Campus Clash
(7) Cincinnati Bearcats at (9) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Cincinnati: To begin the year, they’ve had three easy games. Miami (Ohio) and Murray State were cake walks for them. In their third game against the Indiana Hoosiers, they struggled for a bit, but were able to get into their rhythm and finish with another win. Throughout the year, people make lists on who can be on the Heisman candidates. Desmond Ridder is one of mine. When I watch the tape on him, I see a guy who’s very pocket savvy and he has complete control of his offense. I like how he spreads the ball around to the open receiver whether it’s a tight end, wide receiver or running back out the backfield or in the flat. Desmond also has the ability to use his feet and when the opportunity presents itself, he’ll show his mobility. This Bearcats team plays hard under Luke Fickell. I can always appreciate a team that leaves everything on the football field. This team scores with the best of them. 43 points per game is saying something. On the defensive side, they aren’t too bad either. 15 points given up per game is solid. They’ve been an active group that creates turnovers, they stop the run and when they force those turnovers, they turn those into points. This could be a darkhorse playoff team if they continue to win football games. It also depends on what direction the committee wants to go in. On Saturday, they will face their toughest test with a gritty Fighting Irish team in South Bend.
Notre Dame: Saturday in Chicago against the Wisconsin Badgers was their best win of the season. I had called them out and questioned their performances against the Florida State Seminoles and Toledo Rockets. Those were the games they each won by three points. In week three, I saw them let the Purdue Boilmakers hang around until the second half. In week four, it was a big game against the Badgers and it was the first time that former Wisconsin quarterback and current Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan was facing his former team for the first time. Unfortunately, Jack got hurt and in came Drew Pyne. They didn’t miss a beat because the offensive line controlled things up front, Drew connected with his receivers and the defense really turned things up with two pick sixes which put the game away. I’ve watched a lot of them over the years. This Irish team is battled tested and when one man went down, the next stepped up. Before the win, I kept saying to myself that I was concerned with the offensive line because they were inconsistent when it came to pass protection. I saw some improvements, but I need to see consistency across the front. Can we give Brian Kelly some love while we’re here? With the win over the weekend, Brian became the winningest head coach in Notre Dame Football history with 106 wins which surpassed the iconic coach, Knute Rockne. This weekend, they return home for a top ten battle with the Bearcats.
Cincinnati X-Factor: Jerome Ford– He’s one of the key contributing pieces for this Bearcats offense. Jerome is a smaller, yet shifty back that can power himself in between the tackles and into the second and third levels of the defense. He’s quietly put together a solid season so far. Six touchdown runs on the year and he averages six yards per carry. Notre Dame has struggled to stop the run this year so why not go into that stadium and exploit that furthermore?
Notre Dame X-Factor: Kevin Austin Jr.- Behind Michael Mayer, he’s the second receiving option on this offense. Kevin is the definition of a possession receiver and he has no problem going up to get the football as if he was trying to secure a rebound on the basketball court. Listen to these numbers. Against Florida State, he averaged 22 yards per catch. The following week against Toledo, 15 yards per catch and Saturday against Wisconsin, close to 13 yards per catch. Get him the ball Tommy Rees.
Final Thoughts: October football is upon us and with that comes one thing, playoff implications! This game has those because the winner will be in a better position for a playoff spot while the loser will be in a hole of some sorts and every game will be a must win. There are two big story lines in this game. The first is the status of Jack Coan. Will he be healthy enough to play in this game? The other is Notre Dame defensive coordinator, Marcus Freeman. Last season, he was running the Cincinnati defense. He was a big reason behind the success of Cincinnati’s defensive success. The Bearcats should run the football until Notre Dame can clamp down to stop it. Notre Dame’s pass rush will need to up and running throughout this game to limit and contain Ridder. If the Irish offensive line can play up to their potential, they will outmuscle the Cincinnati front seven. Here’s to hoping they can get Kyren Williams going in the running game. This game will come down to capitalizing on opportunities. Notre Dame has one of the best red zone offenses in the country while Cincinnati owns one of the best red zone defenses. This is what could determine the game.
Prediction: Notre Dame 24, Cincinnati 17
