Saturday Night

Bearcats and Wildcats will kick off at 11:00 p.m. ET in Tucson

Cincinnati Faces First Road Test at Arizona Saturday NightCincinnati Faces First Road Test at Arizona Saturday Night

CINCINNATI – For the first time this season, the Cincinnati football team will leave the city limits when it heads to Arizona for a Saturday night battle in Tucson.

The Bearcats and Wildcats will face off in Casino Del Sol Stadium this Saturday, kicking off at 11:00 p.m. ET on FOX.

UC opened the year playing three of the first four games at home, and the fourth game was played at TQL Stadium downtown.

It will be just the second all-time meeting between the two conference foes, who faced off last year at Nippert Stadium. Arizona got the best of Cincinnati in that game, winning by a score of 30-24.

Cincinnati will bring a 4-0 record into Saturday’s game, its best start since 2021 and the best start of head coach Scott Satterfield’s career.

The latest win, a 31-26 victory against Kansas State, saw the Bearcats erase another double-digit deficit to come out on top. That is now back-to-back games in which UC has come back from being down 10 or more points to win, the first time it has accomplished that since the 2011 season.

Running back Cole Tabb found the end zone three times in the second half against K-State, rushing for a career-high 124 yards. Backfield-mate Gi’Bran Payne also had a career-best game running the ball, tallying 126 yards on the ground. The performances by the dynamic running backs perfectly embodied two of Cincinnati’s biggest strengths through the first month of the season: running the football and strong second halves.

The Bearcats are the nation’s seventh-ranked rushing attack, averaging 270.0 yards per game, and had 271 yards on the ground against Kansas State, the third game this season with at least 250 rushing yards. Fueled by Tabb’s trio of touchdowns, Cincinnati outscored K-State 21-9 after halftime and has now outscored its opponents 107-27 in the second half this season.

Led by its experienced and talented quarterback Noah Fifita, Arizona is 3-1 this season and has the No. 16-ranked passing offense in the country. He ranks among the Top 10 nationally in passing touchdowns (11) and completion percentage (75.6%) and was named Big 12 Player of the Week following the team’s win vs. Illinois on Sept. 19. Arizona is 0-1 in Big 12 play, having lost at BYU in the second week of the season, 28-17.  

Following its Oct. 10 bye week, Cincinnati will head to West Virginia to face the Mountaineers on Saturday, Oct. 17.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

The game will be broadcast on FOX with Jack Kizer (play-by-play) and Mark Helfrich (analyst) on the call. The game will be broadcast on radio via 700 WLW and SiriusXM Channel 177 or 237 with Dan Hoard (pxp) and Tony Pike (analyst) on the call.

DOWN THE DRIVE: C-PAW FIRST & 10

  1. Following a 31-26 victory over Kansas State, Cincinnati is off to a 4–0 start for the first time since 2021 and just the seventh time since the turn of the century (2007, 2009, 2012, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2026). The Bearcats advanced to a bowl game in each of the six previous seasons. The win also marks the first 4–0 start of head coach Scott Satterfield’s career. With a victory at Arizona, Cincinnati would begin the season 5–0 for only the seventh time since 2000.
  2. With the win last week, Cincinnati completed back-to-back perfect Septembers across the last two seasons (2025: 3–0; 2026: 4–0). The Bearcats are one of just seven FBS programs undefeated in September games over the last two years: 8–0 (1.000): Indiana | 7–0 (1.000): Cincinnati, Alabama, BYU, Miami (FL), Texas, Texas Tech.
  3. The Bearcats overcame a 10-point deficit to beat K-State, the second straight week they have overcome a double-digit deficit to win (21 points Week 3 vs. Miami (Ohio)). The last time UC overcame a double-digit deficit to win in back-to-back games was 2011 against South Florida (Oct. 22, 2011) and Pitt (Nov. 5, 2011).
  4. Cincinnati outscored K-State 21-9 in the second half and is outscoring opponents in the second half 107-27 over the first four matchups.
  5. Cincinnati has converted 16 of its 18 red-zone trips into scores (88.9%) through four games. Notably, all 16 red-zone scores have been touchdowns (11 rushing, 5 passing) with zero field goals attempted.
  6. Cincinnati rushed for 271 yards vs. K-State, its third game with at least 250 rushing yards this season. Since 1996, it is the first time the Bearcats have had three games with at least 250 yards rushing in the same month.
  7. Running back Cole Tabb has scored six touchdowns over the last two games becoming the first Bearcat since Demarco McCleskey (1998) to have three touchdowns in back-to-back games (Miami OH and K-State).
  8. The Bearcats are one of only four Big 12 teams that remain undefeated (Texas Tech, Utah and BYU). Cincinnati’s 6–4 record over its last 10 Big 12 games places the Bearcats in the upper third of the Big 12, trailing only BYU (9–1), Texas Tech (9–1), Utah (8–2), and Arizona State (7–3).
  9. Through the first four games of the 2026 season, Cincinnati’s +80 point differential (162 points scored, 82 points allowed) ranks as the 12th-highest point differential through four games in program history. The 162 points scored by the 2026 Bearcats represent the 5th-highest total points scored through four games in Cincinnati history, behind only 2011 (198), 2007 (180), 2009 (173), and 2022 (170).
  10. Cincinnati received votes in both the AP and Coaches Poll this week (AP: 20 votes; Coaches: 35 votes).

RUN UP THE TABB

  • Junior Cole Tabb rushed for three touchdowns last week vs. K-State, becoming the first Bearcat since Demarco McCleskey (1998) to have three touchdowns in back-to-back games (2 rushing, 1 receiving vs. Miami (OH)).
  • Tabb leads the entire country, ranking No. 1 nationally in Rushing Yards Per Attempt (11.1). Tabb is the only player in the FBS averaging over 11.0 yards per carry.
  • Tabb rushed 11 times for 124 yards. It was Tabb’s first 100-yard performance as a Bearcat and his second career 100-yard game, having rushed for 118 yards vs. Florida State last November as a member of Stanford.
  • With Tabb’s two rushing scores, it marks back-to-back weeks he has had at least two rushing touchdowns, the first time a Bearcat back has had two rushing scores in consecutive weeks since Jerome Ford did so vs. Temple (Game 5) and UCF (Game 6) in 2021.
  • Tabb ranks tied for No. 7 nationally in Total Touchdowns (7) through four games this season, putting him in elite company across the FBS. Tabb sits tied for the No. 3 spot in the Big 12 in total touchdowns, trailing only West Virginia quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (9) and Utah running back Wayshawn Parker (9).

LATE NIGHT IN THE DESERT

  • After spending the entire month of September within Cincinnati city limits, the Bearcats are on the road for the first time in 2026.
  • Cincinnati’s trip to Tucson, Arizona, marks the program’s first-ever game played at Casino Del Sol Stadium.
  • The matchup is just the second all-time meeting between the two schools, following Arizona’s 30-24 victory in Cincinnati during the 2025 season.
  • Kickoff is scheduled at 11:00 p.m. EST (8:00 p.m. MST) on FOX. The 11:00 p.m. ET kickoff marks Cincinnati’s latest game start since kicking off at 11:30 p.m. ET at Hawai’i on Dec. 6, 2008.
  • Since 1990, UC is 21-25 in games played west of the Mississippi River and were 2-3 in such games a season ago.

OFFENSE BREAKING OUT IN THE BIG 12

  • Through four games, Cincinnati boasts one of the most explosive and efficient offensive units in the Big 12, ranking near the top of the conference in every major statistical category:
  • The Bearcats rank No. 2 in the Big 12 with 270.0 rushing yards per game (1,080 total yards on 166 carries) and lead the conference with 16 rushing touchdowns while averaging a blistering 6.5 yards per carry.
  • Cincinnati is tied for No. 4 in the Big 12 in scoring offense at 40.5 points per game (162 total points, 22 total TDs), trailing only Houston (44.5), BYU (44.0), and Utah (43.3).
  • The Bearcats rank No. 6 in the Big 12 in total offense at 477.8 yards per game (1,911 total yards across 268 plays), averaging 7.1 yards per play. 

UPCOMING BIG 12 STRETCH

  • Cincinnati will have a bye week following its West Coast trip to Tucson, Arizona.
  • Including the Arizona game, four of the next six games are on the road for the Bearcats.
  • Cincinnati will return home on Oct. 24 to host Texas Tech for its 100th Homecoming game.
  • Following the bye and a trip to Morgantown to play West Virginia, the Bearcats’ next three opponents—Texas Tech, Utah, and Houston—to close October and enter November are all currently ranked in the AP Poll.