Two breeds of Cats square off Saturday night with pride and perhaps bowl game pecking order on the line, as Cincinnati travels to play Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan.
The Bearcats (5-5, 3-4 Big 12) need a win at Kansas State or against TCU at home on Nov. 30 to reach bowl eligibility. K-State (7-3, 4-3) has qualified for a bowl game but disappointing losses all but erased the chances the Wildcats will appear in the Big 12 Championship Game.
Cincinnati’s three game losing streak is lined with defensive letdowns. The Bearcats allowed at least 31 points in each of the losses. The Bearcats rushed for a season-best 287 yards but also had a season-high 13 penalties in losing at Iowa State 34-17 last week.
“We did some good things, but we obviously did some bad things,” Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield said. “They were dropping eight (defenders) all night. When they do that, there’s nowhere to throw the ball.”
Satterfield is anxious for another opportunity on Saturday, when the Bearcats will have to corral the fourth-leading rushing in the Big 12 in DJ Giddens.
“There’s a lot of similarity between last week and this week,” he said Tuesday. “Iowa State and Kansas State are two of the best programs in the Big 12. They’re coming off a couple of losses, just like Iowa State was. We have to have a really good week to give ourselves a chance to get this win.”
This is the fourth Big 12 night game on the road for the Bearcats, who haven’t played Kansas State in nearly three decades.
K-State lost a late lead at Houston two weeks ago, falling as a heavy favorite to the Cougars. And last Saturday against an Arizona State team that lost to Cincinnati, the Wildcats fell behind 24-0 in the third quarter before finally gaining traction and mounting a comeback.
But mistakes derailed any chances of a rally in a 24-14 loss.
“Obviously a disappointing performance on Saturday,” Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman said Monday. “We had a long staff meeting yesterday and talked about a lot of things. We looked at offense, defense and special teams. I don’t think anybody could point a finger at anybody because I don’t think any unit played up to its capabilities.”
Now the Wildcats must get refocused to face the Bearcats.
“Our job this week is to right the ship, because we have another opportunity,” Klieman said. “I want our seniors to have an opportunity to go out well.”
