What you need to know before the Cincinnati Bearcats host the Baylor Bears

Losers of four straight, the University of Cincinnati will come into their latest noon kickoff still as a slight favorite against Baylor. Coming off a bye, the Bearcats played arguably their worst game last Saturday, a 30-10 loss to Iowa State.

The 2-4 Bearcats (0-3 Big 12) will be without cornerback Sammy Anderson who left the opening Eastern Kentucky game injured and hasn't returned.

"They (medical team) have been doing their due diligence to figure this out for Sammy," UC coach Scott Satterfield said. "Unfortunately, he'll not be able to play. I appreciate the work our medical team does. I'm sure it will be addressed at the end of the season what Sammy will be doing at that point."

Does a bye help?

UC had a week off between the loss at BYU and the Homecoming defeat to Iowa State. Most agree the record could have easily been 4-1 coming into last week, but inopportune mistakes made it 2-3. A Homecoming game should fire up a team. Instead, the Bearcats struggled against Iowa State's 3-3-5 defense.

Baylor at 2-4 hasn't played since losing their fourth game at home in five tries Oct. 7 as Texas Tech trounced them 39-14.

"I'm impressed with what they do defensively," Baylor coach Dave Aranda said of UC. "Offensively, their run game and motions and shifts will test us."

Baylor AD critiques offense

Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades didn't care for the team's 17 net yards rushing vs. Texas Tech. He told 365 Sports that changes were needed and had meetings with Coach Aranda. In his Monday press conference, Aranda insinuated that quarterback Blake Shapen, who threw for 324 against the Red Raiders, would still be flinging the ball.

"We talked about throwing it in order to run it," Aranda said.

3 things UC must do to win

1. There must be vertical movement

Emory Jones threw the ball 26 times vs. Iowa State but only for 96 yards. His longest completion was 20 yards. After completing 82.6 and 69.2%, respectively in UC's opening wins, he's had three games where his completions were between 53-54%.

No quarterback change

"The other guys are competing," he said. "Lichty (Brady Lichtenberg) got in at the end. We really still didn't get anything generated. We will compete in the quarterback room throughout practice but I still feel like Emory gives us the best chance to move our offense. If and when a point came where we didn't, we'd make a move."

The running game vs. Iowa Stae didn't produce chunk yards either with Jones having a long trot of 14 yards. None of the running backs carried for more than six yards on any run. Corey Kiner's longest runs have been 54 and 68 yards, respectively in the opening victories.

"We need to find ways to get them the ball because that keeps our offense balanced," Satterfield said. "It helps the quarterbacks."

2. No momentum-killing plays

There was a missed assignment on Miami University's first play from scrimmage and a missed game-winning field goal in UC's first loss. Against Oklahoma, an interception in the end zone stopped a crucial drive. At BYU, the Cougars got an early pick-six and later had an easy score when a punt was dropped at the 15-yard line. Vs. Iowa State, there's the missed touchdown to Dee Wiggins, followed by a pick, a successful fake field goal and a roughing the passer turning a winnable game into a 20-point loss.

"We're not good enough to go out there, make those kind of mistakes and win these games," Satterfield said.

3. Keep the students in the stadium

Right or wrong, the kids were up early on Clifton Avenue, Calhoun Street, Short Vine, etc. vs. Iowa State. The student section thinned a bit when UC was down 17-7 at half. As the Iowa State lead increased student support decreased as they departed for better options.

To that point, defensive lineman Dontay Corleone made a plea before departing Tuesday's media session.

"Cincinnati fans, I know you weren't expecting this as far as our record," Corleone said. "I just want you to try to stay with us. We're going to have adversity but we need everybody in that stadium packed out. I just need ya'll to show up."

Added tight end Chamon Metayer, "It's definitely not fun losing. I struggle on my end too. I've got to be better in the run game. I'm good in the passing game. We all just have to stay positive. We can't let the outside noise contradict us on the field."

Players to watch

Blake Shapen is of similar size to Rocco Becht of Iowa State. The 6-foot, 206-pounder was the MVP of Baylor's 2021 Big 12 title game. He's thrown for 920 yards and four touchdowns when healthy with no interceptions. One note from their Texas Tech game is the Red Raiders sacked him six times.

For UC, Corey Kiner was held to a season-low 29 yards rushing vs. Iowa State and Xzavier Henderson departed with nary a catch. That pair needs to be more involved in the box score.

What's the score?

Before the season I said this was a loss. I'll go against the grid though with the thought that UC's defense might rattle Shapen enough to make a difference. There's no scientific measurement here other than UC is just flat due to win.

Cincinnati 24, Baylor 20

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Baylor Bears Big 12 football preview