Game 11: West Virginia Preview
The Bearcats renew an old Big East rivalry on Saturday as Scott Satterfield and his football team travel to Morgantown for a 2:30 kickoff against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Cincinnati picked up their first Big 12 win this past week with a 24-14 road win over the Houston Cougars.
West Virginia started the season 4-1, but have since lost 2-of-3 including last week's 59-20 loss at Oklahoma.
Everything Scott Satterfield said about West Virginia:
By the Numbers:
- Corey Kiner enters the game needing just 115 yards to reach 1,000 rushing yards for the season. Kiner is tied for first in the Big 12 with three runs of 50 yards or more, including his 62-yard run against Houston last Saturday. He is looking to become the 13th different running back in UC history to reach the 1,000 yard milestone.
- The Bearcats (223.3 rush ypg) and the Mountaineers (213.8) will feature the Big 12's No. 2 and No. 3 rushing offenses. West Virginia's star running back CJ Donaldson has rushed for 755 yards and 10 touchdowns. Their quarterback, Garrett Greene, is also a threat to run. He has 451 yards. There have been questions about Donaldson's health after being injured against Oklahoma. If he is unable to go, Jaheim White will step in and fill the void. He has been solid with 455 yards through 10 games.
- West Virginia is averaging 14.25 passing yards per completion which ranks no. 3 in the Big 12 and no. 14 nationally. Quarterback Garrett Greene has just 3 interceptions on 210 passing attempts but has struggled with efficiency, completing just 51% of his passes. Wide receiver Devin Carter has been his favorite target (26 rec, 481 yards).
- WVU's defense is led by cornerback Beanie Bishop, who leads the nation with 23 passes defended (19 PBUs and four INTs). Bishop is a Chuck Bednarik Semi Finalist and leads a defense that is averaging 6.4 tackles for loss per game (31st nationally).
- West Virginia is ranked 21st nationally in fewest penalties per game and #28 in fewest penalty yards. They have been disciplined and are no. 2 nationally in time of possession (33:35).
- The Mountaineers special teams units have been solid to date. They have blocked 3 kicks and are no. 3 nationally in punt return defense. Kicker Michael Hayes has connected on 12-of-14 field goal attempts for an 86% success rate. That ranks #19 nationally.
- The offensive line is led by Center Zach Frazier. He leads an o-line unit that is no.1 in the Big 12 and 7th nationally in fewest sacks allowed per game (0.90). All eyes should be on Dontay Corleone v Zach Frazier throughout this game.
- West Virginia leads the all time series (16-3-1) but Cincinnati has won 2 of the previous 3 match ups between the two teams. The last time UC won in Morgantown came in a 26-23 overtime victory on Nov. 8, 2008 in which Mardy Gilyard returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a TD and Tony Pike tossed two touchdowns in his return from a broken arm. WVU's Pat McAfee drilled a 52-yard FG as time expired to send the game to overtime.
For a more in depth look at West Virginia, check out this week's At Large Bid Bearcats podcast as Keenan Cummings of WVSports gives you a behind the scenes look at the Mountaineers and what to expect from Neal Brown's team on Saturday.