Three Thoughts on Kansas’ 49-16 Win Over Cincinnati
The college football regular season wrapped up with Week 13 on Saturday. In the Big 12, the Kansas Jayhawks hit the road to play the Cincinnati Bearcats. There wasn’t a ton on the line, as the game played no role in the Big 12 title race, and the Jayhawks were already bowl eligible, while Cincinnati was incapable of reaching a bowl game this season.
That said, both teams were motivated to end the regular season on a high note, and we got a game that got off to a slow start, as Cincinnati led 3-0 after the first quarter. But then, the offensive picked up as Kansas rolled to a 49-16 win. Here are three thoughts on the game.
Welcome Back Jason Bean
Jason Bean was back under center for the Jayhawks after missing the last game and a half following his injury suffered against Texas Tech in Week 11. Bean got off to a hot start, going 10/10 in the first half for 190 yards and two passing touchdowns. He was spreading the ball around beautifully, completing passes to six different players in the first, including touchdowns to Jared Casey and Mason Fairchild.
Look at this tight window Bean fit it into to find Casey.
For the game, Bean finished 13/17 for 250 yards and the two touchdown passes to zero interceptions. But he also added and team-high four rushes for 90 yards and two scores, capping off a four-touchdown evening in the Ohio Valley.
Cincinnati’s Defense Gashed
There haven’t been many bright spots for Cincinnati during this 3-9 inaugural Big 12 season, however the defense had generally outperformed the offense most weeks. But on Saturday, the offense and defense were, in many ways, equally inept. The Cincinnati defense was gashed for 289 total yards in the first half, including allowing a stunning 12 yards per play.
Over four quarters, the Jayhawks finished the night with 49 points on 51 plays and a whopping 11 yards per play. Unbelievable. And a sign of downright awful defense by the Bearcats. Cincinnati gave up 14.7 yards per pass and 9.2 yards per carry, while giving up a whopping 562 total yards against Kansas.
Two Teams Trending in Different Directions
For the Kansas Jayhawks, it’s now officially their best football season since 2008, the last time this program reached the eight-win mark. Meantime, the three wins for Cincinnati are their fewest since 1999, when the Bearcats went 3-9 and finished in 9th place in Conference USA under Rick Minter.
As the Big 12 gets set to change, once again, heading into 2024, these are two programs trending in different directions. Under Lance Leipold, the Kansas Jayhawks are poised to potentially be a year-in, year-out competitor in the new Big 12. Or at least a top-half team that is in the mix in the second half of the season, every season. Meantime, Cincinnati is only a couple of years removed from a College Football Playoff during an undefeated regular season. But that feels like a distant memory under former head coach Luke Fickell.
Now, in an era of the transfer portal, Scott Satterfield will need to beef up the talent level for the Bearcats to be competing in the Big 12 Conference going forward.
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