How to Watch Indiana's Football Game Against Cincinnati on Saturday
Indiana's first road trip of the season represents a shot at revenge.
In a Week 3 matchup between Indiana and Cincinnati last season in Bloomington, the Hoosiers lost 38-24 after being out scored 15-0 in the fourth quarter to a Cincinnati team that went on to reach the College Football Playoff.
The loss still stings for returning Indiana players, and even the incoming transfers feel what's at stake after last season.
"With me being a newcomer," North Carolina transfer wide receiver Emery Simmons said. "I don't fully understand what happened last year, but I watched the game myself. Opening weekend I watched a couple of the highlights and everything, but I know for sure that these guys should have won, we should have won here last year. I know with us going to their place and playing on the road and them being our first away game, I know we're going to take pride in that."
- *** LIVE BLOG: And once the game starts, follow all the action on our live blog. To read that story, CLICK HERE.
How to watch Indiana Hoosiers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
- Who: Indiana Hoosiers (3-0, defeated Western Kentucky 33-30 in Week 3) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (2-1, defeated Miami (OH) 38-17 in Week 3)
- What: Final non-conference matchup of Indiana's season. Indiana coach Tom Allen is 14-1 all-time against non-conference opponents during the regular season, with the only loss coming in 2021 against Cincinnati.
- When: 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 24
- Where: Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio
- TV: ESPN2
- Announcers: Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Kirk Morrison (analyst), Stormy Buonantony (sideline)
- Stream: Watch fuboTV
- Radio: Indiana Hoosiers Sports Network, Sirius/Online: XM (136 or 195) // SXM App (957)
- Radio Announcers: Don Fischer (play-by-play), Rhett Lewis (analyst), Joe Smith, John Herrick
- Point spread: Cincinnati is a 16.5-point favorite over Indiana, and the over/under is 57.5 points as of Saturday afternoon, according to Fanduel
- Season totals: Indiana's 2022 regular season win total over/under was 4 prior to their 23-20 win over Illinois, according to the FanDuel Sportsbook.
- Last season's records: Indiana was 2-10 overall with a 0-9 record in Big Ten play in 2021. Cincinnati was 13-1 overall with a 9-0 record in American Athletic Conference play in 2021. The Bearcats were the No. 4 seed in the 2022 College Football Playoff and lost 27-6 to No. 1 seed Alabama.
- Series history: Indiana leads the all-time series 9-4-2 with wins in five lost the last six games.
- Last meeting: In Week 3 of the 2021 season, the Hoosiers got out to a 14-0 lead, but Indiana's All-American linebacker Micah McFadden was ejected for targeting late in the second quarter. Still, the Hoosiers clung to a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Indiana running back Tim Baldwin Jr. lost a fumble at the Cincinnati 2-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw an interception deep in Indiana's territory with just over three minutes to go. Cincinnati outscored Indiana 15-0 in the fourth quarter en route to a 38-24 win in Bloomington, Ind. Penix completed 17-of-41 passes for 224 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Indiana running back Stephen Carr rushed 21 times for 52 yards and caught two passes for 14 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver D.J. Matthews led the Hoosiers with 120 receiving yards on five receptions, and tight end Peyton Hendershot hauled in six passes for 60 yards and a touchdown. Indiana defensive end Ryder Anderson totaled eight tackles and two sacks. Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder completed 20-of-36 pass attempts for 210 yards, one touchdown and one interception, as well as 10 rushes for 45 yards and a touchdown. Cincinnati running back Jerome Ford gained 66 yards and scored two touchdowns on 20 carries, and wide receiver Alec Pierce led the Bearcats with five catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.
- Coaches: Luke Fickell is in his sixth year as Cincinnati head coach, and he received eight national coach of the year awards in 2021. He's led the Bearcats to a 50-16 record, which includes a 22-2 stretch during the 2020 and 2021 seasons where the only losses came against Georgia and Alabama. Under Fickell, Cincinnati has won back-to-back American Athletic Conference championships and made a College Football Playoff appearance last year. A program-high nine players were selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, ranking third behind Georgia's 15 and LSU's 10. Fickell played nose guard at Ohio State from 1992 to 1996 before spending 16 seasons on the Buckeyes' coaching staff.Tom Allen is entering his sixth season as Indiana's head coach with a 29-32 overall record. Allen's 29 wins rank seventh among all-time Indiana football coaches, behind John Pont's 31 wins from 1965-72. Allen's 26 wins over his first five seasons were tied for the most by a Hoosier head coach with the program's all-time winningest coach, Bill Mallory. Allen is 0-3 in bowl games, most recently losing 26-20 to Ole Miss in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 2, 2021.
- Weather: According to weather.com, at 3:30 p.m. ET in Cincinnati, Ohio, it's going to be 73 degrees with a 3 percent chance of rain and winds from the southwest at 9 miles per hour.
Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver D.J. Matthews Jr. (7) leaps to catch a pass under pressure from Cincinnati Bearcats safety Ja'von Hicks (3) in the second quarter of the NCAA football game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Cincinnati Bearcats at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.
© Sam Greene/The Enquirer via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Three things to watch from Indiana
Starting fast
Indiana's offense has produced 91 points across its first three games, which is the Hoosiers' highest-scoring three-game stretch since Week 3 to 5 during the 2020 season.
However, only six of these 91 points have come in the first quarter. Despite its 3-0 record, Indiana has trailed each of its first three games at halftime. When asked what's been different for the offense at the end of games compared to the start, Indiana offensive coordinator said third-down execution and over-aggressive play calling are factors.
"Take the last game for instance," Bell said. "I thought I was a little over-agressive in the score zone because I thought they were going to move the ball. I don't mean that in any way, shape, form or fashion as something against our defense, it's just how they play. We're very similar in style, so I thought when we got inside the 20-yard line, I got a little over-aggressive, created some zero-yardage plays, taking shots, try to push the ball, push the ball and force the issue a little bit. So I had just as much to do with that as anybody else. Now, is there some things we need to clean up, is there some execution? Yeah, absolutely."
While it's a good sign that Indiana has been able to make offensive adjustments and produce late-game magic with new quarterback Connor Bazelak, it's not a reliable long-term winning formula. On the road against a tough Cincinnati squad this weekend, an early deficit will be much more difficult to overcome.
Contain the run
One of coach Tom Allen's biggest frustrations this season has been Indiana's run defense. The Hoosiers allowed 216 rushing yards and 6.0 yards per carry last week against Western Kentucky and have allowed seven rushing touchdowns in the first three games.
Western Kentucky rushed for just 33 yards in the first half last week, but Indiana allowed gains of 59 and 29 yards in the second half.
"I felt like I kind of over adjusted some things at halftime to try to get some help there and it didn't work, so I'll take the blame for that" Allen said. "We did have some missed tackles that I wasn't happy about, especially I think in our perimeter guys. Our DBs need to tackle better, especially some of our 2s."
Cincinnati has three running backs with over 100 rushing yards this season, led by senior Charles McClelland who has carried the ball 33 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns. As a team, Cincinnati averaged five yards per carry in the first three games.
'Next man up' on offensive line
Indiana senior right tackle Matthew Bedford tore is ACL in Week 1 against Illinois after starting all 12 games last season. In what Allen called a 'freak accident' in warmups, starting center Zach Carpenter suffered a hand injury and didn't play against Western Kentucky.
Division II West Texas A&M transfer Parker Hanna stepped in to replace Bedford against Illinois, and redshirt sophomore Caleb Murphy started the first game of his college career when Carpenter went down. Murphy was Indiana's Offensive Player of the Week in the win over Western Kentucky, and Allen was proud of his ability to step in on short notice.
"I wasn't surprised that [Murphy] played so well because he's going to give you everything he's got, for 60 minutes and beyond," Allen said.
Heading into a matchup with a Cincinnati defensive front that has totaled 23 tackles for loss and seven sacks this year, keep an eye on how the Indiana offensive line adapts after losing two starters to injury.
Related stories on Indiana football:
- MEET THE BEARCATS: Indiana football carries a 3-0 record into a difficult road contest against the Cincinnati Bearcats. Coach Luke Fickell and Cincinnati defeated Indiana 38-24 last season en route to the College Football Playoff. CLICK HERE
- LUKE FICKELL PREVIEWS INDIANA: Only fifth-round pick Jerome Ford, who transferred to UC from Alabama, was rated higher than a three-star by recruiting services entering college. CLICK HERE
- CHARLES CAMPBELL AND CAM JONES JOIN PODCAST: Welcome in to Episode 4 of the Hoosier Roundtable Podcast. This week's episode will feature linebacker Cam Jones and kicker Charles Campbell, who scored the game-winning field goal for Indiana's 33-30 win over Western Kentucky. CLICK HERE
- MYLES JACKSON EXEMPLIFIES 'BALL FINDS ENERGY': Myles Jackson intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble in Indiana's 33-30 win over Western Kentucky in Week 3. After transferring from UCLA, he feels Indiana's bull position is a perfect fit. CLICK HERE
