The Scott Satterfield era at Cincinnati has often been defined by strong winning streaks, quickly halted before the Bearcats end up falling flat on their face. Look at last season, when UC was off to a 7-1 start before dropping five straight games to end the season 7-6.
This season could have done the same after a 4-0 start, then back-to-back losses. But the Bearcats had an unprecedented reset, taking down the No. 8 Texas Tech Red Raiders in a storming 37-24 win, never letting their foot off the gas.
Winner: Red Zone Offense
If you are going to take down a team of Texas Tech's prowess, it starts and ends with not squandering your opportunities.
The Bearcats got into the red zone four times, and each visit resulted in a passing touchdown. Elite playcalling on each pass kept JC French IV from having to make an extraordinary heave into the end zone.
On the flip side, Texas Tech reached the red zone four times and took only 12 points. Both sides showed the strength necessary deep down the field.
Loser: Putting The Brakes On The Offense
This will be the only loser of this article, because this is a massive win for the Bearcats, but Cincinnati’s limited passing attack could have cost them more if it wasn’t for an elite rushing offense
French zipped 11 of a possible 12 completions in short-yardage situations (less than five yards). Past that, however, he completed 7/16. While it is clearly in the plan for this to be a short-range passing game, this could have been closed out much sooner if French could have found just a couple of long-range passes.
Winner: Rushing Offense Strikes Again
As much as you can give the defense credit for their performance, you simply can not ignore an outstanding 6.5 yards on the ground average. Those would be stellar numbers against any team in college football; nonetheless against one of the few undefeated teams left in the nation.
Leading the attack was, of course, Cole Tabb, who finished with 173 yards on the ground and one touchdown, averaging a whopping 10.8 yards per carry.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, you are only as good as your last win, so Satterfield and his team are in a pretty good spot right now. Of course, the Big 12 will throw as much chaos as possible at you so no win is a guarantee week to week, but the Bearcats have started a brutal three-game stretch out perfectly.
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