Cincinnati has a shot to do something it hasn’t done since 2021, and the timing couldn’t be much tougher. The Bearcats are 3-0 for the first time since their College Football Playoff run, but Big 12 play opens with a major test: Kansas State coming to town for a rare home night game.
The Bearcats enter as 6.5-point underdogs, one of their longest home betting lines of the decade, even with the boost that comes from Nipp At Night. That setting could matter, because the opponent is not just undefeated - it’s built to make life miserable on both sides of the ball.
Kansas State is 3-0 and sits 30th in ESPN’s FPI and 24th in SP+, with the 17th-best offense in that metric. The Wildcats have also been elite on defense, ranking top five in just about every traditional pass defense category and third nationally in yards per play allowed at 3.28.
“It’s huge to go 3-0, and now, transitioning to Big 12 play with Kansas State, an outstanding football team,” Satterfield said this week. “They’ve been a really good program over the years, a lot of years.
Coach Collin Klein, a new coach, which I remember when he used to play. Man, I loved watching him play.
He was a running quarterback, very physical teams back when he played there, and he’s a really good guy. I’ve gotten to know him over the years, and he’s done a great job coaching.
"Outstanding defensive team. I think they’re probably top five in a bunch of categories defensively.
Number one pass defense in the country. Very aggressive defense.
Outstanding defensive line. Get after the quarterback.
And then on offense probably a lot like when Coach Klein played there. They have a quarterback (Avery Johnson) that can run, last week over 150 yards rushing in a game.
We played him a couple years ago. He beat us with his legs.”
Cincinnati is coming off a comeback that showed plenty of fight. After falling behind 28-7, the Bearcats rallied to beat Miami (OH) 35-31 on Saturday, their largest comeback win since a similar turnaround against Ohio in 2018.
Now the challenge is making that second-half resilience last four quarters against a much more dangerous opponent.
For JC French IV, the assignment gets a lot steeper this week.
“They’re very well coached,” French said about his first Big 12 opponent. “I think they have a lot of talent on that defense.
Obviously, I think their stats speak for themselves. They’re really good, and we’re gonna have to be on point with our preparation and obviously go execute this Saturday.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.