CINCINNATI BEARCATS
Nippert Stadium (35,000/Field Turf)
Cincinnati, Ohio
Television
ESPNU — Rob Stone and David Pollack
Syracuse Radio
WTKW-FM 99.5 (flagship)
Sirius 125
Cincinnati Radio
WLW-AM 700
Sirius 121; XM 141
THE GAME
Cincinnati and Syracuse have met 10 times prior to Saturday’s game … The Bearcats hold a 6-4 series lead and have won the last five meetings … Syracuse won four of the first five games between 1993 and 2004 … Cincinnati QB Zach Collaros threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns, including two to WR Armon Binns, in the Bearcats’ 28-7 win last year at the Carrier Dome … Last year’s game was tied 7-7 after the first quarter before the Bearcats scored single touchdowns in the second, third and fourth periods.
SYRACUSE (5-2, 2-1 BIG EAST)
Head Coach
Doug Marrone (Syracuse ’91)
9-10, second season
NOTES
Syracuse is alone in second place in the BIG EAST standings after the Orange scored a 19-14 win at West Virginia last Saturday … Syracuse has won four of its last five games and is receiving votes in all three top 25 polls this week … The Orange are 3-1 on the road this season … By comparison, Syracuse had won exactly three road games in the previous five years combined … Syracuse’s two BIG EAST wins are the most the Orange have had since 2004, when they won a share of the BIG EAST title with a 4-2 record … Syracuse has held its opponent to 14 points or fewer in each of its five wins … RB Delone Carter ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in rushing at 91.0 yards per game … Carter has rushed for 637 yards and six touchdowns … QB Ryan Nassib has thrown for 1,283 yards and 12 touchdowns with four interceptions … WR Van Chew has four touchdown catches and is fourth in the BIG EAST at 71.1 receiving yards per game … LB Derrell Smith has a team-high 59 tackles and is fourth in the BIG EAST at 8.4 tackles per game … DE Chandler Jones has a team-high four sacks.
CINCINNATI (3-4, 1-1 BIG EAST)
Head Coach
Butch Jones (Ferris State ’90)
3-4, first season at Cincinnati
30-16, fourth season as collegiate head coach
NOTES
Cincinnati saw its 14-game winning streak at Nippert Stadium and its 13-game winning streak against BIG EAST opponents snapped with last week’s 38-30 loss to USF … Cincinnati is tied for the BIG EAST lead in scoring offense (30.3 ppg) and leads the league in total offense (446.4 ypg) … Conversely, Cincinnati ranks last in the BIG EAST in scoring defense (23.4 ppg) and total defense (367.7 ypg) … QB Zach Collaros is the leading passer in the conference with an average of 274 yards per game and a 159.2 efficiency rating … Collaros did not finish last week’s game against USF after suffering a knee injury late in the fourth quarter … QB Chazz Anderson would start against Syracuse if Collaros is unable to play … RB Isaiah Pead is ranked fourth in the BIG EAST in rushing at 99.2 yards per game … The Bearcats have the two leading receivers in the BIG EAST … WR Armon Binns has 44 receptions for 683 yards and nine touchdowns, while WR D.J. Woods has 40 catches for 687 yards and six TDs … LB J.K. Schaffer has 60 tackles, good for third in the BIG EAST … Cincinnati’s turnover margin of -1.0 per game ranks 116th nationally.