The September slate has ended and as desired, the Cincinnati Bearcatsare 4-0 after their 31-26 victory over previously unbeaten Kansas State in front of 37,562 fans at Nippert Stadium.
Those from Manhattan, Kansas, who discounted the undersized horseshoe that is Nippert Stadium found out why UChas won 41 of 57 "Nipp at Night" matchups since 2006.
"Unbelievable atmosphere," UC quarterback JC French IV said. "I've never been a part of anything like that before and I'm proud to call it our home stadium."
French threw 37 fewer passes than Kansas State's Avery Johnson, but completed 62% to Johnson's 60% and had a better quarterback rating at 193.5 to 115.7 for the long-locked Wildcat.
More importantly, French is 1-0 in the Big 12 and 4-0 overall behind
UC's offensive line. He threw 43 passes against the Miami RedHawks, but just 13 against Kansas State. If the run game's on, French is just fine and so are his "pancake pals" up front. With Gi'Bran Payne running for 126 yards and Cole Tabb for 124 and three scores, the recipe was clear.
"There's no greater feeling than seeing them hit the hole," tackle Joe Cotton said of UC's tandem terrors. "We wanted to wear them (Kansas State) out as soon as possible."
Said Kansas State coach Collin Klein, "We knew the battle of the line of scrimmage was going to win the game, and we were on the wrong side of that."
Grading Cincinnati Enquirer prediction on UC Bearcats, Kansas State
Wepredicted a Cincinnati Bearcats win, but said neither team would be over 30.
Outcome: Selfishly, we'll take half a point, since the vast majority of prognosticators took Kansas State. The spread was close to accurate as Kansas State's late score made it a five-point advantage, albeit for the home team.
Until the 3:28 mark of the fourth quarter, the prediction was good, but UC's transfer running back from Stanford hit the Tabb-ulator to put UC at 31 points. Tabb now has six touchdowns in the past two games.
A solid prediction was that the Bearcats would have over 200 rushing yards.
Outcome: With 126 yards, it was a career-best for Payne, whose only disappointment was being caught by former La Salle High teammate Koy Beasley to end his 53-yard run. Payne now has surpassed 100 in three of his four games as a Bearcat. It was also a career-high for Tabb with 124 yards, six yards better than his 118 yards against Florida State while at Stanford last season.
UC gashed the Wildcats 271 yards to 155 on the ground.
Finally, a not-so-solid prediction was UC would sack Avery Johnson and record an interception
Outcome: Johnson proved elusive and UC didn't sack him, nor record an interception. They did have three tackles for loss and Antwan Peek Jr. forced a fumble, which seems to be a common theme this season.
“I know if we get a turnover, then it's going to give the offense more momentum," Peek Jr. said. "That's just our mindset for the entire defense. To be honest, just trying to find a way to get that ball out, and it's going to lead to some success.”
Overreactions from Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Kansas State Wildcats
1. Cincinnati Bearcats are 4-0, is it ticker-tape parade time?
The last 4-0 start was in 2021, which ended with an undefeated year until the College Football Playoff semifinal matchup with Alabama.
Overreaction: So, making CFP reservations may be a bit optimistic. It is Scott Satterfield's first team to start 4-0 and he's had some double-digit win years in his career. The obvious thing to know is there are four Top 25 teams ahead in the next eight games. The team doesn't want to repeat another late-season collapse, so you're likely to hear some "one game at a time" quotes in the near future.
2. Dual-threat for UC Bearcats means tandem tailbacks
Dual-threat is usually a term for quarterbacks and is usually how a Satterfield offense rolls. For the record, French has run for 164 yards in four games, which puts him on pace to beat his career-high of 315 set at Georgia Southern last season.
His best bet has been handing the ball to either Gi'Bran Payne or Cole Tabb.
Overreaction: The two-back system worked with Tawee Walker and Evan Pryor at times last year, but not better than what Payne and Tabb have done. Tabb has an eye-popping 11.1 yards per carry average and Payne is having his best college season since transferring from Notre Dame with a 7.2 average. Tabb leads the touchdown tally 6-2, but both are vocal supporters of the other.
“My mind kind of goes blank," Tabb said of his scores. "It's kind of a second nature, but it's trusting the guys and where they're going to be. Trusting the combos to go to the linebackers and whether they're running them by or cutting them off, I seem to get in position to do a big cut and get a control.”
3. Is UC Bearcats defense giving up too many points?
Fans were fidgety when UC allowed Miami University 28 first-half points last week and 31 for the game, even though UC won. In the Sept. 26 night game at Nippert, Kansas State had 26. It was a season-low for them, but early on, it looked like Johnson and company might rack up 30-plus.
Overreaction: One thing being seen that was not last year is the ability of defensive coordinator Woody to make adjustments. UC walloped Miami 28-3 in the second half Sept. 19 and came back from a 17-10 deficit to beat Kansas State. Even in the non-conference games, they've made adjustments. Even though they didn't turn Johnson over, they contained him enough to foil the Wildcats.
“Our defensive staff does a great job of making adjustments at halftime," Satterfield said. "We have done it in all four games. In the second half, you go back and look at that because you get an idea about what they are trying to do offensively. But, where do we need to tweak it? What do we need to do? You have time at halftime to sit down, sit the guys down, and say, here is what we are going to do."
Grades from Cincinnati Bearcats win vs. Kansas State
Cincinnati
▪ Overall: B+
Had the Bearcats applied foot-to-neck after going up 31-20, this would be an A. Instead, things oddly change at the end of games. The upside? It kept fans in their seats and well-schooled Cincinnati fans should know that many leads aren't as comfortable as they appear.
▪ Offense: A
While throwing just 13 times isn't fun in video games, in big-boy football if you can impose your will on a team and have two runners over 100 yards, it opens things up and you're likely to win.
▪ Defense: B-
Avery Johnson got his yards, but they came through the air. Defensive coordinator Nate Woody has now contained the dangerous Wildcats quarterback twice in two seasons (at Army last year and with UC).
▪ Special teams: B+
Zylan Perry may have taken a risk or two decision-wise, but at some point, he'll break something. Malachi Henry had a 36-yard punt return in addition to his touchdown catch, Max Fletcher averaged 46.5 per punt with a long of 57, and Stephen Rusnak connected on his lone 45-yard field goal attempt.
▪ Coaching: B-
You're a bit spoiled complaining over a 4-0 start. However, after Kansas State cut the lead to 31-26 and UC got possession, they probably had better plays in the holster than plowing straight ahead for nothing, allowing Kansas State to stop the clock. Chewing time can work, but so can first downs. Also, Zion Johnson may break some runs this year, but with two backs having 100-yard nights, you wonder why you get away from a winning combination.
Cincinnati Bearcats with another night game ahead vs. Arizona
The Bearcats will be up even later next weekend when they're in Tucson against the Arizona Wildcats. The Mountain Standard Time kickoff is 8 p.m. at Casino Del Sol Stadium, so locally, fans can tune into the Fox Sports broadcast at 11 p.m. Arizona was a 34-24 winner over Washington State to go to 3-1 Sept. 26.
It's UC's latest kickoff since they had an 11:30 p.m. (Eastern) start in December 2008 against Hawaii in Brian Kelly's second season, which resulted in an Orange Bowl bid.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Overreactions, report card from UC Bearcats win vs. Kansas State
