Military Bowl Preview: Cincinnati Bearcats Offense v. Virginia Tech Hokies Defense
By Chris Bains
It’s Military Bowl week, with the Cincinnati Bearcats traveling to Annapolis, Maryland to play the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday at 1 pm. The game will be televised on ESPN and streamed via the WatchESPN app.
To kick off our preview of the matchup, we’ll start with the much anticipated battle between the UC offense and the Virginia Tech defense.
KEY NUMBERS
There’s no more juxtaposing matchup in this game than Cincinnati’s passing attack against Virginia Tech’s passing defense. The Bearcats, while not particularly explosive ranking 38th in passes of 25 yards or more, average the 13th most yards per game through the air. UC has developed a West Coast offense with Gunner Kiel’s live arm and plethora of weapons on the outside. Cincinnati could effectively get average performances from their four leading receivers and still hit 300 yards per game.
More from Bearcats Football
- Cincinnati Football: Bearcats aim to get back on track against Oklahoma in Big 12 opener
- Cincinnati Football: Red zone concerns could be a recurring issue throughout season
- Cincinnati Football: Players of the game from the Bearcats recent loss to rival Miami
- Cincinnati Football: Defensive standouts from the disappointing Battle for the Victory Bell loss
- Cincinnati Football: Can the Bearcats bounce back from frustrating loss against Miami?
By contrast, Virginia Tech is extremely stout against the pass, mainly due to an aggressive pass rush. The Hokies’ defensive line is among the most talented in the country and on the whole have sacked opposing quarterbacks 46 times this year, more than all but three teams in college football. Virginia Tech’s secondary isn’t all that outstanding. They’re solid, but not spectacular, and rely upon pressure from the front seven to shut down opposing receivers.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Dadi Nicolas (#90)/Ken Ekanem (#4): Virginia Tech’s studs off the edge have piled up 17 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss this season. Nicolas and Ekanem singlehandedly shut down opposing passing games by being so disruptive snap after snap. They’ll give Bearcats left tackle Eric Lefeld and right tackle Justin Murray a challenge on Saturday and will be a major factor in Cincinnati’s offensive success.
BEST MATCHUP
Da Whole Virginia Tech DL v. Da Whole Cincinnati OL: It’s difficult to peg the best one-on-one matchup between Cincinnati’s offense and Virginia Tech’s defense. You can make the argument for Nicolas and Ekanem against Lefeld and Murray. But, quite honestly, this game will be won in the trenches between the entire UC offensive line and Virginia Tech defensive line. The former has protected Gunner Kiel better than any in the AAC and the latter is as havoc wreaking as any in college football. The unit that is more successful on Saturday will likely be on the winning side.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Fears of the Belk Bowl last year when North Carolina’s defensive line manhandled UC up front en route to a blowout victory for the Tar Heels are flashing in my mind. Much of that, though, was due to several injuries along the offensive line for the Bearcats, causing them to go with backups days before the game. The same won’t be the case for this Saturday. Virginia Tech’s front seven is talented, sure, but Cincinnati’s offensive line is more than capable of handling the pass rush.
The key will be balance for the Bearcats. If they are too reliant on the passing game, that’ll only feed into the Hokies’ strengths, which would mean bad news for Cincinnati. But if UC can run the ball well and pass it when they dictate it, they’ll have success offensively on Saturday.