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Friday Fast Facts – Cincinnati Week
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Leading off …
— “T.I.P.S” … Our weekly preview postings are available for your review and comment. My weekly written preview, along with my predictions for Family Weekend can be found here. The CU at the Game Podcast Review/Preview, looking back at the Arizona game, and previewing the Cincinnati game, can be found at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify … and … the podcast can also be found here.
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The Big Picture …
— Blackout … Saturday night’s game (8:15 p.m, MT, ESPN) is designated as Family Weekend. The game is a “Blackout” game;
— Eight-for-Eight … The Colorado/Cincinnati game will mark CU’s eighth consecutive game this season played before a national television audience. With CU’s Thanksgiving Weekend Black Friday game against Oklahoma State already set for an ABC telecast, there will be a minimum of nine games on national television for CU this fall. For some perspective, the national championship CU team in 1990 played nationally televised games … seven times;
— 100 years old … Folsom Field is celebrating its 100th year. Meanwhile, at Cincinnati, the Bearcats’ home stadium, James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium is … also 100 years old this year. (FYI, CU will travel to Cincinnati for the first time in school history in the fall of 2026);
— Another sell out … This weekend will mark the 18th time in CU’s 20 games under Coach Prime that it will play in front of a sold-out stadium. With CU’s next game, on the road against Texas Tech, already sold out, the Coach Prime era will soon hit 19 sell-outs in 21 games (But … Neither of CU’s final home games – against Utah on November 16th, and against Oklahoma State on November 29th, are sold out. You can check out the seat map for the Utah game here);
— The ESPN Power Index … has long been a CU detractor, but lately has fallen in love with the Buffs. This weekend, the Power Index gives CU a 68.1% chance of winning, with the Bearcats only getting a 31.9% chance. Last weekend, the Buffs were given a 58.8% chance of winning; the Wildcats, 41.2%;
— The game will be telecast nationally by ESPN, with Mark Jones on the play-by-play, Roddy Jones on color, and Quint Kessenich on the sidelines. 850 KOA radio will have Mark Johnson with the play-by-play, and former CU head coach Gary Barnett as the analyst.
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Colorado & Cincinnati … historical
In historical terms, Colorado and Cincinnati aren’t even close when it comes to football, and it’s not because Cincinnati is a newcomer to the game.
Yes, the Bearcats are only in their second season playing in a Power Four/Five conference, but Cincinnati’s history with the game dates back even further than does CU’s. The Buffs have been playing football since 1890, the Bearcats since … 1885.
That being said, in the 12 categories tracked by Winsipedia, Colorado leads Cincinnati in 11 … with the only category the Bearcats holding an edge in being bowl winning percentage (CU is 12-18 all-time, .400; while Cincinnati is 9-12 in bowls, .429).
Otherwise, Colorado has large leads in most categories, including all-time wins (727 to 665), all-time winning percentage (.569 to .522). There are particularly wide gaps when it comes to comparisons like all-time NFL draft picks (276 to 134) and consensus All-Americans (32 to 5).
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CU & Cincinnati … on the field …
— Colorado is 1-0 all-time against Cincinnati … The two teams met on September 16, 1972, when the Buffs – ranked No. 2 in the nation at the time – steamrolled the Bearcats, 56-14, before a sold out Folsom Field crowd of 50,171. (In case you were wondering, the Buffs finished the 1972 season with an 8-4 record. CU gave Oklahoma its only loss of the season. The Buffs finished the season ranked No. 16 in the nation after a Gator Bowl loss to No. 6 Auburn);
— “Costly” big win? … Yes, the Buffs beat the Bearcats, 56-14, in the first game between the two teams, but, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer coverage of the game, CU paid for the win:
By the way, it cost the Buffs about $893 for each point they scored. Considering guarantee and percentage clauses, the
Bearcats can soothe some of the hurts with the estimated $50,000 as their share from the game-biggest one-game
sports payday in the university’s history.
— Transfer Portal success?? … You didn’t hear about it during the off-season (at least not as much as you heard about CU’s transfers), but, after going 3-9 in Year One of the Scott Satterfield era at Cincinnati, the Bearcats brought in 47 new scholarship players this past off-season, including QB Brendan Sorsby (Indiana), TE Joe Royer (Ohio State), LBs Jared Bartlett (West Virginia) and Jake Golday (Central Arkansas) and safety Derrick Canteen (Virginia Tech);
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Stats Worth Noting …
— Bearcats have a good defense … Cincinnati’s defense has allowed the fewest points in the Big 12 in conference games (71) and leads the league in scoring defense in conference-only games (17.75). The Bearcats have allowed just 27 points the last two weeks in wins over UCF and Arizona State. Cincinnati is allowing 19.3 points per game in all games – which ranks fourth in the Big 12 and 28th overall;
— But CU has a good offense … Offensively, CU is averaging 31 points and almost 400 yards per game. The Buffs are second in the Big 12 in passing with 324 yards per game, with quarterback Shedeur Sanders leading the league in touchdown passes (19), completion percentage (72.2) and passing efficiency (161.6);
— Oh, and the Buffs have a good defense of their own … Colorado has recorded 16 sacks in the last three games and now leads the conference in total sacks for the season with 21. CU also leads the league in red zone defense with just 17 opponent scores in 25 opportunities and the Buffs have now forced 13 turnovers, which they’ve converted into 38 points. (The Buffs are now just six sacks away from matching last year’s season total);
— Playing Keep-Away … Cincinnati plays a ball-control offense (the Bearcats posted over 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing against Arizona State last weekend), and will try to play keep-away from the Buff offense. Cincinnati is averaging 32:50 in time of possession (13th in the nation). Meanwhile, CU is 100th in the nation in time of possession, with 28:30 in possession per game;
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Player Notes …
— Buffs in the Big 12 … Some of the rankings for CU players:
- Shedeur Sanders is second in the Big 12 in passing yds (2,268 – two yards behind Josh Hoover at TCU)
- Travis Hunter is second in the Big 12 in catches (51)
- LaJohntay Wester is tied for the Big 12 lead in TD catches (7)
- Cam Silmon-Craig leads the Big 12 in solo tackles (41)
— Quarterback Shedeur Sanders has 2,268 yards passing after seven games this season, 5th in the nation. Sanders is also eighth in total offense (2,249 yards) and fifth in passing touchdowns (19);
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Big 12 Notes …
— Three Big 12 teams ranked … Iowa State (No. 10); BYU (No. 11); and Kansas State (No. 16) are the only Big 12 teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 this week;
— When the season started, Colorado was scheduled to play five ranked teams: No. 12 Utah; No. 17 Oklahoma State; No. 18 Kansas State, No. 21 Arizona; and No. 22 Kansas. Since then, Utah, Oklahoma State, Arizona and Kansas have fallen out of the Top 25 … Which means that Colorado, after facing six ranked teams in 2023, could wind up facing only one ranked team in 2024 (Kansas State);
— Revisiting the Big 12 preseason media poll … Conference records for the top and bottom 5:
- Top 5 (Utah, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Arizona): 4-11; K-State is the only one with a winning record;
- Bottom 5 (Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Arizona State): 8-7; three of the five have winning records
— Big 12 Week Nine – Game times and odds …
From DraftKings.com …
The Big 12 schedule for Week Nine
Saturday, October 26th
- Texas Tech at TCU … 12:30 p.m., MT, Fox … TCU is a 6.5-point home favorite … up from being a 5.0-point on Sunday
- No. 11 BYU at UCF … 1:30 p.m., MT, ESPN … UCF is a 2.5-point home favorite … up from being a 2.0-point home underdog on Sunday …
- Oklahoma State at Baylor … 1:30 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … Baylor is a 7.0-point home favorite … up from being a 3.5-point home favorite on Sunday …
- West Virginia at Arizona … 4:00 p.m., MT, FS1 … Arizona is a 3.5-point home favorite … up from being a 2.0-point home favorite on Sunday …
- Utah at Houston … 5:00 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … Houston is a 3.5-point home underdog, up from being 4.0-point home underdog on Sunday …
- Kansas at No. 16 Kansas State … 6:00 p.m., MT, ESPN2 … Kansas State is a 10.0-point home favorite … same as Sunday …
- Cincinnati at Colorado … 8:15 p.m., MT, ESPN … Colorado is a 5.5-point home favorite … up from being a 3.5-point home favorite on Sunday …
- Bye weeks … No. 10 Iowa State and Arizona State …
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