On Saturday morning, Cincinnati and UCF squared off in a high-stakes Big 12 battle that actually turned into a gritty, low-scoring outing. The Bearcats entered the contest undefeated in conference play, fresh off a statement win over No. 22 Iowa State. The Knights, however, were looking to get a bad taste out of their mouths after dropping a game to Kansas.
It was a physical, hard-hitting matchup from the opening kickoff, featuring two teams built on toughness, discipline, and playmaking on both sides of the ball. Cincinnati had a relatively quiet day on offense, for its standard, while UCF continued to sleepwalk through conference play, dropping to 0-3 in the league. In the end, the Bearcats earned the win and advanced to 3-0 in the Big 12.
With that, here are three takeaways from Cincinnati’s 20-11 win over UCF.
IT WASN’T PRETTY, BUT THAT’S OKAY
Like I mentioned in the intro, Cincinnati wasn’t Cincinnati by their standards, but they didn’t have to be. Prior to the game, Scott Satterfield’s group was averaging 39.2 points per game and 478.4 yards of total offense per game. Against the Knights, they only needed 20 points and 306 yards. They were outgained in total yards and ran nearly half of the plays UCF did, but they escaped with the win and advanced to 5-1.
They’ll take on what’s left of Oklahoma State football next week before facing a challenge in Baylor, giving them a week to get back up to speed and their usual selves.
FANCHER IS THE GUY
There’s been a lot of conversation surrounding UCF’s offensive issues this season, and a large portion of that stems from the logjam at quarterback. We’ve seen Tayven Jackson, Cam Fancher, and even Jaccuri Brown this season, but even though the group lost today, it felt like there was an extra feather stuck in the cap of Fancher.
Against a stout Cincinnati defense, Fancher went 28-49 for 222 yards through the air, in addition to 20 carries for 108 yards and a score in the ground game. Was it good enough to beat Cincinnati? No. But it may be enough to infuse some life into Scott Frost’s offense for the next few weeks.
SURVIVE AND ADVANCE
Understatement of the year here: The Big 12 is a wild landscape. It’s nearly impossible to predict who is good and who isn’t on a week-to-week basis. That said, Cincinnati has quite an impressive resume through six games.
The Bearcats are one of four undefeated teams in conference play alongside BYU, Arizona State, and Texas Tech, each of whom is ranked inside the nation’s Top 25. It goes without saying that Cincinnati should, and will be ranked next week, heading to Stillwater. In a league where anyone can win on any given night, Scott Satterfield’s group is keeping its head down and showing up big. It’s not about being the flashiest or the most talented on paper. It’s about who can sustain consistency through a gauntlet of a league and find themselves in Arlington. Don’t count out this Cincinnati team.
