Smu 10/24 9:00 espn2

[UC4me]

Gardner looks like something is not right internally and now Ridder just vomited on the field. Wonder what is going on?

[BigDaddyCornHusker]

Let's hope the Cincinnati wins continue!

[Lobot]

Something I remembered just from attending games at Ford Stadium is that I don't believe SMU has ever beaten us in their own stadium since the AAC was formed. We are 3-1 against SMU all time and the one loss was at Nippert in 2017.

Update: Was able to confirm this on Sports-reference.com

[Lobot]

The Dallas Morning news writers have their picks in for today and 6 of the 10 pickers picked UC against the spread and straight up. The spread is currently at SMU -2.5 and ESPN . The DMN has it's spread at -1

[Bearcat Chris]

I watched Tulsa dismantle USF last night, and I will tell you this, Tulsa is very, very good. They have several transfers from Texas and Texas A&M. Their QB is from Texas, and is solid, and their starting RB is from A&M, and he is a "horse" (big and fast). They are the team we have to watch out for.

B.C.

[richard k.]

Ridder has to play a perfect game, or it will be a loooooong night for UC!

B.C.

Not sure it has to be "perfect," but it has to be a lot better than he's shown so far this season.

[Bearcat Chris]

Ridder has to play a perfect game, or it will be a loooooong night for UC!

B.C.

[Lobot]

Good write up.

I hope the team is not trying to do a walk through this morning at Ford stadium. Storms and crazy town wind right now.

This is me venting. We finally get a game in Dallas against SMU where there’s actual football weather and our fans can’t go. Usually it’s 80 something in the late afternoon and no clouds and everybody bakes. Going to be about 57 tomorrow night.

SMU is allowing 8000 fans. That’s more than they generally have in the stadium on a good day, so we’ll see. Maybe an undefeated team will drag them inside since they can’t tailgate during the game on the Boulevard this year.

[swilsonsp4]

Here's a write-up on the game that I found at an SMU board:

The AAC has a showdown between two undefeated teams to wrap up the college football slate on Saturday. SMU has been winning with their high powered offense while Cincinnati wins with their outstanding defense. Great defense meets great offense on Saturday night and the winner will be in the driver’s seat in the American.

The Mustangs have been clicking on all cylinders offensively averaging over 42 points per game, good for seventh nationally. They did lose their best receiver when Reggie Roberson Jr was injured against Memphis. Roberson is a big time talent at receiver who will be missed but the offense marched on and put 37 points on the board against Tulane last week. Quarterback Shane Buechele (#21 QB in our rankings) is very comfortable in the offense, completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 1,710 yards with 12 touchdowns against just 2 interceptions. Even when Roberson was healthy, Buechele spread the ball around to his receivers allowing multiple players to make an impact. The offense has gotten a big boost from redshirt freshman running back Ulysses Bentley IV. He runs with good speed and burst and has been able to pick up yards in chunks. He has 506 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns on 74 carries this year, giving the Mustangs a credible threat in the run game. SMU has scored more than 30 points in all five of their games this season and will be attempting to get that streak to six against a tough Cincinnati defense.

Cincinnati’s defense has been equally effective, allowing only 12.3 points per game which is good for sixth nationally. The Bearcats have forced eight turnovers in their three games this year capitalizing on their opponents miscues. The secondary features two players who are already stars at their position, safety James Wiggins (#18 S in our rankings) and cornerback Ahmad Gardner (#9 CB in our rankings). Gardner is a sophomore who has gotten off to a fast start in 2020 with 12 tackles, 3 pass breakups and 2 interceptions in three games. He has good height and length and the footwork to play man coverage on the outside. Wiggins is a senior, who is the leader of the secondary, he has accounted for 15 tackles and 3 pass breakups so far. The duo will aim to slow down a dangerous passing attack from SMU, but will get some help from their defensive front in doing that. Junior defensive end Myjai Sanders is an effective pass rusher, recording 4 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. The linebacker group features, Jarell White, he is an undersized but rangy player who is relentless in pursuit of the football. White leads the team with 31 tackles and has 3.5 tackles for loss to his credit as well. The Bearcats have talent at all three levels of the defense and will make the SMU offense work to score points in this game.

The Cincinnati offense has not yet hit its stride. They scored 55 points against Austin Peay, but have failed to break 30 against Army and South Florida. Turnovers have been an issue for the offense, they have thrown four interceptions and lost two fumbles the last two weeks. The Bearcats have struggled to find consistency on offense this season and a lot of the struggles can be traced to the quarterback position. Desmond Ridder is a talented dual threat quarterback but is inconsistent in the passing game and prone to turnovers. Ridder has the size and athleticism to be a dynamic quarterback but needs to stay within the offense and avoid the bad throws that flip the momentum of the game. Ridder is the key to the Bearcats offense, if he gets on track Cincinnati will be tough to beat.

As good as the Mustangs offense has been, the defense has improved significantly from 2019 and is a reason for optimism in 2020. SMU allowed over 32 points per game a year ago, but that number is down to 25.4 this season. That improvement includes their game against a high powered Memphis offense they were able to limit to 27 points. A pair of sophomores have proven themselves to be key playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. Cornerback Brandon Crossley has made three interceptions and has two pass breakups through five games this year. He is a smaller defensive back but makes big plays on the field. Up front, defensive tackle Elijah Chatman has become a disruptive player who uses his quickness and leverage to get in the backfield. Chatman has made 12 tackles and 5 tackles for loss including 3 sacks on the season. The Mustangs defense may not be the strength of their team but has young players coming on and has improved from last year.

Winning this game would put either of these teams in the lead position in the AAC. SMU already has a win over Memphis, adding a win over Cincinnati would keep them unbeaten and give them two key head to head tiebreakers. The Bearcats are earlier in their schedule, but could start to build a stong resume with a big win over a good SMU team.

[Lobot]

Yeah , in press conference the Fickell indicated that he didn't want to cancel Tulsa and someone over his head made that decision.

https://gobearcats.com/news/2020/10/...onference.aspx

[red_n_black_attack]

Per Fickell presser, no positive tests in the back half of last week.

Zero is great news!! Thanks for the update

[Lobot]

Per Fickell presser, no positive tests in the back half of last week.

[coach]

I think the key for this team all season long will be for the offense to limit turnovers, and get points when the defense provides opportunities. This is not likely to be a team that needs to score a lot of points to win, so turnovers particularly on the road need to be limited. We can't give away easy points, and leave our defense on the field to long.

[Greg7173]

I'm confident our defense will show up and do their normal stellar job. Hopefully Ridder and the offense can do the same. Let's get the tight end more involved and use our wideouts on short outs and curls until Ridder can get his confidence up in completing longer passes.

[Lobot]

Per Sam Blum at the DMN, AAC officials expect that this game will be played as scheduled.