(Dallas, TX) This week, the Southern Methodist University Mustangs (4-2) travel to Nippert Stadium to face off against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats (2-5) in an American Athletic Conference matchup.
Coming off a bye week, SMU comes into this game ranked 6th in scoring offense this season. The Mustangs have scored at least 35 points in each of their previous contests and will have their hearts set on continuing this streak as the Bearcats give up 33 points per game. SMU currently lands at number four in the American Athletic West standings, as Cincinnati sits at the bottom of the American Athletic East standings.
Cincinnati will be looking for their first conference win of the season in this game, while the Mustangs attempt to bring their conference record above .500. The Bearcats signal caller for this game will be junior quarterback Hayden Moore. Seeing action as the starter in three straight seasons, Moore has accumulated 5,151 passing yards to go along with 30 touchdowns. Cincinnati offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock will attack SMU’s defense in all sorts of creative ways as they give up over 400 total yards per game.
SMU will turn to their running back trio of Xavier Jones, Ke’Mon Freeman and Braeden West to keep their offense rolling. The three have combined for over 1000 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. While Jones leads the team in rushing with 467 yards, Freeman has the edge in touchdowns with seven. SMU quarterback Ben Hicks comes into Nippert Stadium with an impressive passer rating of 139.6 on the season. His favorite target, wide receiver Trey Quinn, is looking to have a big impact against the Bearcats as he has already set career highs in all receiving categories. Also catching passes for the Mustangs will be six-foot-four wide receiver, Courtland Sutton. He has accounted for eight total touchdowns so far this season, due in part to his four-touchdown day against North Texas back in August.
Leading tackler for Cincinnati, Jaylyin Minor and the Bearcats’ defense will have to set the tone early on to help improve a defense that ranks in the bottom 25 in points against. The secondary for Cincinnati will need to improve on their interception totals, as they only have two on the season. Both defenses give up 30+ points per game. For the Mustangs, safety Mikial Onu will be their key defensive piece as he leads the team in tackles and is tied for second in interceptions.
Coming off a four-game losing streak and only one win against a Division 1 opponent this season, Cincinnati will need to protect their house against in-conference foe SMU. Ultimately, the battle of lackluster defenses will see SMU victorious due to their ability to score in a plethora of ways. SMU will win this game 45-21. This will give the Mustangs a 2-1 record in conference play, while the Bearcats’ losing streak will continue and bring their record to 0-4 in conference play.
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