Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Scott Satterfield advised fans ahead of time to watch the trenches in their Sept. 26 night game at Nippert Stadium against Kansas State.
The reasoning was sound.
"Normal fans like to watch all the skill guys, but this game, watch the D-linemen vs. the O-line," Satterfield said. "It's going to be incredible to see. If we can live up to what we're supposed to do up front, that can have a huge impact on this game."
At triple zeroes, the Bearcatshad won 31-26, coming back from a halftime deficit for a second straight week. Against a team that was allowing only 96 yards per game on the ground, UC ran for 271 to just 155 for Kansas State.
to win
Coming in, UC had the No. 8 rushing offense among FBS schools, with Kansas State at No. 9. Kansas State's offensive line also had high marks as the top group through three weeks at 98.9 according to Pro Football Network, while UC's men up front were No. 16 overall in FBS.
Did they win in the trenches?
"We rushed for 271; they had 155," Satterfield said. "We won in the trenches. If they throw the ball 50 times, that's not what they really want to do."
Gi'Bran Payne led all rushers with 126 yards, his third time over the century mark for UC. Cole Tabb added 124 and scored three touchdowns in the second half. Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson trucked Tulane for 152 yards Sept. 19, but on this night coach Nate Woody's defense held him to 38 yards.
"He's a deadly weapon running the football," Satterfield said. "He attempted 50 passes. If we play Avery Johnson, we want him to attempt 50 passes and not run the football effectively. Great adjustments by our defense in the second half."
On National Pancake Day, UC Bearcats pound rock
Sept. 26, oddly, was National Pancake Day. UC's Pancake pounders on the offensive line Joe Cotton, Evan Tengesdahl, Taran Tyo, Xavier Lozowicki and Judea Milon came into the game No. 4 in Pro Football Focus in pass blocking and No. 8 in run blocking. Those numbers should improve after outrushing Kansas State by 116 yards.
"We had a lot of success running," tackle Joe Cotton said. "It's hard not to when we have the running backs we have and coaches we have scheming everything up. We started off slow; we went to the sideline, we hated what we saw. We looked at each other and thought, 'We've got a good feel for them,' and now we can really get after that. I'm proud of the guys and what we did."
How was trench warfare between UC Bearcats, Kansas State?
First half: Kansas State's opening drive went 88 yards and covered nearly eight minutes. Twice, quarterback Avery Johnson eluded pressure, once with a 10-yard run. The Wildcats' line protected long enough for Johnson to throw, but the drive ended in a field goal. The quarter ended with UC outrushing the Wildcats, but Johnson succeeding through the air.
After UC's first possession of the second quarter, they had outrushed Kansas State 61-33, but had just one completion for minus-5 yards. Johnson, meanwhile, threw a 38-yard completion to Derrick Salley, thanks to replay officials, and the drive ended with Rodney Fields plowing in for a touchdown from 19 yards.
The Bearcats would get the score back with French finding Malachi Henry open from 39 yards away, then added a Stephen Rusnak 45-yard field goal to tie the game.
But that left time for Johnson to lead the Wildcats 65 yards for a 4-yard pass to Salley for a crucial momentum changer and a 17-10 halftime lead.
Thanks to the late scoring drive, Kansas State led in total yards 246-210, with 150 through the air compared to just 44 for UC. The Bearcats led on the ground 166-96.
Nobody was sacked, but Kansas State had four tackles for loss to one UC.
Second half: Antwan Peek Jr.'s tackle of Salley on Kansas State's first possession knocked the ball loose. MJ Cannon recovered and French and the Bearcats went on a 55-yard scoring drive to tie the game. They led in rushing yards after that drive, 181-96.
After UC's defense forced the next three-and-out, Cole Tabb made the Wildcats pay for a second straight drive with a 30-yard rush.
UC was outgained 100-56 in the first quarter, but outgained the Wildcats 154-146 in the second and 157-72 in the third quarter.
When Luis Rodriguez hit his second field goal of the game to cut UC's lead to 24-20, UC had an advantage in total yards, 367-357.
After Tabb's third touchdown, the score was 31-20 and the last K-State score late made for the game's final, 31-26. Thanks to some late, frenzied possessions, Kansas State outgained UC, 446-436, but it took them 80 plays to do so, while UC ran just 51.
Next weekend Arizona Wildcats will air out vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
UC sacked Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita four times last season and he went down 29 times over the year. That still wasn't enough to stop the Wildcats from beating the Bearcats 30-24. BYU did the best at shutting down Fifita this season, holding the Wildcats scoreless in the second half in a 28-17 loss. Fifita was voted Big 12 Preseason First Team by league media members and is on the watch lists for the Maxwell, Walter Camp and Davey O'Brien awards.
Arizona beat Washington State 34-24 Saturday night with Fifita passing for 297 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Kansas State was decided on front line
