WVU Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Cincinnati in Week 12
WVU football will face off with the Cincinnati Bearcats, a rivalry dating all the way back to their first meeting in 1921. These former Big East foes will have their first matchup since 2011.
Cincinnati, the conference newcomer, has had a bit of a tough time adjusting to Big 12 football. The Bearcats enter this game with a record of 3-7 overall and are just 1-6 in conference play. Their lone win in conference play came last Saturday against the Houston Cougars, another conference newcomer.
Here are three bold predictions for the West Virginia Mountaineers against Cincinnati and how they can avoid the upset loss. A win in this one would give the Mountaineers their first seven-plus-win season in the Neal Brown era.
1. Mountaineers run for 275+ yards
Just a few short days ago (prior to their loss against the Oklahoma Sooners) this Mountaineer team was riding a two-game win streak. WVU defeated the UCF Knights in Orlando by a score of 41-28 and proceeded to stomp the BYU Cougars 37-7 in Morgantown the following weekend.
The reason for West Virginia’s success was found in their prolific rushing attack.
As a team, WVU carried the ball 50 times against UCF which was good for 286 yards en route to the 13-point victory. They followed this up with 336 yards on 48 carries against BYU. True freshman Jahiem White led the way with 146 yards while CJ Donaldson Jr. contributed 102 yards himself.
It’s no secret that the Mountaineers find their identity in their running game. This team has now eclipsed 140 rushing yards in 13 straight games, which leads all teams in the Power Five.
Additionally, the last time the Bearcats were facing an opposing offense that finds their identity in the running game things did not go well for them. Ollie Gordon II of Oklahoma State ran all over the Bearcat defense en route to a 271-yard performance on 25 carries. While that performance is certainly a bit of an outlier on a season in which Cincinnati has had some success stopping the run, I expect the Mountaineers to get back to their running ways on Saturday.
Behind a bit of a rejuvenated offensive line, Donaldson, White, and Garrett Greene will have no issue extending the team’s streak of 140 yards rushing to 14 games in a row. In fact, they have a real shot to eclipse 275 yards for the third time this season.