Cincinnati Brings Ground-Heavy Offense to Morgantown

The West Virginia Mountaineers host the Cincinnati Bearcats Saturday afternoon at Mountaineer Field. Kickoff is set for noon and the action will broadcast on TNT / TruTV and streamed on HBO Max.

Scott Satterfield is in his fourth season at the helm at Cincinnati and has his Bearcats at 4-1 for the second consecutive season, including wins over Boston College in the season opener and Kansas State in the Big 12 opener. Cincinnati began the season with four straight home wins before suffering the first loss of the season at Arizona, 34-7, and comeds into the matchup against the Mountaineers following a bye week.

The Bearcats success on offense has come on the ground, ranking third in the Big 12 in rushing yards per game at 230.8. Fifth year running back Gi’Bran Payne leads the attack with 392 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 62 carries, while junior Ryan Taleb is second on the team with 330 yards and a team-best six touchdowns.

Paving the way for the running game is a veteran offensive line, weighing in at an average of 318 pounds per o-lineman.

JC French IV has thrown for 949 yards and six touchdowns and has yet to throw an interception this season. The senior is completing 69.9% of his passes. He’s also contributing in the run game, rushing for 193 yards and five touchdowns. He spent three seasons at Georgia Southern before transferring to Cincinnati in the offseason.

Fifth year receiver JV Gibson has matched his reception total from a season ago at Oklahoma with 18 catches, and currently leads the team with 267 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Junior Isaiah Johnson has hauled in a team-best 21 receptions for 142 yards while senior Larenzo Fenner has brought in 10 passes for 124 yards and senior Malachi Henry has six receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown.

Under defensive coordinator Nate Woody, Cincinnati runs a high pressure, blitz-heavy scheme primarily out of a 3-4 look. In his first season, the Bearcats rank in the bottom of the league in every major statistical category. They are 13th in league in defensive scoring (23.2 ppg),15th in total defense (401.6 ypg), 12th in rushing yards allowed (141.6 rypg), and 14th in passing yards allowed (260.0 pypg).

Fifth year outside linebacker Antwan Peek Jr. leads the unit with 38 tackles with a sack on the season. Fifth year linebacker Jonathan Thompson has registered a team-high 5.5 tackles for loss and sixth year defensive lineman Josh Hough leads the Bearcats with three sacks.

Roaming the secondary and leading the group with a pair of interceptions is fifth year safety MJ Cannon and is tied for the team lead with teammate fifth year cornerback Jacob Finley with three pass deflections.

West Virginia leads the all-time series 18-3-1.

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