Week 12 in the college football season brings a huge AAC matchup, as the SMU Mustangs face off against the undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats. Can the Bearcats keep their playoff chances and undefeated season alive or will the Mustangs be able to play spoiler to their division rival? We’ll highlight each team in this preview, three players to watch, and finish with my game prediction.
SMU has started the college football season a perfect 7-0, climbing to 21st in the AP polls. Since then, the Mustangs have dropped two straight games and out of the top-25.
As we start to look at the SMU season thus far, we must talk about their incredible offense. SMU enters this game ranked 6th in the nation in total offense.
The SMU passing attack is ranked inside the top ten coming in at #8, and average 329 yards per game. It all starts with Junior quarterback Tanner Mordecai. Mordecai has 3,267 yards through the air, along with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His 37 touchdown passes are second-most in all of college football. Tanner Mordecai my first ‘Player to Watch’ in this game. Will he be able to continue his excellent campaign and knock off the undefeated Bearcats?
The SMU rushing attack leaves a lot to be desired. They rank 61st in the country and only average 169 yards per game. Senior starting running back Tre Siggers has had some poor performances as of late, with both Houston and Mephis holding him to under 60 yards. He’s only had one touchdown during that two-game span. This past week was a different story, with Siggers rushing for 93 yards and three touchdowns in a win over UCF. A big storyline for this week will be if Tre Siggers can build off his recent success; or, will the Bearcats be able to shut down Siggers and the SMU offense.
The SMU defense hasn’t been anything special this season, either. The team ranks 85th in total defense throughout college football. Their rushing defense ranks 31st in the country, giving up 3.49 yards per rush and 125 yards per game. The Mustang pass defense has been especially bad, ranking 121st in yards allowed. They are giving up 8 yards per attempt and 279 yards per game.
The Cincinnati Bearcats come into this game as the 5th best team in college football. They will try to keep their 10-0 unbeaten streak alive this week against SMU. Can the Bearcats continue to march towards the College Football Playoffs, or will SMU put an end to their Cinderella season?
As we take a look at the Bearcats overall, two things stick out the most to me. The first being the Bearcats offense, which is very subpar. The second is will their highly-rated pass defense be able to keep up with the SMU pass offense.
As I just stated, I find the Cincinnati offense to be subpar. Their 56th ranking in both passing offense, as well as rush offense, is enough to prove that.
Despite the average ranking, the Bearcats passing has been stellar this season. Senior quarterback Desmond Ridder has thrown for 2,425 yards and 22 touchdowns with only six interceptions. Ridder’s 22 touchdowns have him tied for 14 in college football. Ridder has thrown for over 200 yards and two touchdowns in his last three outings. Thus, making Desmond Ridder my second ‘Player to Watch’.
Jumping over to the rushing offense only one name is needed to be mentioned. That’s Junior running back Jerome Ford. Ford has 888 rushing yards, placing him 29th in the country. What’s more impressive than that is his 15 rushing touchdowns, which have him tied for 6th in the country. Whether or not Ford can continue to score touchdowns may be a deciding factor in if the Bearcats win or lose.
As we switch over to cover the Bearcats defense, we’ll start with their incredible pass defense. The Bearcats rank 5th in the nation in passing yards allowed, only giving up 164 yards per game.
The Bearcat rush defense comes in at 69th in the country in yards allowed, giving up an average of 151 per game.
Finding a player to highlight on this defense wasn’t challenging at all. Senior linebacker Joel Dublanko claims my third and final ‘Player to Watch’. Dublanko is tied for 48th in solo tackles with 46, with two sacks and a forced fumble on the season.
Game Predictions
Final Score: Cincinatti 27 – SMU 17
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