We Speak College Football
No. 6 Utah Puts the Nation’s Longest Win Streak on the Line at Giant-Killer Cincinnati
Cincinnati just ended one perfect season. Seven days later, it gets a shot at a bigger one. The Bearcats host No. 6 Utah at Nippert Stadium on Saturday at 3:45 p.m. ET on ESPN, with the Utes bringing a 7-0 record, a 4-0 mark atop the Big 12 and a 13-game winning streak — the longest active streak in the FBS — into one of the most treacherous road environments in the league.
Utah’s start is its first 7-0 opening since 2010, and last Saturday’s 21-13 win over then-No. 14 Houston, played in front of the program’s 100th straight home sellout, showed how the Utes win: with a defense allowing just 14.6 points per game and a quarterback who refuses to fold. Devon Dampier ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns against Houston, though he also threw two interceptions. For the season, Dampier has 1,616 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and six picks, while running back Wayshawn Parker has added 644 yards and eight scores on the ground.
Cincinnati (5-2, 2-2 Big 12) is nobody’s idea of a soft landing spot. The Bearcats are 5-0 at home this season, and last week’s 37-24 takedown of then-No. 8 Texas Tech was the biggest win of the Scott Satterfield era — one week after a wild 45-42 loss at West Virginia. Quarterback JC French IV has been efficient, with 1,510 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and only two interceptions, and the Bearcats’ offense is built on a rushing attack that averages 234.6 yards per game behind Cole Tabb’s 621 yards and nine touchdowns.
That is where this game will be decided: Cincinnati’s ground game against a Utah defense that allows only 88.3 rushing yards per game, among the stingiest marks in the country. When the Bearcats sprung last week’s upset, their defense — mediocre most of the season — snatched three takeaways and allowed just one red-zone touchdown in four trips. They will need a repeat against a Utah offense averaging 478.4 yards and 37.4 points per game.
The recent history favors the visitors: Utah won last year’s first meeting as Big 12 foes, 45-14. If Cincinnati does it again, the Bearcats will have knocked off two top-10 teams in eight days, and the top of the Big 12 will be chaos. If Utah survives, the road to the conference title game runs through Salt Lake City.
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We Speak College Football
Halloween Under the Lights in Ames: No. 24 Oklahoma State’s Air Show Meets a Desperate Iowa State
Iowa State gets its first night game of the season at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday, and the opponent is the Big 12’s most entertaining surprise. No. 24 Oklahoma State (5-2, 3-1 Big 12) visits the Cyclones (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) at 7:00 p.m. ET on FS1, with Halloween in Ames as the backdrop.
Almost nobody saw Oklahoma State coming. The Cowboys lost their opener to Tulsa, and first-year head coach Eric Morris — who brought quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins with him from North Texas — has gone 5-1 since, the only other loss a three-point game at Houston. Mestemaker has been one of the best quarterbacks in the country: 65.7 percent completions, 2,326 passing yards (second-most in the FBS), 20 touchdowns against six interceptions. Oklahoma State averages 40.0 points and 529.1 yards per game, and just hung 598 yards on Colorado in a 57-24 win that put the Cowboys back in the AP Top 25 after a one-week absence.
Iowa State’s week has been about a decision. After playing two quarterbacks in a 39-3 loss to Arizona, head coach Jimmy Rogers announced Tuesday that Jaylen Raynor will start. Raynor has started every game this season, going 93-of-158 for 1,107 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions, with 145 rushing yards and three scores on the ground. The Cyclones need three more wins to reach bowl eligibility, and their path runs through home: their only loss in Ames came against Utah, and their last home game was a 45-42 shootout win over West Virginia.
History gives Iowa State a real argument. The Cyclones won the last two meetings, 20-13 in Stillwater last season and 34-27 in Ames in 2023, though Oklahoma State leads the all-time series 34-22-3. The deciding matchup is Mestemaker against an Iowa State defense allowing 24.1 points per game: if the Cyclones can slow the Cowboys’ tempo and make this a fourth-quarter game, the crowd and the moment give them a shot. If Oklahoma State gets to 40 again, the ranking survives and the Big 12 race keeps its wildest story.
Kickoff: Saturday, October 31, 7:00 p.m. ET. TV: FS1. Venue: Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, Iowa.
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