Caleb Taylor | Staff Commentator/Reporter
This Saturday, Nippert stadium will be packed to capacity with hundreds of screaming fans who are watching for the Bearcats to win the American Athletic Conference East division and secure a berth in the conference championship game.
Last week was another scary week for the Bearcats. They escaped Tampa with a narrow 20-17 win with kicker Sam Crosa (graduate) splitting the uprights with another game-winning kick as time expired. USF kicker Spencer Shrader missed four field goals ultimately costing the Bulls the game. Running Back Michael Warren II (junior) played workhorse again with his 134 yards on 26 carries and a score. Warren was also the leading receiver for Cincinnati with two receptions for 30 yards. Running Back Gerrid Doaks would also run for a touchdown Sophomore Quarterback Desmond Ridder would throw for only 78 yards in the victory, completing nine passes on 18 attempts. Ridder did not throw any interceptions, but he did fumble twice and the Bulls recovered one of them.
Defensively, linebacker Bryan Wright (graduate) would record the lone sack. Safety Ja’von Hicks (sophomore) recovered a fumble for the second time on the season. He now has six takeaways for the Bearcats.
The Temple Owls are entering Saturday’s matchup 7-3 and 4-2 in the conference. Junior 1uarterback Anthony Russo has over 2,000 passing yards on the season and 18 touchdowns. Temple likes to throw the ball, averaging 257.4 yards through the air per game. Defensively they are giving up over 384 yards per game but are only allowing 160.4 rushing yards per game. If the Bearcats want to win this matchup, Desmond Ridder will need to throw the ball well. He needs to limit his turnovers, giving his defense a better chance of shutting down the Temple passing game. UC is favored to win by 10 points.
If you are unable to make it Nippert, you can listen on Bearcast media at www.bearcastmedia.com/listen. Alex Frank and Zach Fries will have the call at 6:30 p.m. with kickoff at 7 p.m.. A link to listen to the game will be provided by 5 p.m..
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