No. 17 Houston gets Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon in a Big 12 matchup that has both teams trying to shake off losses to No. 3 Utah.
Houston comes in at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in league play after its bye week followed a 21-13 loss in Salt Lake City. Cincinnati is 5-3 and 2-3 after getting buried early at home last week and falling 49-25.
The Cougars have been one of the most productive offenses in the country. They rank 12th nationally in total offense at 470.5 yards per game and average 36.0 points.
Conner Weigman has driven the attack, piling up 2,053 passing yards with 20 touchdowns and only two interceptions, which puts him eighth nationally in passing yards. Houston also leads all of college football with a 60% third-down conversion rate.
That efficiency will be a problem for a Cincinnati defense that has struggled to get off the field. The Bearcats allow 442.5 yards per game, which ranks 132nd in FBS, and they give up 29.3 points per contest. Opponents are converting 43.9% of their third downs against them.
Houston’s defense has been sturdier against the run than through the air. The Cougars are giving up just 100.5 rushing yards per game, but they have allowed 257.4 passing yards per contest. That sets up an interesting test against Cincinnati’s ground game, which ranks seventh nationally at 229.4 yards per game.
The Bearcats have plenty of punch on offense, too. They rank 18th nationally at 455.4 total yards per game.
J.C. French IV has thrown 13 touchdown passes, while Cole Tabb has emerged as a major weapon with 752 rushing yards and 10 scores.
Tabb leads the nation in yards per carry at 9.52 and has posted four 100-yard games. Over his last three games against Utah, Texas Tech and West Virginia, he averaged 140.7 yards.
Cincinnati has also been sharp in the red zone, turning 81.3% of its trips into touchdowns, which leads the Big 12.
The Bearcats are trying to navigate a tough stretch against ranked opponents. They beat then-No.
8 Texas Tech, 37-24, on Oct. 24 before losing to then-No. 6 Utah last week, and this will be their third straight game against a Top 25 team.
Houston coach Willie Fritz pointed to the week-to-week grind of the league.
"It's one of the things about the Big 12; everybody's pretty good. There's a lot of good teams in this league.
You don't come to play; you're going to get beat," Cougars coach Willie Fritz said. "One of our slogans is 1-0 and our guys will never catch me looking ahead or looking back behind."
Scott Satterfield made the same point from Cincinnati’s side.
"I feel like each game is a new season for every team. For us next week, you turn the page," he said.
"Everything is all about Houston (now), you know? And so you learn from the things that you've done in the past, but, man, you've got to focus everything you can on Houston to try to put together a plan for our guys to execute."