CINCINNATI – Head coach Scott Satterfield, fifth year quarterback JC French IV, senior offensive lineman Xavier Lozowicki, and junior inside linebacker Damaine Wilson spoke with the media ahead of Saturday’s game at West Virginia.
The Bearcats and Mountaineers will face off at 12:00 p.m. ET at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown. The game will be televised on TNT.
Opening Statement
“Coming off the bye week last week, we got some good things done and we’re looking forward to this game now with West Virginia. Coach Rich Rodriguez is back again, his offense looks like you would think his offense looks like, running the football. It is one thing that stands out about their team: their quarterback, their running back, how fast they go on offense, and how they put pressure on teams. I think they do a great job with that. A challenge for our defense is to be able to slow that down. I think for us going on the road again, back-to-back, it is obviously a challenge for us. A tough place to go play in West Virginia. I went there a few years ago, I have a lot of respect for how his teams play. They are always physical and they get after it. But I am looking forward to it. Looking forward to this week and getting it back to play.”
On West Virginia’s rushing attack and how the passing game plays off of it
“It’s very effective. When they complete the ball it’s close to 20, 18, 19 yards, some big plays down the field. I think what they do is really, really good. I think their offensive line comes off the ball. They are very physical. Anytime you are playing 11-on-11, meaning the quarterback can run, it is hard to defend. Particularly when it is a guy who is an elusive runner like he is. He’s a different style runner than, say, Kansas State's quarterback. I think this guy can make you miss. He also has the speed, so he is a hard guy, and they are not scared to run him. He will get 20 carries, the same thing with Cam [Cook]. So I think you got to put a lot of hats down. Getting near the ball, and you have to tackle well when you are playing a team like this, which is hard to do. These guys are good, so you have to be very physical and be very aggressive on defense.”
On what the defense needs to do to hold the WVU rushing attack at bay
“I think it takes all of them because you have to fit the defense correctly. If a guy is out of his gap, that is where they are going to make you pay. So really and truly, it is all of them. It starts up front with the guys. Creating a little bit of havoc on the D-line wise, which we got to do a great job right there. Our linebackers have got to be playing downhill, and then you got to get the safeties involved as well. They all have to come down because you got to get a lot of hats there. That is the way most teams have tried to defend them and not really slow them down a whole lot, quite honestly. Everybody they have played, they have been able to run the football. You mentioned close to 300 yards rushing the game. I think they are fourth in the country behind the three academies. I think you really often got to treat these guys offensively like an academy type, where they are going to run, run, run, and you know just when you start committing all that, they know they are going to get some one on one out there. They are going to try and hit those plays. They do a great job of staying on top.”
On Cincinnati’s run defense
“We definitely have room to improve. Very disappointed in the last outing. You concentrate on trying to stop the pass in the last outing, and then he pops some big runs on us. We got to do a much better job of getting in our gaps and being where we are supposed to be. It is pretty simple, but sometimes difficult to do in games. If you are supposed to be in a gap, you have to get there. The guy is trying to cut you off. You guys still have to fight to get there, getting into your gaps, but then also tackling better. I mean, we miss some tackles. So doing what you are supposed to do as far as getting in your gaps and being where you are supposed to be. The other thing that they do really well is they are going fast. So getting the calls from the sideline, making sure we are all on the same page. That is part of why they do go fast. Try to screw with the defensive calls. So that is another thing that is going to be a challenge to make sure we are getting calls and being where we are supposed to be in tackling.”
On the offensive line’s performance against Arizona
“We did not do a great job coaching-wise I don't think. I don't think we did a great job on execution last game. A lot of things we did not do well, and you know Arizona did some good things. We have to do a much better job coaching-wise. We got to do a better job of execution, and go out and you know on the road. I think obviously it is a lot easier when you are playing right here. You go on the road in a hostile environment to execute at a high level. That is what we are going to have to do.”
On what he did during the bye week to regroup and push forward
“I think it just starts to come back to the level head, kind of flushing it almost. Obviously, you need to learn from the film and watch it and see what you can get better at. After that, you just have to flush it. As hard as it was, you just need to move on and get ready for this next week.”
On whether Saturday’s game will be high scoring
“I think so. Their offense is really good and capable of scoring a lot of points. We have to score a lot of points as well. I think we're capable of that. It's going to be a high-scoring game. It's going to be fun.”
On teams bringing more players into the line of scrimmage and how to combat that
“Teams are going to try to stop our run first, and that's going to come with them loading the box and sending pressure. Just during the week, building up to that, I think you just need to be ready for everything because I think we're going to see a good mix of everything. So, being prepared, being able to check at the line of scrimmage, really just seeing the defense and understanding what they're going to do before it actually happens is really important in these football games.”
On tendencies that could be fixed after watching film
“I think you know when something's not doing as well, another side of the offense has to pick up a little bit. We can't just be so lenient on the run game. We have to open the pass, and that starts with the quarterback, and we should have made plays in that area. If our run game is getting stopped, we should not still be a good offense. Like you said earlier, we have a little chip on our shoulder this week, and we're going to get back to action and make some plays.”
On what the team has been focused on coming off the bye week
“I'd say our weekly objective every single week, no matter the outcome of a game, is to grow as a team and to become closer. I personally feel like in the offensive line room just leaned on each other. We've taken some responsibility, and this bye week we've learned how to grow closer, and I feel like this week is going to be great because of the way we have grown this past by week.”
On if losing the last game can make the offensive line better
“Yeah, absolutely. I feel like in offensive line room in general has always been about growth. Before we meet, Coach has these mantras, and he'll tell us like it's not about the outcome; it's about the details and get into the outcome. So, we've kind of been growing, and I feel like us in the week-to-week play, like I've been saying, we've had areas to grow in all the phases in every single week. This particular last week was a good chance to see how we can grow in the run game.”
On how he has grown since coming to Cincinnati
“Before I came here I was at Maine, we definitely had good competition but I feel like coming here there's been significant changes to competition. My first year here, I had people like John Williams, Gavin Gerhardt and Dartanyan Tinsley, and I got a lot of growth from them, just competing with them in a day-to-day practice. Then my last year, 2025, I got the chance to compete with Evan Tengesdahl, Taran Tyo and Joe Cotton. So personally my game has grown because of the people around me and how they have elevated me to where I am now.”
On West Virginia’s rushing attack
“I see it as an opportunity especially for the linebackers and front six. I see it as something that we can capitalize on. Something that we can really hone in and see what they are doing. We know they are a simple team, so we see what plays we can make out of that.”
On the linebackers’ responsibility in stopping the run game
“I feel like it is our responsibility to make every play. To be honest, in the pass game, in the running game, I feel like a linebacker should be around the ball at all times.”
On West Virginia’s offense
“They are a great group. Honestly, number three [Michael Hawkins Jr.], number four [Cam Cook] and number one [Geimere Latimer II], he is a great blocker. Four [Cook], he is a good runner. Three [Hawkins Jr], he can either throw the ball and he can run the ball a lot better than a running back can as a quarterback. So seeing him is like, okay, we know exactly what we got to do. We got to shut him down. We got to shut everybody else down. Just like we got to do every other game.”
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