The No. 2-ranked Cincinnati football team will look to move to 8-0 for a second straight season and just the fourth time ever against Tulane in an American Athletic Conference matchup at Noon ET (11 a.m. CT) on Saturday at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans.
The Bearcats will look to win their fourth straight game against the Green Wave in the first matchup between the schools since 2018.
Cincinnati won the last matchup, 37-21, in 2018 in Nippert Stadium. In 2017, UC defeated Tulane, 17-16, for head coach Luke Fickell's first career AAC victory.
Tulane suffered a 55-26 loss to No. 19/16 SMU in its last game to drop to 1-6 and 0-3 in the AAC.
The Bearcats are coming off a hard-fought 27-20 win at Navy on Saturday where junior tight end Josh Whyle had a career-best two touchdown receptions, junior defensive back Arquon Bush made a game-clinching interception and Cincinnati's defense tallied a season-high 11 tackles for loss. Linebackers Joel Dublanko and Darrian Beavers paced the defense with 15 and 14 tackles, respectively – both career highs, while senior defensive tackle Curtis Brooks had three TFLs.
Sophomore linebacker Deshawn Pace blocked a field goal and finished with nine stops, including two TFLs. Sophomore kicker Alex Bales nailed a 52-yard field goal on his first career attempt, marking the seventh-longest field goal in Cincinnati history and the longest since 2008.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 with Anish Shroff (pxp), Mike Golic, Jr. (analyst) and Taylor McGregor (sideline) on the broadcast.
GARDNER, BRYANT LEAD NATION'S TOP PASS DEFENSE, COLLECT NATIONAL HONORS
On Monday, cornerbacks Coby Bryant and Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner were both named to the 12-player semifinalist list for the Jim Thorpe Award. Brooks was named to the AAC Honor Roll on Monday, as well. UC has the nation's top pass defense, ranking first nationally in pass efficiency defense (89.72), first in opponent completion percentage (50.7%), third in interceptions (12), third in yards per pass attempt (5.2), third in TDs allowed (4) and No. 7 in passing yards allowed (163.7).
RIDDER PART OF DAVEY O'BRIEN CLASS
Cincinnati senior quarterback Desmond Ridder was named to the Davey O'Brien QB Class for 2021 on Tuesday. He is now eligible to be voted as one of the 16 semifinalists for the award, which is given to the nation's top quarterback.
Through seven games in 2021, Ridder has passed for 1,620 yards and 15 touchdowns, while adding 134 yards and three scores on the ground. The Louisville, Ky., native is the active career leader in wins and winning % among NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision signal callers, winning over 88% of his games (38-5).
CINCINNATI PROVES IT'S ELITE
UC is THE ONLY TEAM IN THE COUNTRY that ranks in the Top 10 in scoring (41.1, 10th) and scoring defense (14.6, t3rd). Cincinnati is 38-6 (.864) since the start of 2018 and sports a 16-1 record (.941) since the start of 2020 with the Bearcats only loss over the last 22 months coming by three points, 24-21, to current-No. 1 Georgia in the 2020 Peach Bowl. The Bearcats have jumped out to a 7-0 record in 2021 and own one of the nation's top resumes thanks to a pair of double-digit road wins over non-conference opponents. UC defeated No. 9 Notre Dame, 24-13, two weeks after taking out IU, 38-24. No SEC team and only one Big 10 team (Purdue) will even play two non-conference road games in 2021.
