Can't-miss clashes: College football Week 2's premier matchups

Last Matchup: Cincinnati won 27-21(2023) All-Time Series: Pittsburgh leads 8-5 Location: Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio

The River City Rivalry gets renewed this Saturday when Pitt travels to take on Cincinnati. This is another alternate option for the noon timeslot. Both teams started 2024 well after coming off 3-9 campaigns the year before. The visiting Pitt Panthers began their year with a 55-24 win over Kent State in their home opener. Cincinnati defeated Towson 38-20 last Saturday as well.

Regarding Pittsburgh's performance, they played well enough to win, as evidenced by the final score. However, they were scared by the Golden Flashes at one point due to several miscues. A couple of newcomers on offense stood out for the Panthers in the victory.

Alabama transfer Eli Holstein became the starter after being in a QB battle with Nate Yarnell, and Holstein proved why he deserved the nod.

He completed 30 of 40 passes for 333 yards and tossed three scores, each to a different receiver. The other newcomer, Desmon Reid, ran for 145 yards and a touchdown on only 14 carries. Overall, the offense racked up 567 total yards and went 9-for-16 on third-down efficiency. Defensively, Pitt w held Kent State to just 212 yards and 3 of 16 on third downs.

The Panthers only allowed 31 yards rushing and forced two turnovers. The defensive line and linebackers successfully got after Kent State quarterback Devin Kargman. He was sacked five times and lost the one fumble the Flashes committed.

On the other hand, the hosting Cincinnati Bearcats also had a solid showing last week, However, they too struggled at times against Towson due to mistakes of their own. On the offense, Cincy has a new starting quarterback in Indiana transfer Brendan Sorsby. In his first start, Sorsby threw for nearly 400 yards and two touchdowns on 22 completions. He also ran for two more scores.

Wideout Xzavier Henderson benefitted the most from Sorsby's performance, catching seven balls for 101 yards and a touchdown. Despite, only getting four carries, junior running back Evan Pryor rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown. The ground game nearly reached 300 yards as a whole. On defense, Cincinnati recovered two fumbles and notched three sacks on Towson quarterbacked Carlos Davis.

However, at times they struggled to contain the Tigers' offense. Davis threw 244 yards and two scores. Towson also gained 194 yards on the ground, meaning they racked up 438 yards total. They led in time of possession and only turned the ball over once. Towson did damage when they had the ball in their hands.

Part of the problem was that the Bearcat defense didn't have all-American defensive tackle Dontay Corleone. He missed last week while still recovering from blood clots in his lungs over the summer. He's been with the team during the offseason, practicing in limitations.

Now, he's cleared to play. With the addition of Corleone back to the lineup, the running lanes will certainly get smaller and he'll help shut down opposing running games.

However, it's not guaranteed he'll suit up for this week's contest. Remember the miscues that were mentioned? That will be the deciding factor on who starts 2-0. For Pitt, Eli Holstein threw a pick and they lost a fumble. These two mistakes helped keep Kent State in the game well into the third quarter. Cincinnati coughed up the ball three times against Towson.

All their turnovers were a result of fumbling. The winner is going to be the team that limits the mistakes. Both teams showed they can effectively throw and run the ball well. The defensive mismatch could favor Pitt. If Corleone isn't on the field for Cincinnati, they'll have difficulties stopping the run.