3 ways to another Cincinnati Bearcats Big 12 football victory in West Virginia

Freshly confident after getting their first Big 12 victory in Houston, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats hope to play spoiler again on Saturday. Last week, it was Houston's Homecoming, this week, not only does West Virginia have Senior Day, they're also honoring former coach Don Nehlen, a College Football Hall of Famer.

"Their team started out hot at 4-1, they do have six wins to this point," UC coach Scott Satterfield said. "The strength of their team is offensive line. They're one of the top rushing teams in the country this year. They have one really big back (238-pound C.J. Donaldson Jr.) and another freshman (Jaheim White, 5-7, 190) that's really shown some good stuff this year."

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Running numbers

The Mountaineers average 213.8 rushing yards per game, No. 7 in the country. UC averages 223.3 at No. 5. West Virginia's Donaldson has 755 yards and 10 touchdowns, with White at 455 and quarterback Garrett Greene at 451.

UC's Corey Kiner is 115 yards away from 1,000 at 885 with five scores followed by quarterback Emory Jones at 455 and Myles Montgomery at 409.

Mountaineer mumblings

West Virginia coach Neal Brown knows Satterfield from their days in the Sun Belt when he was at Troy and Satterfield was at Appalachian State. Satterfield and App State's Mountaineers won their last meeting 21-10 in 2018.

In this meeting, Brown is well aware of UC's potent running attack led by Kiner.

"We tried to recruit him out of high school," Brown said. "He's tough. A real physical runner that breaks a lot of tackles. He's one of the guys in the country with the most broken tackles."

Local flavor

The son of former Bengal John Thornton is a Mountaineer like his father. Redshirt junior Jalen Thornton is a 6-2, 278-pound defensive lineman from Indian Hill who will be chasing Bearcats Saturday.

"It'll be a surreal moment for me to play against my hometown team in potentially my last game at Milan Puskar (Stadium)," Thornton said.

There's also redshirt freshman defensive lineman Harry Hilvert of Taylor, Fairfield twin corners Jordan and Josiah Jackson and defensive lineman Zeiqui Lawton, who was on the Bearcat roster in 2021 and 2022 but didn't play.

3 keys for UC to play spoiler in Morgantown

1. Get in the first shot

The 2:30 start is the earliest WVU's had at home this season so what better way to throw the fan base off and seize momentum than scoring on the first drive? In their three victories, the Bearcats have done just that. A fiery team meeting the Sunday after the UCF loss seemed to kickstart last Saturday's win in Houston.

"We played complementary football which we really hadn't done," Satterfield said. "We played disciplined football. We've been really good in spurts, then not very good at all. But, we really put it together. We very efficient. We went right down the field and scored. You could sense it throughout the week. It was more a sense of urgency like, 'We've got to go get this win. Whatever it takes.' You could see on the field they were really focused and intentional in everything they were doing out there."

West Virginia is 4-1 at Milan Puskar Stadium with the lone loss coming in a mid-afternoon game against Oklahoma State last month.

2. Continue efficient play at quarterback

In his last two games, Emory Jones has had 81.7% and 72.3% passing efficiencies, respectively. At Houston, he was 13-for-16, while Brady Lichtenberg was 4-for-7 and neither threw an interception.

For West Virginia, Oklahoma forced starter Greene into a 10-for-27 night for just 37%. His best passing rate was 60.9% at UCF Oct. 28. Another clean game by UC's quarterbacks and pressure on Greene could equate to a happy trip home.

"Anytime you turn the TV on if you watch West Virginia, you see him (Greene) running around and making plays," Satterfield said. "(He's) a very feisty player. It'll be Senior Day for them so we know we'll get their best shot."

3. Win in the trenches

West Virginia offensive lineman Zach Frazier is a Preseason All-American and All-Big 12 First Team at 6-3, 310 pounds. He's helped the Mountaineers clear holes to outrush their opponents 213.8 to 147.2 yards per game.

Likewise UC's 6-2, 318-pound "Godfather" Dontay Corleone is a known commodity. Corleone sacked Houston's 6-5, 241-pound quarterback Donovan Smith last week, so Frazier will be trying to keep Corleone's meaty paws off the 5-11, 201-pound Greene.

"It's just not him (Frazier)," Corleone said of WVU's O-line. "They've got great offensive linemen next to him. It's going to be a dogfight and we're very excited for that match-up."

Corleone also expects to hear a few "'Cat-calls" from the Country Roads crowd.

"I enjoy being on the road," he said. "It's motivating with people talking trash. It makes you want to play football even more and motivates you to go get that win. We'll be excited to have this opportunity for this rivalry game."

Player to watch

West Virginia senior cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. is one of 20 semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award. According to Pro Football Focus College, Bishop is No. 1 in the nation in forced incompletions and passed defended. He's ninth in the country in interceptions with four.

Pick a winner

The Mountaineers are mighty tough in Morgantown but negative picks get old. Perhaps this is decided by a kick.

Cincinnati 33, West Virginia 32

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats vs West Virginia preview, score prediction