Quick Facts and Takeaways: Get to Know the Cincinnati Bearcats
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program is shipping up to Boston to face an old rival this bowl season.
The Cardinals finally learned their postseason draw on Sunday, and they will squaring off with Cincinnati in the 2022 Wasabi Fenway Bowl. Kickoff from Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 17 at 11:00 a.m. EST.
This will be Louisville's third time going bowling in their four years under head coach Scott Satterfield, and their 20th bowl appearance over the last 25 seasons. The Cardinals won the Music City Bowl 38-28 over Mississippi Satte in 2019 during Satterfield's first year at the helm, but dropped the First Responder Bowl 31-28 to Air Force last season. Louisville sports an 11-12-1 all-time bowl record.
As both fanbases know, Louisville and Cincinnati are former longtime conference rivals stemming from their time in the Missouri Valley Conference, Conference-USA and the old Big East. Even when both schools were Independents during the 1970's, 80's and a chunk of the 90's, the Cardinals and Bearcats played on a near annual basis from 1966 to 2013, with the winner of the matchup taking home The Keg of Nails.
Cincinnati leads the all-time series 30-22-1, but Louisville won the last showdown in 2013, coming out with a 31-24 road victory. The two have not played since UofL left for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Quick Facts on Cincinnati
- Record: 9-3 overall, 6-2 American
- Points Per Game: 31.1
- Points Allowed Per Game: 20.3
- Total Offense: 392.8
- Total Defense: 328.5
- Rushing Yards Per Game: 136.8
- Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 142.1
- Passing Yards Per Game: 255.9
- Passing Yards Allowed Per Game: 186.4
- Third-Down Rate: 37.9%
- Opponents' Third-Down Rate: 37.7%
- Turnovers Gained: 17 (nine interceptions, eight fumble recoveries)
- Turnovers lost: 13 (eight interceptions, five fumbles lost)
- Average Time of Possession: 28:20
- Sacks Per Game: 2.83
- Tackles for Loss Per Game: 57.2
- Sacks Per Game Allowed: 2.58
- Tackles for Loss Per Game Allowed: 4.50
Quick Takeaways on Cincinnati
One year removed from becoming the first Group of Five team to make it to the College Football Playoff, Cincinnati took a little bit of a step back in their 2022 campaign. The Bearcats still finished the year with a 9-3 record and 6-2 mark in conference play, but they weren't nearly as dominant as they had been the year before.
UC opened the year with a 31-24 loss at then-No. 19 Arkansas, and were nearly upset by USF, SMU and East Carolina, winning those three games by a combined eight points. Cincinnati's two losses in conference play came 25-21 at UCF and 27-24 vs. then-No. 19 Tulane to end the regular season, with both the Knights and Green Wave punching berths to the AAC Championship Game to leaving the Bearcats on the outside looking in.
Like Louisville, Cincinnati is a team that has won a majority of their games due to the performance of the defense. Sure, the strength of schedule between the teams has been vastly different (27th vs. 93rd), but their total defense still ranks 23rd in FBS, while their sacks and tackle for loss averages are 21st and 15th, respectively. Their speciality is against the pass, as they sport the 17th-ranked passing defense in college football.
This is because Cincinnati has legitimate talent on that side of the ball. Out of the six UC players to be named First-Team All-AAC, four of them were on the defense, including AAC Defensive Player of the Year linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. The senior has been all over the field for the Bearcats, logging 120 total tackles (tied for tenth-most in FBS), 19.5 tackles for loss (tied for third-most in FBS), 9.0 sacks, seven quarterback hurries, four pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
The other First-Team All-AAC defenders for Cincy are nose tackle Jowon Briggs (57 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 3.0 sacks, five QBH), backup nose tackle Dontay Corleone (44 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, 3.0 sacks, three QBH, two forced fumbles) and cornerback Ja'Quan Sheppard (50 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 1.0 sack, 10 pass breakups).
With Desmond Ridder is no longer taking snaps under center, Cincinnati's offense took a little bit of a step back, with the scoring offense ranking 46the in FBS and their total offense coming in at 64th. That being said, quarterback Ben Bryant still did a solid job post-Ridder, completing 61.2 percent of his passes for 2,732 yards and 21 touchdowns to seven interceptions.
However, Louisville won't see Bryant in the bowl game, as he suffered a season-ending foot injury in their matchup at Temple on Nov. 19. Evan Prater got the start against Tulane to end the season, going 10-of-26 for 102 yards and an interception, while also rushing 18 times for 83 yards. For the year, Prater has completed 54.9 percent of his passes for 340 yards and a pick, on top of 36 rushes for 196 yards and a touchdown in eight total appearances.
When it comes to both rushing and receiving the football, Cincinnati has clear go-to guys in both departments. With nearly double the carries as the next player, Charles McClelland is the feature back in UC offense, with 834 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 140 attempts. The Bearcats also give plenty of run to Corey Kiner and Ryan Montgomery, with the duo combining for 621 yards an 10 touchdowns on 139 carries.
In the passing game, Cincy's top threat is unquestionably Tyler Scott. The speedster caught 54 passes for 899 yards and nine receiving touchdowns, and that's why missing two games due to an ankle injury. Add in Tre Tucker's 52 receptions for 672 yards and three touchdowns, and the duo is responsible for 51.1 percent on UC's receiving yards.
However, the biggest storyline with Cincinnati is on the coaching front. Just two days after their regular season finale against Tulane, it was announced that head coach Luke Fickell had accepted the vacant respective position at Wisconsin after six years with the Bearcats. On top of that, offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli is not expected remain on staff for the Fenway Bowl. Cornerbacks and special teams coach Kerry Coombs will serve as the interim for the bowl.
(Photo of Evan Prater: Bill Streicher - USA TODAY Sports)
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