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Cincinnati Hosts No. 6 Utah on Halloween

Bearcats are coming off 37-24 win vs. No. 8 Texas Tech, their highest-ranked home win since 2006

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Cincinnati Hosts No. 6 Utah on HalloweenCincinnati Hosts No. 6 Utah on Halloween

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati football team is back at home this weekend, playing host to No. 6 Utah at Historic Nippert Stadium on Saturday.

Kickoff between the Bearcats and Utes is set for 3:45 p.m. on ESPN.

This Saturday’s game will be just the second meeting all-time between the two programs, with last year’s game serving as the first. UC and Utah met in Salt Lake City last year on Nov. 1, the site of that weekend’s College GameDay show. Cincinnati was ranked No. 17 at the time and Utah was No. 24, and the host Utes came away with a 45-14 victory.

The Bearcats had much better luck against a ranked opponent this past weekend when they took down No. 8 Texas Tech, 37-24, in front of a sold-out Nippert Stadium crowd on Homecoming. It was the highest-ranked home win by UC since a 30-11 win against No. 7 Rutgers on Nov. 18, 2006, and the third Top 10 win in the history of Nippert Stadium.

The win moved Cincinnati to a perfect 5-0 at home and put the team on the cusp of the AP Top 25, receiving votes for the second time this season.

Cincinnati will face a stiff test this weekend, however, as Utah boasts the No. 8 rushing offense (234.6) and No. 8 rushing defense (88.3) in the country. The game will also be a battle of two, Top-20 offenses in the country as UC (455.3) and Utah (478.4).

Although, this past weekend Cincinnati battled the then No. 5-ranked rushing defense in Texas Tech and proceeded to put up 252 yards in the big win. Leading the way was running back Cole Tabb, who rushed for a career-high 173 yards and had a 58-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. After his performance, Tabb was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. Teammate MJ Cannon was named the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Week, and both the offensive and defensive lines earned their respective awards too.

The Bearcats will play their next two games on the road. They’ll head to No. 18 Houston next weekend before hitting the road once more to face Iowa State in Ames on Saturday, Nov. 14.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

The game will be broadcast on ESPN with Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Roddy Jones (analyst) on the call with Quint Kessenich provided analysis on the sidelines. 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

  • Last week, Cincinnati sent shockwaves through the college football world, taking down No. 8 Texas Tech in convincing fashion, 37-24. The victory marked Cincinnati’s first home win over an AP Top 10 opponent since a 30-11 win over then-No. 7 Rutgers on Nov. 18, 2006. It is just the third top-10 victory at Nippert Stadium in program history, joining the 2006 win over Rutgers and a 17-12 victory over No. 9 Wisconsin on Sept. 18, 1999. Overall, the Bearcats have four wins against AP Top 10 opponents over the last 45 seasons.
  • With a win Saturday over No. 6 Utah, Cincinnati would win back-to-back games against ranked opponents for the first time since 2008, when the Bearcats beat No. 23 USF and No. 20 West Virginia in consecutive weeks. A win over Utah would also make Cincinnati the first unranked team to defeat an AP Top 10 opponent in consecutive weeks since South Carolina accomplished the feat in 2022. It has never occurred in Big 12 history (1996 to present).
  • With the win over Texas Tech, Cincinnati is 168-8 all-time when scoring 30 or more points at Nippert Stadium. The Bearcats have scored at least 30 points in all four home games this season and in six of seven games overall.
  • Cole Tabb is tied for fourth nationally with 12 total touchdowns (nine rushing, three receiving). Tabb rushed for a career-high 173 yards on 16 carries last week, marking his second straight 100-yard game and third of the season. Tabb’s 173 rushing yards are the most by a Bearcat against a ranked opponent since Jerome Ford’s 187-yard performance against Houston on Dec. 4, 2021.
  • JC French IV threw for a career-high four touchdowns last week against Texas Tech, connecting with four different receivers. French threw his first interception of the season in the third quarter, ending his streak of 175 consecutive pass attempts without an interception to start the season.
  • Over the last two games, French is tied for No. 1 in the FBS with seven passing touchdowns, sharing the national lead with LSU’s Sam Leavitt, Miami’s Darian Mensah, and Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker.
  • Cincinnati ranks eighth nationally, averaging 234.6 rushing yards per game, which stands third in the Big 12. Cincinnati has rushed for more than 225 yards in five of its seven games. Only West Virginia and service academies Army and Navy have reached the 225-yard mark more times this season.
  • The defense logged three turnovers and four sacks in the win over Texas Tech, marking the first time the unit hit both figures in a single game since facing Indiana in 2022. Cincinnati held the Red Raiders to just 20.0% on third down (3-of-15), tying for the eighth-lowest single-game opponent conversion rate by a Bearcats defense since 2020.
  • With a win, Cincinnati will secure bowl eligibility for the second consecutive season under head coach Scott Satterfield.
  • UC has earned a bowl bid in 13 of the last 18 seasons, a stretch that includes four New Year’s Six bowls and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021.
  • Cincinnati enters the Utah game with a perfect 4-0 home record at Nippert Stadium. A flawless home campaign would mark the Bearcats’ first undefeated home season since going 7-0 during their College Football Playoff run in 2021, and the program’s 11th undefeated home season in the modern era (1976, 1982, 1993, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021). Cincinnati is 9-2 overall at Nippert Stadium since the start of 2025.

COLE WORLD

  • Cole Tabb leads the Big 12 with an impressive 9.6 yards per carry average. Tabb has rushed 65 times for 621 yards this season. To officially qualify for the national lead, Tabb must average 10 carries per game. With 15 carries on Saturday, he would reach that benchmark should be maintain his rushing average.
  • Tabb’s 12 total touchdown ranks tied for second in the Big 12 with Utah’s Wayshawn Parker and only trails West Virginia’s Michael Hawkins Jr. (16).
  • Tabb rushed for a career-high 173 yards on 16 carries, his second straight 100-yard game and third of the season last week vs. Texas Tech.
  • Tabb now has four multi-touchdown performance games this season, tied for the fourth most in college football, sitting just three games shy of Michael Warren II’s record of seven multi-score games set in 2018 (since 1995).

FIRE THE CANNONS

  • Safety MJ Cannon forced a fumble on the Texas Tech’s first offensive drive of the game that Antwan Peek Jr recovered. Cannon also recorded an interception near the end of the first half, his second of the year, marking his second game this year with a forced fumble and an INT in the same game (Week 1 vs. Boston College). Cannon is the only player in college football with two such games of forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass this season.
  • Cannon was named to the PFF National Team and Big 12 Teams of the Week for his standout performance.
  • Cannon has three interceptions this season, one off the Big 12 lead of four by LaDainian Fields (Oklahoma State).

BALANCED OFFENSE

  • The Bearcats have scored 30 or more points in six games this season, tied for the second-most 30-point games in the FBS behind only LSU and Miami (FL) (7). The 2021 Cincinnati playoff team holds the school record for most 30-point games in a single season (10).
  • Cincinnati has rushed for over 225 yards in five of seven games. Only West Virginia has done so more in the Big 12.

BACK-TO-BACK RANKED HOME GAMES

  • Cincinnati is hosting back-to-back AP Top-10 opponents at Nippert Stadium—facing No. 10 Texas Tech on Oct. 24 and No. 6 Utah on Oct. 31—marking the first time in program history the Bearcats will host ranked opponents in consecutive weeks.
  • The last time UC played back-to-back ranked opponents anywhere on the schedule in the regular season was in 2017, when the Bearcats hosted No. 25 UCF before traveling to No. 18 USF the following week.
  • Cincinnati is 6-3 vs. AP-ranked opponents at Nippert Stadium since 2019. The Bearcats are a perfect 5-0 when scoring 25 or more points against ranked visitors during this stretch.