Cincinnati gets a fresh shot at another ranked heavyweight Saturday, and this one comes with a Halloween backdrop and a lot more noise around Nippert Stadium.
The Bearcats are riding the high of last week’s upset of No. 8 Texas Tech, but the celebration was short-lived.
No. 6 Utah rolls into town next, bringing the nation’s longest active winning streak at 13 games and a reputation for making opponents chase shadows on defense.
Scott Satterfield knows exactly what Cincinnati will need from the home crowd.
"I think for us, we need to show how much of an environment we have here,” UC head coach Scott Satterfield said. “ I know it’s Halloween, but dress up and come out yelling in this game.
We’re going to need to have that home field advantage because it certainly helped us last week, and we know when we play here it’s different for us because of that. Hopefully, our fans will show up and be loud.”
Utah’s offense brings a headache all by itself. Quarterback Devon Dampier, backup Byrd Ficklin and running back Wayshawn Parker all take direct snaps, and all three can hurt a defense.
Cincinnati saw plenty of that in last year’s 45-14 loss in Salt Lake City, when Dampier threw for 213 yards and two scores and added 78 rushing yards. Parker piled up 104 yards and a touchdown, while Ficklin, despite rushing for only 14 yards, also found the end zone.
At times, both quarterbacks were on the field together.
"They do a lot of that and they have the talent to put out there," UC coach Scott Satterfield said. "It makes you have to go over all this stuff.
Defensive coaches sit in the office all day anyway; it just makes them sit longer to go over the formations you could get. We call it 'chasing ghosts'.
You don't know what you're going to get."
That uncertainty is part of why this matchup feels tricky to pin down, even with Utah’s unbeaten record and Cincinnati’s confidence surge. Both teams have been efficient on offense, and both have enough run-game firepower to control the tempo if the other side can’t get off blocks.
One bold call: both teams produce a 100-yard rusher. For Cincinnati, that could mean Gi’Bran Payne or Cole Tabb.
Payne is expected back and is averaging 6.1 yards per carry, while Tabb is at 9.6 per attempt. Zylan Perry has also been grinding through tough yards the past two weeks and is averaging 6.5 yards per carry.
Utah’s Parker is averaging 92 yards per game and 6.3 yards per carry, while Dampier averages 4.7 yards per carry and Ficklin 6.7.
Another prediction worth watching: turnovers. JC French went 260 passes without an interception before throwing two in his next three attempts against Texas Tech, though it didn’t derail the Bearcats.
Dampier has a similar passing profile, but he has thrown six interceptions. He has 15 touchdown passes to French’s 13.
Utah has eight interceptions as a team, while Cincinnati has five.
The third swing factor could be the kickers. Both teams have two misses this season.
UC’s Stephen Rusnak has connected on field goals only from 40 yards or longer, while Utah’s Dillon Curtis is 1-for-3 from the 30-39 yard range but has also hit from 54 yards. Rusnak’s long is 54, and Cincinnati’s defensive success against Texas Tech included forcing field-goal tries instead of touchdowns.
Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley also made it clear he sees a dangerous Cincinnati team coming off that Texas Tech win.
"Their offense is humming right now. Statistically, 20th in the country in total offense.
Eighth in the country, second to West Virginia in the Big 12 in terms of rushing offense, so another game where we're going to have to be really stout up front. They're 22nd in the country in pass-efficiency offense with a quarterback that's playing really well.
Obviously, Coach Satterfield did a great job bringing in a new quarterback and getting him going. He's 15th in the country in completion percentage.
He's efficient. They don't turn the ball over.
They're doing some really good things and they're playing with confidence. They're going to be playing at their house, their packed house."
He also brushed aside any idea of a post-upset letdown.
"You get teams that have unbelievable big wins, emotional wins, and then the next week you have the letdown effect and so, again, we're just going to continue to preach that every game is a championship game because it's hard to win. There's parity.
You don't know what other teams' motivations are. When teams are playing ranked teams, they're going to bring it.
They're going to be more excited. Whatever that is.
We just have to be us. We've got to do it week after week after week, day after day after day and this is the only game that matters."
Most of the outside picks lean Utah, with Arizona Central taking the Utes 31-24, Picks and Parlays calling it 28-24 Utah, and Sporting News also going with a 31-24 Utah win.
But the local prediction lands the other way. Cincinnati has already shown it can knock off a ranked opponent at Nippert, and another loud night could make things interesting again. The call here: UC 26, Utah 21.
In Other News...
Cincinnati Has A Bigger Big 12 Chance Than Utah Wants To Admit
Saturdays Big 12 matchup has drawn plenty of attention because it pits Cincinnati against an undefeated Utah team that has looked the part through the early going. The Bearcats come in with some real momentum after a recent win over Texas Tech, and the conversation around this one has already turned to whether Cincinnati has more of a chance than Utah wants to acknowledge. David Pollack and Brent Rollins both dug into the matchup, framing it as a test of how far Cincinnati has come and how much pressure Utah can absorb in league play.
A lot of the focus naturally falls on Utahs dual-threat quarterback Devon Dampier, who gives the Utes a different kind of problem for a defense trying to stay disciplined from snap to snap. Pollack believes Cincinnati is capable of handling the moment and sees the Bearcats as live underdogs in a game set for 2:45 p.m. CT on ESPN. For Cincinnati, it is the kind of late-afternoon proving ground that can shift how the rest of the Big 12 views the Bearcats if they can turn another strong showing into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona State Has A Real Reason To Watch The Big 12 Now
The Big 12s recent run of change has a lot to do with Brett Yormark, who took over as commissioner in 2022 and quickly put his stamp on the league. Under his watch, the conference added Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State, while also landing a media rights deal that helped stabilize the leagues future. For programs like Cincinnati, the last few years have been a reminder that the Big 12 is still trying to define itself in a shifting college sports landscape, even as it holds onto its place as the No. 4 conference and continues to put multiple playoff contenders on the board.
Yormarks tenure also pushed the Big 12 into some of the sports most consequential battles, reflecting how much more assertive the league has become in protecting its interests. The conference has not shied away from taking a leadership role when it believes the stakes warrant it, and that approach has helped shape the way the Big 12 operates on and off the field. With so much of that groundwork already in place, the next phase for the league will be about whether it can keep that momentum going as the leadership picture changes. [Read more 🡒]
Bearcats Get A Rare Chance To Prove Texas Tech Was No Fluke
After knocking off then-No. 8 Texas Tech, Cincinnati gets another opportunity to show the win was more than a one-off when No. 6 Utah comes to Nippert Stadium on Oct. 31. It is the kind of follow-up game the Bearcats have been waiting for, with the offense led by running back Cole Tabb and quarterback JC French IV tasked with keeping the momentum going against one of the countrys better rushing defenses.
The matchup also carries a little historical weight for a program trying to climb back into the national conversation. It is only the second meeting between Cincinnati and Utah, and a chance for the Bearcats to string together back-to-back wins over ranked opponents for the first time since 2008. After what happened against Texas Tech, this is the sort of stage that can tell you a lot about how far Cincinnati has come. [Read more 🡒]