Arizona and Cincinnati are headed for a Saturday night Big 12 matchup in Tucson that puts two very different offenses on the same field.
The Wildcats lean on the air. Arizona is second in the conference in passing at 303.8 yards per game, and fifth-year senior Noah Fifita sits at the center of it all.
He owns the school’s career records for passing yards, with 10,314, and passing touchdowns, with 84. He has been responsible for nine touchdowns over the last two games, and last season he threw for 294 yards in Arizona’s win at Cincinnati.
“He's fun to watch unless you've got to play him,” said Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield, whose team is off to its best start since opening the 2021 season with 13 straight wins.
“He's probably the best quarterback nobody really talks about throughout the country.”
Cincinnati, meanwhile, has built its perfect start on the ground. The Bearcats are 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12, and they average 270 rushing yards per game with 16 rushing touchdowns.
They are running the ball more than 40 times a game, with senior Gi'Bran Payne and junior Cole Tabb leading the way. Together, they have piled up 679 yards and eight touchdowns, and both topped 100 yards in last week’s 31-26 comeback win over Kansas State.
“They've been running the ball basically at will,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “It's going to be an incredible challenge for our defense.”
Arizona comes in at 3-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play after its own comeback last week, a 34-24 road win at Washington State. The Wildcats trailed 14-0 in the first quarter before turning it around, and it was the first time since 2011 that Arizona won a road game after falling behind by two scores.
Cincinnati’s offense is also getting efficient work from quarterback JC French IV, who has completed 74.5% of his passes for 796 yards and six touchdowns without an interception. Against Kansas State, he went 8 of 13 for 165 yards and a touchdown, and he added eight carries for 21 yards.
In Other News...
Bearcats Mourn The Loss Of A Foundational Figure In Program History
Tay Bakers place in Cincinnati basketball history was already secure long before news broke of his death at 99. A former Bearcats player who later returned as head coach, Baker became the first coach in program history to win a conference regular-season title in his opening campaign, a benchmark that still speaks to the standard he helped establish. He also spent time coaching at Xavier University, adding another layer to a career that touched multiple corners of the citys basketball scene.
Beyond the sidelines, Baker was a tenured professor at the University of Cincinnati, a reminder that his influence in the Bearcats orbit extended well past the gym. He was the oldest living college basketball coach in America, and his passing closes the book on one of the foundational figures in the programs history, a man whose career linked Cincinnati basketball, academic life and decades of institutional memory. [Read more 🡒]
Bearcats Mourn A Program Figure Who Helped Define Cincinnati Basketball
Taylor Tay Bakers death at 99 closes the book on one of the defining figures in Cincinnati basketball history. A former Bearcats player and head coach, Baker left his mark across generations, later coaching at Xavier as well, and his name was already woven into the programs legacy long before the tributes began.
Baker was a 1996 inductee into the Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame and was honored again this year with induction into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. He helped lead Cincinnati to multiple conference titles and NCAA championships as both a player and a coach, and he finished his college head-coaching career with a 195-149 record, a rsum that reflects just how deeply he shaped the sport in this city. [Read more 🡒]
Judea Milon Is Giving Cincinnati Fans Real Confidence Up Front
Judea Milon has quickly become one of the biggest reasons Cincinnati looks so sturdy at the line of scrimmage early this season. The right tackle has played every snap in the Bearcats' 4-0 start, has logged 248 snaps, and has backed it up with an 83.9 Pro Football Focus grade that puts him among the best tackles in the country. He has also allowed only one quarterback pressure, a steady presence for an offense that has leaned on its front to set the tone.
Scott Satterfield has already pointed to the line's work in the run game, and it's easy to see why the Bearcats feel better about what they have up front. Cincinnati is averaging 270 rushing yards per game, and Milon's emergence gives that success a real anchor on the right side. The larger question now is whether that level of play holds as the schedule tightens and opponents start game-planning around him. [Read more 🡒]