Tulsa hosts Cincinnati in AAC opener
Cincinnati won't be able to duck Tulsa this time. Especially since all indications were that they have been afraid to come to Tulsa to play.
Very afraid.
In 2020, Cincinnati cancelled 4 potential games at Tulsa citing Covid as an excuse. But the suspicion among Tulsa fans and players was that they were chicken to come to town.
Especially fishy was the final week of the season where Tulsa and Cincinnati were both undefeated in AAC play coming into the game at Tulsa. The win would not only have given Tulsa the regular season championship, but also let Tulsa host the next week's AAC conference title game.
Of course, no way Cincy was letting that happen. Two potential losses in a row in Tulsa? Wasn't going to happen.
Maybe that is a conspiracy theory. But hopefully Cincy, in likely its last game in Tulsa for a long, long time due to its impending departure for the Big 12, will finally make it to T-Town and H.A. Chapman Stadium.
There would be no better way to send the Bearcats on their way than to give them a sound whipping by the Golden Hurricane at 6 p.m. Saturday night in the conference opener for both teams.
"Finally excited to have them actually come to town and be in our city and play in our stadium," said Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery. "It's going to be a great contest. Looking forward to people coming out and being a part of it."
It is the first time Cincinnati (3-1) has been to Tulsa since a 2016 classic where Tulsa won 40-37 in overtime. Tulsa has played at Cincy the last 3 years, and 5 of the 6 meetings.
Amazingly, since again being in the same conference since 2014, the old Missouri Valley Conference rivals have played 4 of the 5 games in Cincinnati.
The last 2 games of the series that is tied at 17-17-2 have been especially frustrating for the Golden Hurricane. The AAC championship game 27-24 loss, and last year's 28-20 loss, both were decided very late in the games.
It would be nice, and especially helpful, if star TU quarterback Davis Brin is healthy and able to play. Really helpful. Brin is listed as day-to-day.
With Brin's dynamic passing, Tulsa has a terrific chance to upend Cincinnati. Brin injured his ankle on a running play last week at Ole Miss. Of course, with the non-disclosure nature of most injuries, there is no way we will know if Brin is playing until game time.
The hopeful news about Brin's injury is that he was standing on the sideline all game after leaving the game early in the 2nd quarter. And he threw a TD pass to give Tulsa a 14-7 lead after injuring the ankle.
It was encouraging that Braylon Braxton came in and did as good as could be expected against the vaunted Ole Miss defense, and Tulsa also came back in its 35-27 loss last week. It was Braxton's first real action throwing the football at TU, and his first meaningful playing time other than being the wildcat quarterback and a few series against Jacksonville State.
Braxton showed his incredible mobility, running and escaping the pass rush, avoiding getting sacked. Braxton made some nice throws, especially on his first career TD pass in the 4th quarter where he scrambled and threw a 17-yard laser in the end zone to Isaiah Epps.
But in the end, Braxton completed 9 of 22 passes for 83 yards in almost 3 quarters, and rushed 4 times for 39 yards. Brin completed 7 of 13 for 112 yards in just over a quarter.
A healthy Brin was lighting up an Ole Miss defense that was allowing just over 4 points per game. And he was averaging a nation-leading 402 yards per game.
Nothing against Braxton. But Brin being back and healthy would be huge. If the odds makers knew whether Brin was playing, it would undoubtedly affect the 6.5 point spread that favors the Bearcats over Tulsa.
Most encouraging about the Ole Miss game was getting the rushing attack going for the first time this season, gaining 262 yards of 42 carries for a 6.1 yard per carry average. Redshirt freshman Bill Jackson led the way with 77 yards on 8 carries (9.6), while Steven Anderson had 76 yards on 17 carries (4.5), and Jordan Ford added 65 yards on 12 carries (5.4).
It will be interesting to see how that carries over to playing a Cincy team that is coming off a 13-1 season where it advanced to the 4-team college football playoff before losing to Alabama.
This season, Cincy is currently unranked, but its offense has been rolling, averaging an AAC leading 42.5 points. But Tulsa is second in the AAC at 39 points per game.
So the game could be an offensive shootout, especially if Brin is healthy and playing.
So why is Cincinnati unranked?
The answer is simple. The Bearcats haven't beaten anyone of note. After its opening 31-24 loss at currently 20th ranked Arkansas, Cincy defeated FCS Kennesaw State 63-10, topped Miami (Ohio) 38-17, and rolled 45-24 against perennial Big 10 doormat Indiana. All the wins were in Ohio.
For Cincy to finally win a game outside of its state, Eastern Michigan transfer Ben Bryant (6-foot-3, 214 pounds) will need to have a big game. After 3 years as a little used backup for the Bearcats, Bryant passed for 3,121 yards last season while leading Eastern Michigan to a 7-6 record while playing in the MAC.
Bryant is back in Cincy to replace the highly acclaimed, 2-time AAC Offensive Player of the Year Desmond Ridder, who was picked in the 3rd round by the Atlanta Falcons. Bryant is averaging 304.3 yards passing per game.
The good news for TU in facing Bryant is that he is not mobile. He has minus 52 yards rushing this season.
Another positive for Tulsa is that it doesn't have to face graduated Jerome Ford, who rushed for 1,319 yards (6.1) last season. Ford is currently with the Cleveland Browns after being a 5th-round pick. Although Ford didn't do much against TU last year, rushing for 24 yards on 7 carries.
Cincy's ground game this season isn't nearly as good. Without the mobile Ridder gaining yards with his feet, Cincy is led by Charles McClelland (236 yards at 5.6 ypc) and Corey Kiner (147 yards at 3.7 ypc).
What should worry TU is receiver Tyler Scott (5-11, 171), who caught 10 passes for 185 yards and 3 TD's last week against the Hoosiers to earn AAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Also worrisome is AAC Defensive Player of the Week, linebacker Ivan Pace (6-0, 239), who was all over the field last week with 2.5 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 15 tackles against Indiana. The Miami (Ohio) transfer already has 11 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks this season after being a standout at Miami the last 3 years.
The opportunity to play Cincinnati, especially at home, is something that TU relishes.
"We get to open up conference play with the team that has been pretty dominant in our conference over the last several seasons," Montgomery said.
But as impressive as Cincy is, if Brin is able to play and play well, Tulsa should be able to defeat Cincinnati.
There is no ducking Tulsa this time.