Arizona faces one of college football’s most dangerous rushing attacks in Big 12 home opener
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The Arizona Wildcats will be back home on Saturday, hosting the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first Big 12 game at Casino Del Sol Stadium this season.
Arizona (3-1, 0-1 in Big 12) is coming off a too-close-for-comfort 34-24 road win over Washington State in Week 4, coming back from a 14-0 deficit to finish the non-conference portion of the season undefeated.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati remains undefeated on the year, off to a 4-0 start after starting Big 12 play with a 31-26 home win over Kansas State on Saturday. The Bearcats also took care of business in the non-con, with a 34-15 win over Boston College, a narrow 35-31 win over Miami OH, and a blowout 62-10 win over Western Carolina.
Cincinnati is one of three 4-0 teams in the Big 12, alongside Texas Tech and Utah, although the Bearcats aren't perceived to be on the level of those two programs - receiving just 20 votes for the AP top 25 while Tech and Utah received 1,053 and 903, respectively, putting them at No. 12 and 13 in this week's poll.
Cincinnati boasts one of the nation’s best rushing attacks
Arizona's run defense will be tested in a major, major way on Saturday night in Tucson. The Bearcats have a whopping 1,080 rushing yards so far this season, good for an average of 270 per game - which ranks seventh in college football and third among high-major teams after West Virginia and UCLA.
Notre Dame transfer Gi'Bran Payne is the superstar, already with 368 rushing yards and two touchdowns this season. His 7.2 yards per carry is obscenely good, but amazingly ranks third on the Bearcats behind Cole Tabb (28 carries for 311 yards, 11.1 per carry) and Zylan Perry (12 carries, 97 yards, 8.1 per carry) in what has been a ridiculous charge on the ground.
418 of those yards came against a very weak Western Carolina team, but Cincy still picked up 271 yards on the ground against Kansas State and 254 against Boston College, so run defense is absolutely an area Arizona has to be good - really good - on Saturday.
JC French has yet to throw an interception
Cincinnati's dynamic run game opens up the offense for senior quarterback JC French, who has been incredibly impressive in his first year with the Bearcats after three seasons as a star at Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt.
So far in 2026, French has completed 74.5% of his passes (70-for-94) with six touchdowns and zero interceptions. French isn't slinging the ball down the field necessarily - his 8.47 yards per attempt ranks 48th among FBS quarterbacks - but he's the second most efficient QB in the conference behind Noah Fifita.
Between Cincy's run game and French's efficiency with the pigskin, Arizona may have a hard time winning the time of possession battle unless they can force the Bearcats to turn the ball over - which they have only done twice this season.
Penalties remain Cincinnati’s biggest weakness
Cincinnati is among the most penalized teams in college football this season, with 30 total penalties and 286 total penalty yards called against them through four games. The 286 total penalty yards rank 111th out of 138 FBS teams, making this a major issue for the Bearcats so far this season.
Arizona is a disciplined, veteran team, and if Fifita can attack Cincy's secondary and/or get the defensive line to jump on a hard count, it will help the Wildcats extend drives and find the end zone. The home crowd certainly won't hurt either.
Arizona and Cincinnati are set to kick off at 8:00 PM PT on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Casino Del Sol Stadium. The game will be broadcast on FOX.
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