With the opening cupcakes out of the way, the University of Cincinnati will visit Knoxville, Tennessee to take on the Volunteers and their 102,455 screaming fans in orange at Neyland Stadium.
Waiting for the Bearcats will be Tennessee’s Sophomore Quarterback Tyler Bray. As a freshman, Bray didn’t start until the last 5 games of the season and led UT to an impressive 4-1 record to end the season. Even more impressive are the statistics that Bray posted in limited action. With 1,849 yards and 18 touchdowns in only 5 games, the Bearcats will have their hands full with this air attack.
On the other side of the ball is where UT had their issues. By giving up 152 yards per game on the ground and over 200 yards per game through the air, the Volunteers’ defense will be up against a powerful Bearcats offense that averaged over 27 points a game last year.
The game will be won by whoever wins the turnover battle. The Bearcats turned over the ball 29 times and the Volunteers 24 times. Protection of the ball will be the key in this titanic struggle.
This is a tough one to predict but I believe the Bearcats have more experience in big games as compared to the young Volunteer squad. UC pulls out a dramatic win over UT in Knoxville, 27-24.