Game Notes: UCF at #3 Cincinnati

The UCF football team (3-2, 1-1 AAC) returns to the road this weekend to take on 3rd-ranked Cincinnati (5-0, 1-0 AAC). The Knights take on the Bearcats Saturday at noon with coverage on ABC and FM 96.9 The Game. 

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Oct. 16
Time: 12 p.m.
TV: ABC
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Live Stats: click here

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE GAME NOTES - UCF AT CINCINNATI

A UCF WIN WOULD...
• Be better than a loss
• Be Malzahn's 81st win as a head coach
• Total 178 FBS wins for UCF in program history
• Be UCF's first road win of the season
• Mark the Knights first win over Cincinnati since 2018 and give UCF a 4-3 advantage in the series

SERIES BREAKDOWN

ABOUT THE BEARCATS
• Cincinnati is in its fifth season under head coach Luke Fickell, who has a record of 40-14 with the Bearcats.

• Last season, Cincinnati went 9-1 in a COVID-19 shortened 2020 campaign, winning the American Athletic Conference at 6-0 and earning a final ranking of 8th.

• The Bearcats have won each of their first five games in 2021, including victories over Indiana and Notre Dame that have earned Cincinnati a ranking of 3rd in the AP Poll and 4th in the Coaches Poll.

• Quarterback Desmon Ridder has thrown for 1,304 yards with 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions to go with 114 yards and three scores on the ground. Deshawn Pace leads the defense with 39 tackles, 3.5 TFLs and two picks.

TEAM NOTE
FUTURE FOOTBALL CAMPUS VISION
• On August 19, new UCF director of athletics Terry Mohajir announced his planned vision for UCF Athletics' football campus at the Kenneth G. Dixon Athletics Village.
• UCF's previously announced McNamara Cove that will include a recovery river for student-athletes and "Covegating" experiences for fans on game days is part of the plan. 
• Also announced was the Launch Club, a new structure on the south side of the stadium located above the Garvy Center for Nutrition, featuring coaches' offices combined with premium seating areas.
• The north end zone will feature additional seating and standing-room only decks for expansion of the Knightmare Student Section.

OFFENSE NOTE
THE RUNNING BACK ROOM
• The UCF rushing attack looks a lot different in 2021, as the Knights replaced their top three running backs from a season ago in Greg McCrae, Otis Anderson and Bentavious Thompson.
• The most experienced back in the room is graduate transfer Isaiah Bowser, who totaled 334 carries for 1,300 yards and seven touchdowns with Nortwestern the last three seasons.
• In his first game as a Knight, Bowser rushed 33 times for a career-high 172 yards and a touchdown. In week two he scored four rushing touchdowns. He suffered an injury in the loss at Louisville and only played limited snaps, and then missed the Navy game and the ECU game due to injury.
• As a team, UCF ranks 24th in the nation in rushing after five games, thanks to the efforts of Bowser, Johnny Richardson, Mark-Antony Richards and Trillion Coles. Richardson has rushed 42 times for 297 yards (7.1 per carry), while Coles has rushed 29 times for 156 yards and Richards scored the game-winning touchdown against ECU on Oct. 9.

DEFENSE NOTE
THE LINEBACKER LINE
• Tatum Bethune, Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste and Bryson Armstrong have all started at linebacker this season.
• Bethune, the AAC Defensive Player of the Week, returned from injury to make 17 tackles in the win over ECU. He has 32 on the season to go with a TFL, a pick and a hurry. Jean-Baptiste got his first interception against ECU, ranks fourth on the team with 27 tackles and has 3.0 TFLs.
• UCF newcomer and former FCS All-American Armstrong is a two-time Big South Defensive Player of the Year and has totaled 40 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks in his career. He currently leads the Knights with 45 tackles after totaling 22 at Navy, one off the school record.

DID YOU KNOW?
Linebacker Tatum Bethune topped his career best with 17 total tackles in the win over ECU on Oct. 9.