September 24, 2022 | DaddyHoosier
Indiana will have their first road test of the season as the Hoosiers travel to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats Saturday.
Cincinnati comes into the contest at 2-1 and just outside the Top 25 in the national rankings. They lost much of the firepower that elevated them to the College Football Playoff last season but they are still a good football team.
Head Coach Luke Fickell has built an excellent program at Cincinnati compiling an overall record of 50-16. They are 46-8 since 2018 and have won back to back American Conference titles. The Bearcats have played in the AAC Championship game three consecutive seasons and have made 17 Bowl appearances since the year 2000.
By the Numbers
28 – That’s the number of home games Cincinnati has won in a row.
30 – An Indiana win would be the 30th of Coach Tom Allen’s career. Currently only 6 coaches in Indiana history have reached that mark.
Players to Watch
Ivan Pace Jr. – PFF rated Pace as the 5th best Edge player in the country in their pre-season player rankings. Pace leads the team with 31 tackles and also has two sacks and a forced fumble.
Josh Whyle – Whyle was rated the 13th best Tight End nationally by PFF. His 6’6″ frame makes him a big target and he comes into Saturday’s contest with 10 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Ben Bryant – Bryant won the starting Quarterback spot over Evan Prater in a battle that evidently came down to the wire. Bryant is a pocket passer with a big arm and on the season he has a completion rate of over 70 percent. So far he has 863 passing yards, 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Key Match-up
The Cincinnati Offensive line is a veteran group that pushed around Miami (OH) last week. Can Indiana’s Defensive Front 7 be effective against this group both in terms of stopping the run and generating a pass rush?
X-Factors
Cincinnati has been turnover prone so far in 2022. If that trend continues a gritty Indiana team could make the Bearcats pay for it. The longer Indiana hangs around the more confident they will be.
Indiana is a significant underdog in this game (-16.5). The Illinois and Western Kentucky games both felt like must-wins. Sitting at 3-0 and with few expecting them to prevail it could be that the Hoosiers play relaxed and loose and put together their best overall performance of the season.
Cincy’s Place Kicker Ryan Coe has already missed a couple of Field Goals this season. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a factor.
Analysis
Cincinnati is a solid team. They are not highly explosive but they are well-coached and efficient. As always the game will be won or lost at the line of scrimmage. The American Conference is easily the top Group of 5 conference and it is a mistake to think of Cincy as a ‘lesser’ G5 school. But this 2022 team is for sure not a CFP caliber team either so if Indiana plays well (consistently) and doesn’t beat themselves a victory is not a bridge too far.
From the limited tape I watched it seems like the Cincy D may be a little soft on the perimeter – both on the ground and through the air. It will be interesting to see if this is something IU tries to exploit.
The Bearcats’ back-up QB Evan Prater is a dual-threat type who can be dangerous with his feet. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that Cincy will have a package of plays for him since Indiana has not delt particularly well with QB runs so far this season.
If Indiana finds a way to win this game, even if it’s not an aesthetic masterpiece, then the narrative for the 2022 season changes. The shadow of 2021 begins to go away, the asterisk next to the 22 win total gets quite a but smaller, and the possibilities for the remainder of the season expand significantly.
What a great opportunity this is for the Hoosiers, it should be fun to watch!
Indiana will have their first road test of the season as the Hoosiers travel to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats Saturday.
Cincinnati comes into the contest at 2-1 and just outside the Top 25 in the national rankings. They lost much of the firepower that elevated them to the College Football Playoff last season but they are still a good football team.
Head Coach Luke Fickell has built an excellent program at Cincinnati compiling an overall record of 50-16. They are 46-8 since 2018 and have won back to back American Conference titles. The Bearcats have played in the AAC Championship game three consecutive seasons and have made 17 Bowl appearances since the year 2000.
By the Numbers
28 – That’s the number of home games Cincinnati has won in a row.
30 – An Indiana win would be the 30th of Coach Tom Allen’s career. Currently only 6 coaches in Indiana history have reached that mark.
Players to Watch
Ivan Pace Jr. – PFF rated Pace as the 5th best Edge player in the country in their pre-season player rankings. Pace leads the team with 31 tackles and also has two sacks and a forced fumble.
Josh Whyle – Whyle was rated the 13th best Tight End nationally by PFF. His 6’6″ frame makes him a big target and he comes into Saturday’s contest with 10 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Ben Bryant – Bryant won the starting Quarterback spot over Evan Prater in a battle that evidently came down to the wire. Bryant is a pocket passer with a big arm and on the season he has a completion rate of over 70 percent. So far he has 863 passing yards, 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Key Match-up
The Cincinnati Offensive line is a veteran group that pushed around Miami (OH) last week. Can Indiana’s Defensive Front 7 be effective against this group both in terms of stopping the run and generating a pass rush?
X-Factors
Cincinnati has been turnover prone so far in 2022. If that trend continues a gritty Indiana team could make the Bearcats pay for it. The longer Indiana hangs around the more confident they will be.
Indiana is a significant underdog in this game (-16.5). The Illinois and Western Kentucky games both felt like must-wins. Sitting at 3-0 and with few expecting them to prevail it could be that the Hoosiers play relaxed and loose and put together their best overall performance of the season.
Cincy’s Place Kicker Ryan Coe has already missed a couple of Field Goals this season. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a factor.
Analysis
Cincinnati is a solid team. They are not highly explosive but they are well-coached and efficient. As always the game will be won or lost at the line of scrimmage. The American Conference is easily the top Group of 5 conference and it is a mistake to think of Cincy as a ‘lesser’ G5 school. But this 2022 team is for sure not a CFP caliber team either so if Indiana plays well (consistently) and doesn’t beat themselves a victory is not a bridge too far.
From the limited tape I watched it seems like the Cincy D may be a little soft on the perimeter – both on the ground and through the air. It will be interesting to see if this is something IU tries to exploit.
The Bearcats’ back-up QB Evan Prater is a dual-threat type who can be dangerous with his feet. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that Cincy will have a package of plays for him since Indiana has not delt particularly well with QB runs so far this season.
If Indiana finds a way to win this game, even if it’s not an aesthetic masterpiece, then the narrative for the 2022 season changes. The shadow of 2021 begins to go away, the asterisk next to the 22 win total gets quite a but smaller, and the possibilities for the remainder of the season expand significantly.
What a great opportunity this is for the Hoosiers, it should be fun to watch!
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