Week Five: Cincinnati at Texas Tech Preview

Cincinnati will hop on a plane for the first time this season and face their first true test on Saturday when they travel to Lubbock, TX for an 8 PM kickoff against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The Bearcats (3-1, 1-0) enter Saturday's match up with momentum after their most complete performance of the year, a 34-0 shutout win over Houston.

Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton completed 24-of-44 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-22 week-four win over Arizona State.

(Photo: Texas Tech Athletics)

Tech's offense will present plenty of challenges for the Bearcats. 

"This week we have a great challenge. This is the first time this season we will get on a plane for a road trip to go to a place that has great tradition and can put up a ton of points," Scott Satterfield told local media Tuesday afternoon. "I feel like they score a lot of points every year. Even if you go back 10 or 15 years, they are always putting up points and this will be a great environment in the Big 12"

The Red Raiders are currently 21st nationally in points per game (41.0), 18th in yards per game (487.5), 13th in pass yards per game (319.0), and 32nd in 3rd down efficiency percentage (49.3%).

"Offensively, they have been lighting it up."

Morton is just one of many options that Tech has offensively. 

Running back Tahj Brooks has rushed for over 100 yards in all three Red Raider wins this season and enters Saturday averaging 5.5 yards per carry. 

"They have one of the best running backs in the country. He is 230 pounds, and he can run and is a fast, extremely talented back. Their quarterback has been great, and I believe he's leading the Big 12 in touchdown passes. They spread you out, throw it all over the place, and they tempo you to try to get you out of position."

Brooks was a Preseason All-Big 12 Football Team selection after rushing for 1,538 yards and 10 touchdowns on 290 carries during the 2023 season. The Manor, TX native has rushed for over 100 yards in 11 of his last 14 games and has rushed for at least 95 yards over that 14-game stretch.

Brooks enters this weekend ranked second in the Big 12 and sixth in the FBS as he is averaging 126.3 yards per game.

Coach Satterfield and his defensive staff know Tech's offense presents a unique challenge in that they are able to move the ball through the air and on the ground.  

"We use several guys in practice to be able to try to simulate that. But you're not going to simulate a guy who's 230 pounds that runs like he does. When you're trying to defend the pass, and you're spreading everybody out, you're getting a little bit of thin in the box there and if he hands it off now you only have one guy trying to come tackle him. So, we have to really rally to the football, try to get a lot of hats to the ball whenever he does run it.”

Washington State transfer Josh Kelly will be the primary focus for the UC secondary. Kelly currently leads the team with 31 receptions for 376 yards and three touchdowns. 

Other notable receivers for the Red Raiders include Coy Eakin (14 rec, 229 yds), Florida transfer Caleb Douglas (15 rec, 200 yds), and Arizona State transfer Jalin Conyers (11 rec, 105 yds). 

6-foot-5 Elon transfer tight end JohnCarlos Miller II is the only tight end in the country to have a receiving touchdown in each of his last three games. 

While Tech presents many challenges offensively, their defense has struggled with consistency throughout the first four games.

Tech ranks 224th nationally, giving up an average of 33 points per game, but ranks 49th nationally in redzone defense, allowing their opponent to score on 79 percent of their trips.

Since their season-opening win over Abilene Christian, the Red Raiders are giving up 26.7 points and 381.7 yards of total offense over the past three games.

Tech's defense was able to limit the Arizona State offense to only 99 rushing yards last weekend. 

"Defensively, they gave up a lot of points the first week, but I feel like they have really settled in the last few weeks," Said Satterfield. " Their guys play hard and get after it. They have a couple of good return men as well. It'll be a great challenge for us, but we're looking forward to it. We will have a great week of practice this week and we will be ready for Texas Tech.”

Linebackers Ben Roberts (30 tackles) and Jacob Rodriguez (28 tackles) are 1-2 in total tackles through four games for Tech and will be key in trying to slow the Cincinnati running game while also applying pressure on quarterback Brendan Sorsby.

Defensive back Chapman Lewis leads the Tech secondary with two interceptions. CJ Baskerville is third on the team in total tackles (16) and also has an interception.

Defensive lineman E'Maurion Banks blocked an extra point against Arizona State and leads is currently sixth on the team in tackles, with 12. 

Final Thoughts:

Texas Tech is going to move the ball and pile up yards. Redzone defense and forcing turnovers, while limiting Tech to field goals, will go a long way in Cincinnati leaving Texas with their third consecutive victory. UC was able to force Houston into three turnovers and prevented the Cougars from scoring in their only redzone trip.

Tech wants to play up-tempo and apply pressure on the defense. Forcing Morton into second and third-and-long situations limits Tech's options offensively and makes them somewhat more predictable in what they are going to run or want to do. 

This game will feature two of the league's most prolific quarterback and running backs. Morton is averaging 293.8 pass ypg with a conference-best 12 TDs and two INTs, while Brendan Sorsby is averaging 263.8 ypg with eight TDs and zero INTs. Morton (one) and Sorsby (two) combine for 3 of the Top 5 QBR games in the Big 12 this season.

Brooks ranks fourth nationally among active running backs with 3,431 career rushing yards and fifth with 30 rushing TDs. Brooks is second in the league in rushing (126.3) in 2024. UC running back Corey Kiner ranks seventh in the conference with 101.00 yards per game in 2024.

Cincinnati probably has the better offensive line. Whichever team is able to run the ball with more success, while applying pressure on the opposing quarterback in passing situations, will likely come away with the win. UC has shown an ability to put together long, sustained drives. Getting Kiner and the running game going early will be key to keeping the Tech offense on the sidelines, and UC's defense fresh.

At the end of the day, UC can't let the moment get too big for them. A night game in Lubbock with Tech sporting their all-black uniforms is going to look and feel very similar to a Nip at Night. 

Scott Satterfield on what Cincinnati is walking into Saturday night:

"I believe a lot of our away games in the Big 12 this year will be some great environments for college football. This game will be at night, it’s a blackout and I’m sure it will be a sellout. It’s a great environment for football and they are a very good team."

"We have a lot of old guys on offense, veteran guys that have played in big-time games on the road before. Hopefully, that doesn't faze us, and we're able to execute and do the things we need to do in order to move the football and be successful.” 

How to watch:

8:00 PM ESPN2

Spread:

Texas Tech -3, O/U 58.5