The last time a Cincinnati Bearcats football team visited Lubbock to square off with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, neither of the current coaches was born.
Joey McGuire of Texas Tech came along in 1971 and Cincinnati’s Scott Satterfield in 1972. Both have a chance at leading the season series as on Sept. 21, 1968, the Bearcats and Red Raiders played to a 10-10 tie. To show you how long ago that was UC’s next opponent was Xavier, who would drop the sport at the end of 1973.
The quarterback was UC Hall of Famer Greg Cook, who would be the American Football League Rookie of the Year for Paul Brown and the Cincinnati Bengals the following season.
2 Texas gunslingers take aim in 2024
Texas Tech’s Behren Morton from Eastland is tied for No. 4 in the country in touchdown passes with 12. UC’s Brendan Sorsby hails from Denton, Texas and has thrown for eight scores in four games. Morton has accounted for 78 points, Sorsby 66. Sorsby is second in the Big 12 in quarterback rating behind TCU’s Josh Hoover, with Morton 10th. Morton has been picked off twice, Sorsby none. Morton has been sacked just four times, Sorsby six.
“(It’s) two different offenses,” UC head coach Scott Satterfield said. “They’re more of the uptempo, spread you out and rolling with it and getting in rhythm. We’re a little more huddling, ball control and run the football, play-action and those types of things. They’re both really good quarterbacks. It should be a good matchup between the two.”
Don’t expect donuts this week
To celebrate the UC defense shutting out Houston 34-0, Sorsby treated his teammates on the other side of the ball to donuts. It could be a tall order to do so again as Texas Tech has the No. 15 ranking in the country in total offense averaging 487.5 yards per game. Likewise, you can expect the Bearcats to be productive as they’re ranked No. 23 averaging 467.5 yards per game.
“Thank you, Sorsby, we’re very appreciative,” Bearcats cornerback Jordan Young said of last week’s reward. “It was definitely thoughtful. We’re just ready to get another one this weekend.”
Shutting down a Red Raider attack that’s averaging 41 points per game, might cost Sorsby more than donuts. They’re 18th in the country in scoring offense and No. 11 in passing offense.
Both teams are 3-1 and coming off opening Big 12 wins. Texas Tech handed Arizona State their first loss last Saturday, 30-22.
How to watch Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
When: Saturday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central
Where: Jones AT&T Stadium (60,454)
TV/Radio: ESPN2/700WLW
Series: 0-0-1 (They tied in 1968’s opener)
Coaches
Texas Tech: Joey McGuire (third season, 18-12)
Cincinnati: Scott Satterfield (third season, 6-10, 82-58 overall)
3 keys to a Cincinnati Bearcats victory
1. Tame Tahj Brooks
It might be easier said than done. The 5-foot-10, 230-pound ran for 1,538 yards last season and has 379 yards in three games this season. He’s the most productive back UC’s seen since dealing with Big 12 rushing leader Ollie Gordon II at Oklahoma State last season. Texas Tech’s lone loss was against Washington State when Brooks didn’t play. He had 27 carries in Week 1 vs. Abilene Christian and 27 more last week against Arizona State, so expect to see a lot of No. 28.
“It’s tough to try to simulate that (Brooks),” Satterfield said. “We’ll use several guys in practice to try and simulate that but you’re not going to simulate a guy that weights 230 pounds and runs he does. When you’re trying to defend the pass, you spread everybody out and you get a little bit thin in the box, there he goes. Then you have one guy trying to tackle this guy. We’ve got to really rally to the football and try to get a lot of hats to the ball when he does run it.”
2. Counter Brooks with Corey Kiner
Kiner is actually No. 18 in the country in rushing yards with 404, while Brooks is No. 24. Kiner had 78 yards to break his streak of 100-yard games, but was relaxing on the bench as the Bearcats had a comfortable lead. Should the ground game be working, it can keep the ball out of the hands of Brooks and quarterback Morton. That could help keep the high-scoring Red Raiders away from the 52 points they had vs. Abilene Christian and 66 vs. North Texas.
“If you can establish the run game, it makes everything else easier,” Sorsby said. “We’ve got to get him going and I think we will, but it all happens one play at a time.”
3. Clutch interceptions are always nice
Josh Minkins Jr. (vs. Pitt) and Derrick Canteen (at Miami) have both had interceptions in the end zone this season. Minkins also was key in UC’s first scoring drive against Houston picking off Donovan Smith at midfield. The only picks Texas Tech’s Morton has thrown were in their 37-16 loss at Washington State. While UC is ranked No. 104 giving up 248.5 yards, Texas Tech is at No. 121 allowing 280.2 yards per game. Sorsby, Xzavier Henderson, Joe Royer and company should be able to make some plays.
“They’re going to move the ball, they’re going to have a lot of yards,” Satterfield said. “We’ve got to do a great job when we get in the red zone trying to hold them to field goals and somehow create turnovers.”
Currently, UC’s red zone defense is No. 14 among FBS schools and second in the Big 12.
Cincinnati Bearcats, Texas Tech Red Raiders to watch
As indicated, Tahj Brooks is a difference-maker for the Red Raiders as he had 153 yards vs. Abilene Christian, 109 against North Texas and 117 last weekend vs. Arizona State. Behren Morton is a coach’s son who won the quarterback job last season. He’s of similar build to UC’s Sorsby and threw for five touchdowns in their overtime thriller with Abilene Christian and four vs. North Texas.
In addition to Sorsby and Kiner, receiver Xzavier Henderson has been key to UC’s success and racked up two touchdowns last week giving him three for the season. That equals what he had all of last season. He has 25 catches in four games with just two last week, but both were touchdowns.
Sorsby credits all the work he did with Henderson in and out of practice. His trust in No. 8 has paid off.
“You throw the 50-50 ball and it’s not 50-50,” Sorsby said. “He comes down with it. It’s nice to have that connection with him. Hopefully, we can keep building off of it and keep finding him.”
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders score prediction
In my preseason picks, I had UC out to a 4-0 start and was only off by 17 seconds in the Week 2 disappointment vs. Pitt. I saw going to Lubbock as a tough task as the Red Raiders were good enough to beat UCF, Baylor and Kansas last year, three teams that hung “Ls” on the Bearcats.
UC showed up with some defense last week, which they’ll need in a rabid night game. Texas Tech puts up basketball points. I think this is more winnable than I originally felt, but I might need to be convinced like many.
Prediction: Texas Tech 35, Cincinnati 32
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Can Cincinnati Bearcats football continue its momentum at Tezas Tech?
