The Memphis Tigers football team (2-2) wraps up its toughest stretch of the season Saturday when it travels to Ohio for a matchup with the Cincinnati Bearcats (2-1).
The Cincinnati offense is similar to the attack employed by the Rebels against the Tigers on Sept. 27 in Oxford. The Tigers lost to Ole Miss, 24-3. The Bearcats gain most of their yardage in the air with the nation’s ninth-ranked passing offense, while their running game puts out just 105.7 yards per contest — 112th in the FBS.
The Bearcats have won games due to their high-powered offense, and most of the success can be traced back to sophomore quarterback Gunner Kiel.
Through three games this season, Kiel has accumulated 1041 passing yards and 14 touchdowns, completing 65.7 percent of his passes and throwing only two interceptions.
“(Kiel) is a very talented, big, strong-armed quarterback, combined with some really good skill players and a very good scheme, and that’s what you get — a very productive unit,” Memphis head coach Justin Fuente said at his weekly press conference on Monday.
A staple of the Cincinnati offense thus far has been a willingness to throw the ball down the field.
Wide receiver Chris Moore has been one of the most dangerous deep threats in college football, leading the Bearcats with 256 receiving yards and five touchdowns despite hauling in only six catches on the season. In the team’s 50-28 loss to Ohio State, Moore reeled in touchdown grabs of 60, 78 and 83 yards.
In addition to Moore’s playmaking ability, Cincinnati boasts five players with receptions of 20 yards or more.
“They’ve got great speed across the board,” Fuente said. “You cannot zero in on only one kid. If you do that the other guys are going to make you pay.”
Cincinnati has enjoyed great success on the offensive side of the ball but is a bit weaker on the defensive end. The Bearcats have allowed each of their opponents to put up points in bunches, and it was an issue in what was nearly an embarrassing loss to a 0-5 Miami Ohio squad. Fortunately for the Bearcats, they escaped with 31-24 victory.
The Bearcat defense also struggled in its loss to the Buckeyes on Sept. 27. Cincinnati scored the first touchdown of the game, but the defense yielded 30 unanswered points to put the Bearcats in a hole they were unable to climb out of.
For Memphis, the game against Cincinnati marks the opening of American Athletic Conference play. The Tigers struggled a season ago, going 1-7 against AAC foes with the lone victory coming against a two-win South Florida squad.
The contest between the Tigers and Bearcats will kickoff at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Paul Brown Stadium. CBS Sports Network plans to broadcast the game nationally.
CUTLINE: Quarterback Gunner Kiel has been the driving force behind Cincinnati’s offensive success. The sophomore has thrown for 1041 yards and 14 touchdowns in three games this season.
