Who is Cincinnati?

The Bulls couldn't figure out how to win a game on the road last Saturday, dropping to 4-2 (0-2) on the season (blame the weather right?). Now the Bulls return home to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats on homecoming weekend. The Bulls are desperate for a win after starting the season well. The offense is tanking at the worst time while the defense struggles to keep it together.

The Bearcats enter the game with a 5-1 (1-0) record. They are averaging 41.7 points per game, so the defense will have to come to play in this game. They average 213.7 yards a game on the ground. This is bad news for the rush defense that got run over against Pitt and allowed the Pitt offense line to take control against them and Lyle McCombs got the carries and got plenty of touches in the game. They are also averaging 208 yards a game passing the ball, so not the biggest pass threat, but with their spread offense, it is going to be a tough challenge. They spread out the field, using offense to get the defense out of position and use their playmakers like D.J. Woods and Isaiah Pead to get the yards and big plays. This could be a rough game for the defense if they can't get off the field.

The Cincinnati defense is great against the run like UCONN was. They are allowing an average of just 70.7 yards a game on the ground. Scott and Murray will have a hard time getting the running game going and Daniels will have to figure out when he wants to run. They are also allowing just 265 yards a game passing, which means Daniels should be able to pass the ball, but we have seen the throwing game fall apart the last two weeks, so the Bulls will have to figure out how to pass the ball down the field and attack the Bearcats defense.

This is a must win game for USF. They have to win this Big East game or face the reality that the Big East championship won't happen and a bad bowl game could be in their future.