The Cincinnati Bearcats and Houston Cougars meet Saturday at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati in the Big 12 opener for both teams
Houston (1-2, 0-0 Big 12) at Cincinnati (2-1, 0-0), Saturday, noon ET (FS1)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Cincinnati by 3 1/2.
Series record: Houston leads 15-14.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
The Cincinnati Bearcats and Houston Cougars meet Saturday at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, in the Big 12 opener for both teams. Cincinnati is coming off a road win over Miami (Ohio) last Saturday, while Houston got its first win of the season, a 33-7 over Rice. Cincinnati defeated Houston 24-14 last November, the Bearcats' first Big 12 win in school history.
KEY MATCHUP
Cincinnati is going to look to run the ball, but Houston is going to be a tough team to establish a ground game against. While the Bearcats have rushed for 200-plus yards in two of their first three games, Houston has held each of its last two opponents to 75 rushing yards. That includes holding No. 15 Oklahoma to 75 yards in Week 2. The last time Houston held back-to-back opponents to 75 or fewer rushing yards was in 2016. Cincinnati is currently averaging 213.7 rushing yards per game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Houston: Quarterback Donovan Smith is one of 18 active Power Four quarterbacks with 6,000-plus passing yards and 40-plus passing touchdowns since 2021. Smith has two touchdowns and three interceptions so far this season and has thrown for 537 yards, completing 64.6% of his passes.
Cincinnati: Running back Corey Kiner has rushed for more than 100 yards in back-to-back games. He has 273 rushing yards over Cincinnati's last two games and 326 for the season. Kiner also has 20-plus carries in consecutive games.
FACTS & FIGURES
Houston and Cincinnati have competed together in four conferences; the Missouri Valley Conference (1957-59), Conference USA (1996-04), American Athletic Conference (2013-22) and now the Big 12 (2023-Present). ... This is the first Houston-Cincinnati matchup at Nippert Stadium since Dec. 4, 2021, when the Bearcats defeated Houston 35-20 in the AAC Championship. ... Only two players from the Cougars (OL Tank Jenkins, TE Matt Byrnes) and three players from the Bearcats (P Mason Fletcher, OT John Williams, DE Eric Phillips) remain with their respective programs from that game. ... The Bearcats have won four straight games against the Cougars going back to Oct. 12, 2019. ... Houston linebackers coach James Ross III was the outside linebackers coach at Cincinnati in 2022.
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