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UC FB: Cincinnati to Face Iowa State on Saturday Afternoon in Ames

Bearcats, Cyclones will kick off at noon on TNT

UC FB: Cincinnati to Face Iowa State on Saturday Afternoon in AmesUC FB: Cincinnati to Face Iowa State on Saturday Afternoon in Ames

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati football team will play another road game this week, heading to Iowa State this Saturday to take on the Cyclones.

UC and Iowa State will kick off at noon on TNT from Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.

The Bearcats and Cyclones have faced off three times previously, including last year’s 38-30 Cincinnati victory at Nippert Stadium when ISU was ranked No. 14 nationally. Iowa State is the only Big 12 opponent that Cincinnati will have faced in each of its first four years of the conference, as the two teams have squared off every year since 2023.

Cincinnati is coming off a 31-24 loss at No. 17 Houston this past weekend, the last of three straight ranked opponents. The Bearcats’ opponents this season currently sport a .685 winning percentage, giving them the third-toughest schedule in the nation to date.

Through it all, Cincinnati’s rushing offense has led the way and currently ranks tenth nationally at 221.9 yards per game. Cole Tabb has continued to dismantle opposing defenses, and he now leads the country in yards per carry (8.92). Fewer running backs have found the end zone more than Tabb, who is tied for fifth among all running backs in the country in scoring.

Quarterback JC French IV has done his part on the ground as well, rushing for eight touchdowns. His eight rushing TDs are tied for fifth-most by a quarterback in a season in school history, four behind leader Desmond Ridder (12, 2020).

Playing under first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers, Iowa State is 4-5 with a 2-4 conference record, its wins coming against No. 24 Oklahoma State and West Virginia. Running back Aiden Flora leads the nation with 1,119 rushing yards and is averaging 124.3 yards per game. He already has two 200-yard games under his belt, including a high of 221 in the upset victory against Oklahoma State.

Cincinnati will host Colorado in its final home game of the year on Saturday, Nov. 21 at noon.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

The game will be broadcast on TNT with J.B. Long (play-by-play) and Mike Golic Jr. (analyst) on the call with Allie LaForce providing 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

  1. Cincinnati will meet Iowa State for the fourth consecutive season, marking the only Big 12 opponent that the Bearcats have played in all four seasons as conference members. Their first meeting in 2023 was the first all-time meeting.
  2. With a win Saturday on the road at Iowa State, the Bearcats would secure its first road win since Oct. 18, 2025 at Oklahoma State and its first win in the month of November since Nov. 11 2023 at Houston.
  3. With one more 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.
  4. Cincinnati put together its longest scoring drive of the season in the fourth quarter last week at Houston to tie the game, 24-24, marching 96 yards across 16 plays while consuming 8:41 off the clock. JC French capped the possession with a 1-yard touchdown run. The drive marked the Bearcats’ season highs in plays (16), yards (96), and time of possession (8:41).
  5. Cincinnati converted 9-of-14 (64.3%) on third down last week at Houston, its most since also converting 9-for-14 in a game last season vs. Baylor (10/25/25).
  6. Cincinnati ranks 10th nationally, averaging 221.9 rushing yards per game, which stands second in the Big 12.
  7. When Cole Tabb reaches the 1,000-yard mark, he will become Scott Satterfield’s 12th different 1,000-yard rusher and his 13th total 1,000-yard rushing season across his 14 years as a head coach. Satterfield ranks second among active FBS head coaches in percentage of seasons producing a 1,000-yard rusher, fielding one in 11 of his 13 completed seasons (84.6%).
  8. Cole Tabb’s 8.92 yards per carry average leads the NCAA and his 14 total touchdowns rank tied for eighth.
  9. Cole Tabb (812 rushing yards) and Gi’Bran Payne (556 rushing yards) are anchoring one of the most productive rushing tandems in program history. Payne is closing in on the 600-yard milestone, putting the duo on the verge of becoming just the second Cincinnati backfield pairing to eclipse 600 rushing yards apiece in a single season since 2019 (Desmond Ridder and Michael Warren II) and the first of both running backs since 2015 (joining Mike Boone, Tion Green, and Hosey Williams).
  10. Since returning from a one-game absence against Texas Tech, Gi’Bran Payne has posted 20 carries for 138 yards (6.9 avg.) over his last two games against Utah and Houston. 

SERIES HISTORY

  • Iowa State leads the all-time series against Cincinnati, 2-1, as Saturday’s meeting marks the fourth consecutive season the programs have played one another.
  • The Bearcats won the most recent matchup, earning a 38-30 victory over the No. 14 Cyclones on Oct. 4, 2025, at Nippert Stadium.
  • Saturday marks Cincinnati’s second all-time trip to Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa, following a 34-17 loss on Nov. 16, 2024.
  • The two programs first met on Oct. 14, 2023, in Cincinnati, resulting in a 30-10 Iowa State victory.

COLE WORLD

  • With his 17-yard touchdown reception last week at Houston, Cole Tabb became the first Cincinnati running back to tally four receiving touchdowns in a season since Ralph David Abernathy IV in 2012, moving into a tie for the third-most in a single season by a Bearcats running back. Errol Prisby holds the Cincinnati record for most receiving touchdowns in a single season by a running back, with 6 in 1964.
  • Tabb leads all FBS running backs with four receiving touchdowns this season (tied nationally with Joseph Himon II, Nate Sheppard, and Wayshawn Parker), hauling in 20 receptions for 189 yards through nine games.
  • Tabb stands as the only player in school archives to record at least 10 rushing touchdowns (10) and 4 receiving touchdowns (4) in a single season.
  • Tabb reached 1,001 all-purpose yards on the season last week on just 111 season touches, becoming the first Bearcat to cross the 1,000-yard mark on 115 or fewer total touches since Shaq Washington in 2015 (1,116 yards on 90 receptions).
  • Tabb is currently averaging 8.9 yards per carry (No. 1 in the country) in 2026, also currently ranking 12th all-time in single-season FBS history for yards per carry average.

EFFICIENT FRENCH

  • JC French IV has been responsible for 23 total touchdowns through nine games (15 passing, 8 rushing), tying him for 14th most in a single season in Cincinnati history since 1996. French is currently level with Zach Collaros (23 in 2011) and Desmond Ridder (23 in 2019), and needs just two more total touchdowns to move into the top 10 alongside Hayden Moore (24 in 2017) and Gino Guidugli (25 in 2002).
  • French is currently one of only three Cincinnati quarterbacks since 1996 to account for 20+ total touchdowns while throwing five or fewer interceptions in a single season, joining Brendan Sorsby (2025) and Desmond Ridder (2018). Through nine games, French has generated 23 total touchdowns (15 passing, 8 rushing) against just three interceptions.
  • French’s eight rushing touchdowns ranks tied for eighth most in the country by quarterbacks this season.

RECORD WATCH

  • Cole Tabb’s 14 total touchdowns rank tied for eighth-most in a single season in Cincinnati history alongside Marcus Barnett (14 in 2007). With his next touchdown, Tabb will tie Ed Kovac (15 in 1959) for seventh all-time, while a two-touchdown performance would pull him even with Isaiah Pead (16 in 2011) for sixth. Program record-holders Jerome Ford (2021) and Michael Warren II (2018) top the list with 20 total touchdowns.
  • Tabb leads Cincinnati in single-season rushing average among players with a minimum of 50 attempts, averaging
  • 92 yards per carry (812 yards on 91 attempts). Tabb’s current pace tops the school record of 8.77 set by Dick Goist in 1953.
  • JC French’s 67.1% completion percentage (143-of-213) ranks as the second-highest single-season mark in Cincinnati history among quarterbacks with at least 200 pass attempts, trailing only Brendon Kay’s record of 68.6% set in 2013. Among all passers with a minimum of 100 attempts, French ranks third in program history behind Zach Collaros (75.0% on 124 attempts in 2009) and Kay.