The Cincinnati Bearcats face a tough roadie as they have embarked to Houston to face a very dangerous, very undefeated, and very ranked Cougars football team. It’s a tall task asking UC to go into the lion’s den (or is it cougar’s den?) and take them down but here are five keys for them to come out ahead.
1) Contain With The Linebackers
Head coach Tom Herman operates with Houston, like he did at Ohio State, a system that leverages numbers to give his offense the advantage on any given running play. It also attempts to take defensive ends out of the picture, putting huge pressure on linebackers to make plays on the quarterback or running back. That leaves it up to Eric Wilson and Bryce Jenkinson to play outside of their minds tomorrow afternoon. They need to continuously be seeking to fill gaps if they see Greg Ward slide the ball off to Kenneth Farrow or be ready to take Ward down in open space should he keep it. This isn’t an easy task by any means, you all saw what the Buckeyes did to UC last year with this same scheme, but it’s not impossible. The linebackers just need to have a particularly flawless game.
2) Execute Mistake-Free Plays
For the past two seasons the Cougar defense has made a name for itself generating turnovers. They currently lead the nation in turnover margin and are 12th in interceptions with 12 this season. The Bearcats, a turnover machine offensively to begin the year, have played pretty well of late, winning or at least tying the turnover battle each of the last three weeks. Gunner Kiel on Saturday didn’t throw an incomplete pass against Central Florida let alone an interception, so he’s clearly keyed in during the late-season grind. But he’ll need a repeat performance like that to beat Houston. One turnover is pretty acceptable but if they start racking up like against Temple in week 2, this could be a long day for the good guys.
3) Continue Performing Excellent On Third Down
The Bearcats, for all of their problems defensively, have been fairly excellent on third downs. UC has forced opposing offenses off the field in these situations a remarkable 24.8% of the time, which is fourth stingiest in college football. It’s just amazing that they have the ability to clamp down in crucial situations yet allow receivers to run wide open some of the time. Aah the double-edged sword of leaning on talented freshmen and sophomores. If Cincinnati is going to win tomorrow or at least keep things close, they must find a way to get the ball in their own offense’s hands as much as possible and that means getting off the field on third downs.
4) Balanced Performance In The Rushing Attack
Eddie Gran’s resigned to the strategy that splitting carries between Mike Boone, Tion Green, and Hosey Williams is the way to go. This despite Boone outperforming his battery mates in most statistical areas. Unfortunately it seems the category of “pass protection” is keeping him off the field. I’ve argued until I’m blue in the face that if he’s grinding out first downs every other carry, it nullifies the need for a heavy passing attack, and therefore his weakness. But that’s why I’m not a coach.
Look, if Gran is going to keep shoving this three-headed attack down our throats, Green and Williams have to pick up their games. They can’t hover around three or four yards per carry while Boone is generating eight. The pair performed well against UConn and UCF but, let’s be real, that was UConn and UCF, not even in the same universe as Houston. Cincinnati needs all of their running backs to put up solid numbers tomorrow, not just one-third of the equation.
5) Get Into A Shootout, If You Must
If all else fails, lean on what you do best. One of the biggest advantages UC brings to this game is their passing attack, the 6th best in college football averaging over 370 yards per game. Should the Bearcats find themselves in situations where Greg Ward is running all over them and the secondary is losing receivers in space, fine, so be it. Just air the heck out of the football and let Cincinnati’s talented quarterbacks and receivers win the game for them.