No. 17 Cincinnati faces its biggest test of the season so far when it visits No. 24 Utah on Saturday night.
The Bearcats (7-1, 5-0 Big 12) are tied atop the Big 12 standings with No. 10 BYU but face a tough path to reach the league title game in Arlington, Texas, with games against the Utes this week and the Cougars in late November still on the docket.
Utah (6-2, 3-2) is a 9.5-point favorite and Cincinnati knows it faces a stiff challenge on both sides of the ball from the Utes.
“This year, they have an outstanding offense, and they’re able to run the football,” Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield said. “They keep a lot of pressure on the defense. And, you know, I think obviously it’ll be a tough challenge for us. But we’re looking forward to it. We’re excited about it.”
Cincinnati stretched its winning streak to seven with a 41-20 victory over Baylor. The Bearcats scored 24 unanswered points to open the game and then pulled away for good after the Bears cut the deficit to seven.
Brendan Sorsby has quietly inserted himself into the Heisman Trophy conversation following another electric performance. Sorsby piled up 196 total yards on offense and threw a pair of touchdown passes to lead the Bearcats. Through eight games, he ranks third in the Big 12 in total offense (283.5 ypg).
Sorsby may have to take on a bigger role if Evan Pryor is unable to go after getting injured in the second half against Baylor. Pryor is Cincinnati’s top rusher with 478 yards and 7.2 yards per carry.
Satterfield said Pryor will be listed out on the team’s initial injury report on Wednesday, but his status is undetermined after that.
“We’ll see how he is and how he continues to progress throughout the week,” Satterfield said.
Losing a starting quarterback did not derail the season for the Utes unlike what transpired a year ago. Utah started Byrd Ficklin in place of injured Devon Dampier against Colorado and the Utes crushed the Buffaloes in a 53-7 victory.
How dominant was Utah?
The Utes racked up 398 total yards by halftime while holding Colorado to minus-18 yards. They finished with 422 rushing yards — the highest single-game total for any FBS team in a conference game this season.
Utah scored in less than a minute on five of its nine scoring drives. Three scoring drives covered only two plays. One covered a single play.
Ficklin was in the middle of it all — totaling 291 yards on offense, including 151 yards on the ground and three total TDs.
Still, Dampier is healthier than a week ago and could return Saturday. If he can go, he will get the start over Ficklin.
“I think the bottom line is, and always will be, which quarterback, which player for any position for that matter, gives you the best chance of winning,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “I can tell you we’ve got a lot of confidence in Byrd, especially after what we saw on Saturday night. But Devon is still QB1, make no mistake, there’s no QB controversy of any sort.”
