Last season, the Bearcats gave the Cougars all they could handle but eventually fell by a score of 33-30. | Courtesy of UH Athletics
Thursday night’s game against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats has all the makings of a trap game for the Cougars.
The team is coming off of a rain-delayed thrashing of the Lamar University Cardinals and still feeling the high from their historic win against the University of Oklahoma Sooners at NRG Stadium.
Bearcats head coach Tommy Tuberville will try to use the Cougar’s recent success to his team’s advantage.
History between the teams
The Cougars have faced the Bearcats three times since the team joined the American Athletic Conference. In every game, this rivalry has proven to be closely contested.
All three meetings have ended with a defensive stop by the winning team.
The Bearcats claimed the first two games, winning 24-17 and 38-31 against the Cougars offense led by quarterbacks John O’Korn and Greg Ward Jr. Last year, however, the Cougars won in thrilling fashion, reversing roles and forcing a defensive stop on the last play of the game to win 33-30.
All three previous matchups were played near or at the end of the season, and both teams carried momentum into their late-season tilts. With this year’s game occurring in week three of the season, it will be interesting to see how both teams perform.
This game poses as a test for both the Cougars and the Bearcats as one of the more competitive matchups of the season.
Players to watch
The highlight of last year’s game was Trevon Stewart’s tormenting of Cincinnati quarterback Gunnar Kiel.
Stewart led the team with three sacks on Kiel, in addition to his six total tackles. Kiel threw for four touchdowns in that game, but the Cougars defense ended up doing just enough to seal the victory.
Luckily for the Cougars, Kiel will not be starting at quarterback for the Bearcats this game.
Sophomore Hayden Moore had been the starting quarterback for the Bearcats last season, but missed the Houston game due to injury. Moore has thrown for only 500 yards in the first two games of the season, but managed to score seven total touchdowns in that time frame. He is coming off a five-touchdown game at Purdue and will look to continue his hot start against the Cougars.
Moore’s supporting cast will consist of two running backs, Tion Green and Mike Boone, and two receivers, Devin Gray and Nate Cole.
Green and Boone accounted for 16 touchdowns and 1,400 rushing yards last season for the Bearcats. They aim to build upon these numbers in 2016.
Gray and Cole have each caught for over 150 yards already, 100 more than the next best receiver. Cole is currently the leading scorer for the team with three touchdowns.
On the defensive side, senior safety Mike Tyson leads a young crew of defensive backs that prove to have an eye for the ball. Last week, Tyson took home three interceptions for the Bearcats against Purdue, one shy of the school record, paving the way for his team’s easy victory.
Sophomore safety Tyrell Gilbert and cornerback Alex Thomas earned an interception that day as well. In the season opener, Gilbert tallied a pick-six against the University of Tennessee at Martin.
It is hard to determine the weaknesses of the Bearcats since they have only played two games this season against subpar competition. While it is clear that they have an offense that can score and a quarterback-receiver duo that can burn opposing defenses, their defense remains untested.
