Game Preview: UC Looks to Rebound Against Kennesaw State

UC is ready to make it 28-straight victories at Nippert Stadium.

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CINCINNATI — The 2022 home schedule at Nippert Stadium opens up to a sellout crowd for Saturday's game against FCS Kennesaw State.

Both teams enter this game 0-1 after the Owls fell to Samford 27-17 in week one of the season.

“Obviously, we're excited to be back home this week," Head coach Luke Fickell said on Tuesday. "More than anything, it's tough starting on the road, but regardless of that, to be back in Nippert Stadium with the student body, the student section, the city, and the community is something for us. It is really exciting. It's been a while, and so, first game back at home is something that we've been waiting for. Last week was a tough loss on the road. But as we look at ourselves and we know, we didn't play well enough to win a football game."

If this isn't a clean-up game for the Bearcats then there are even bigger issues than originally projected after losing 31-24 to Arkansas. KSU is a 41-point underdog heading into this road affair. ESPN's Football Power Index has the Atlantic Sun Conference member losing to UC 97.9% of the time—The Bearcats will not be a bigger favorite in any game the rest of the year.

Let's dive into the game preview as Uc looks for its 28th-straight win at Nippert Stadium.

Tighten It Up

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UC probably won't lose the game if they have 10 penalties for 60-plus yards again, but it could be far from a cakewalk if they do. The week one jitters are gone, the players are in the comfy confines of Nippert and they are playing by far the easiest team on their schedule.

Saturday is about taking the Owls seriously while tightening up a sloppy operation in week one. The easiest fix off the bat has to do with helmets. Double-digit lids coming off is an anomaly that UC doesn't want trending.

“We're going to put double-sided tape inside there," Fickell joked. "And we're going to stick them on their heads, and we're going to have to tighten our chin straps a little bit. That was something that was kind of out of the blue for us. I don't know if it's, you just don't tackle as much in fall camp, you don't recognize those things, but it's probably a lot simpler than that. 

"I think they just can't get comfortable with the playing a little bit looser with your helmet and you got to strap them up a little bit tighter and if that's not the case, they keep coming off, and then we've probably got a bigger issue. We got to dive in a little bit deeper, but I think just tighten them down. I would hope that's going to get the job done for us.”

After that comes the penalties, 50-70 yards isn't a death knell for most teams, but 10 flags can be. UC has the 15th-most flags thrown on them among teams that have played in one game.

"The preparation is so critical," Fickell said about the mental errors. "So, you recognize, you see those things. I think the first is to humble yourself, and then to challenge yourself to find ways as coaches and individuals to realize you got to get better. And that's what you do when you go out on a Tuesday, on a Wednesday, and even for us, on Sunday. We did a lot more on Sunday because our kids were willing to, and I'm not saying before they weren’t, but those are things were glaring at them and as you saw them go out there on a Sunday even though they're beat up, you're like, okay, they are owning this and they're challenging themselves, and they want to get better. We did some more things Sunday, and you'll keep doing them, but you got to prove it.”

Those mistakes came at brutal times for gaining momentum (Multiple inside the five calls, block in the back on the Charles McClelland screen). Playing heady football for a full 60 minutes is crucial for Cincinnati on Saturday and especially moving forward.

Corraling The Triple Option

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Stop Xavier Sheppard.

Those three words are the mantra this week. The KSU quarterback is the head of the triple-option snake. He ran for 867 yards on 240 carries last year to go with school records in passing yards (1,341) and passing touchdowns (15).

The first-team FCS All-America dual threat is the bellwether for the entire KSU team. When he gets going, they can hang with anyone in the FCS, and the team is still ranked No. 19 in the STATS Perform FCS Poll. They have spent 61 consecutive weeks in the top 25.

Saturday should a be a great primer for UC's matchup against Navy on Nov. 5.

“All of them are similar in ways and they all are different in some ways," Fickell said about comparing triple option opponents. "Statistically you would look at them and they throw the ball more than what a Navy has done, or an Army has done when we've played them. They've only got one game under their belt from this year. Last year, they played a lot of games. 11-2 and made a heck of a run in the playoffs. All triple option poses a lot of problems. We've got to be a little bit different than we ever have been. Just to make sure we're sound in their ability to throw the football a little bit more. 

"But nonetheless, it's always going to be a unique challenge and it's not just a challenge for the defense. It's a challenge to the offense. You have to play so complimentarily because they do limit the possessions that you get. You have to make sure you're taking advantage of every one of those opportunities, whether it's offensively or even special teams.”

Forcing Sheppard to throw is a great strategy for UC, which just struggled with KJ Jefferson and Arkansas to the tune of 224 rushing yards. The Owls QB has only attempted 20-plus passes once since the start of last year—a 45-17 loss to Georgia Tech.

Bryant Bombs

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UC quarterback Ben Bryant performed much better after halftime last weekend, and now he can build on that momentum. He finished 26-of-43, for 325 yards, with two touchdowns, one interception, and one fumble.

Those first few numbers will work perfectly on Saturday, the final two need to disappear. A clean game from Bryant should springboard his confidence for the rest of 2022. Finding an offensive rhythm earlier than the opening kick of the second half is key.

“It's a process and I think all those things that when you talk about playing, I don't just mean clean," Fickell said about Bryant and the team. "Clean isn't just the penalties, clean isn't just the false starts. Clean is getting into that rhythm with some tempo. That's where even in the second half, I know when you're moving the ball, it's a lot easier to have rhythm and tempo. But maybe we didn't do a good enough job of giving the offense an opportunity to play with a little bit more rhythm and tempo in the first half as we did in the second.

"But I thought he did a really good job. I think the thing that we got out of it as much as anything is I believe we're a much more mature team than what I would have given us credit for. It was a tough first half. You go in down 14 to nothing at halftime and had that been last year's team, not saying we wouldn't, but I would have been curious as to how they would react and respond. They were very mature about what it was. Minds were open to making the adjustments and things, and I think that's what showed when we came out the second half. Not just offensively but defensively as well.”

Both UC turnovers that flipped Saturday's contest weren't because of amazing plays by the Razorbacks. Bryant telegraphed an opposite-field out route, while left tackle James Tunstall got beat by a decent spin move for the strip sack. That's a pass-rushing staple, but Tunstall could've been in better position to regain leverage.

Again, all of this stuff is fixable, and UC won't get a better chance to tune up the hot rod after Kennesaw State leaves town on Saturday. Fans can watch the game on ESPN+ at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Make sure you bookmark All Bearcats for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more.

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