50 Fun Facts About 2022 Cincinnati Bearcats and Their Opponents

 

Week 1 @ Arkansas (9/3)

• Cincinnati has gone 22-2 over the last two seasons (20 straight regular season wins).
• Both losses have come against the SEC (Georgia, Alabama) – 17-46-3 all-time vs SEC
• 11 straight week 1 wins (last loss Fresno State, 2010)
• Last SEC win – 2011 Liberty Bowl (12/31/11) – beat Vanderbilt 31-24. Kentucky in 1996 in the last regular season win vs SEC.
• First meeting between schools
• Cincinnati is 6-4 under Luke Fickell against Power 5 schools (6 wins – UCLA (2018, 2019), Virginia Tech (2018), Boston College (2019), Indiana (2021), Notre Dame (2021); 4 losses – Michigan (2017), Ohio State (2019), Georgia (2020), Alabama (2021)
• Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman was OT/TE Coach at Cincinnati in 1996. Those Bearcats went 6-5 and former NFL head coach Rex Ryan was Defensive Coordinator.

Week 2 vs Kennesaw State (9/10)

• First home game of 2022 – Cincinnati has won 27 consecutive games at Nippert Stadium
• First ever meeting between schools
• KSU Defense Coordinator Danny Verpaele played for South Florida from 2004-2008. In Cincy’s 2006 win over USF, Verpaule had 3 total tackles.

Week 3 vs Miami Ohio (9/17)

• All-time series is tied at 59-59-1
• Cincinnati has won 15 in a row, dating back to 2006. Remembering the year Miami last won
• Linebacker Ivan Pace Jr transferred from Miami to Cincinnati after the 2021 season. Pace was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 and his 125 tackles led the MAC and were 10th in the country. Pace Jr is the younger brother of Cincy LB/S Deshawn Pace
• In 4 games since Luke Fickell took over (since 2017), Cincinnati has outscored Miami 31.5 – 11

Week 4 vs Indiana (9/24)

• Cincinnati trailed 14-0 in the second quarter during their 2021 meeting. They outscored Hoosiers 28-10 in the second half and ultimately won 38-24.
• Cincinnati recently received a commitment from 2023 DB Daeh McCullogh, who was previously committed to IU, and would have been the third highest ranked recruit in school history.
• Tre Tucker had his second career kick return TD during the third quarter of this game.
• Cincy defense forced 3 interceptions, 2 from players who return in 2022 – D. Pace and Arquon Bush. (Bryan Cook had the other INT).

Week 5 vs Tulsa (10/1)

• Cincinnati won 2021 regular season game (28-20) on a goal line stand in the final minute, in a game that included ESPN’s College Gameday on Cincinnati’s campus for the first time ever
• Rematch of 2020 AAC Championship Game, which Cincinnati won 27-24.
• All-time series even at 17-17-2
• Cincinnati is 4-1 in AAC play
• Lone AAC loss came in the 2016 finale. Cincinnati lost 40-37 in overtime, in what would be the final game of Tommy Tuberville’s coaching career.

Week 6 vs South Florida (10/8)

• Since both teams joined from C-USA in 2005, Cincy is 11-6 vs Bulls (12-7 all-time including 2 C-USA games in 2003 and 2004). This will be the final conference meeting between the schools.
• Cincinnati has won 4 in a row, after previously losing 3 in a row (2015-2017).
• During that losing streak, Cincinnati was outscored by an average of 47-16. (trailed 51-3 at halftime in 2015).

Week 8 @ SMU (10/22)

• Cincinnati leads all-time series 5-1
• Lost 31-28 in overtime in 2017, during Fickell’s first year. SMU completed a miraculous 3rd and 26 and later kicked game-winning field goal
• 2018 Cincinnati win was thanks to a James Wiggins pick six in overtime
• 2020 Cincinnati win was the emergence of Desmond Ridder. Cincinnati led 14-10 at the half, and then outscored SMU 28-3 in the second half. Ridder had a 91 yard touchdown run, one of 3 TD runs and 179 yards rushing total.
• 2021 Cincinnati win was also a route, 48-14 (it was 41-0 entering the 4th). Ridder threw 3 TDs, ran for 1 and even caught one.

Week 9 @ UCF (10/29)

• 4-3 all-time vs UCF, including 3 straight wins
• Won 36-33 in Orlando in 2020 – first road win in series for Cincinnati.
• Between 2016-2018, Cincinnati lost 3 straight and outscored 113-39 (average of 37-13)
• Cincinnati won the first ever meeting 52-7 in 2015
• Final AAC meeting, but not final conference meeting. Both teams joining Big 12 in 2023
• UCF is the reason Cincinnati made the CFP in 2021.

Week 10 vs Navy (11/5)

• 2-3 all-time vs Navy and 2-1 in AAC play
• The 1 loss came in 2017 in historic fashion as Navy won 42-32 and ran for 569 yards as a team
• Since that loss, Cincy has won the last two by an average of 34-10.

Week 11 vs East Carolina (11/11)

• Cincinnati is 12-13 all-time vs ECU and 7-1 in AAC play
• Despite the strong conference record, it has not always been easy. Bearcats won on a last second field in 2019 (on road) AND 2015 (at Paul Brown Stadium).
• Cincinnati has won 4 straight games, since a blow out road loss (48-20) in Fickell’s first season in 2017.

Week 12 @ Temple (11/19)

• Cincinnati is 9-13-1 all-time vs Temple
• Both teams are even at 4-4 in AAC play, though Cincinnati technically has an edge at 5-4, having won in 2012 when Temple joined the Big East, one year before the conference rebranded as the American Athletic Conference.
• After losing 4 in a row (2015-2018), Cincinnati won 15-13 in their final home game in 2019, to clinch their division and a spot in the conference championship game two weeks later. The difference in this game was a Coby Bryant interception return on a two point conversion.
• First-year Temple head coach Stan Drayton was RB Coach at Ohio State from 2012-14, while Luke Fickell was on staff as Defensive Coordinator. 2014 Buckeyes beat Bearcats 50-28.

Week 13 vs. Tulane (11/26)

• Cincinnati is 4-0 in AAC play vs Tulane, but just 7-11 all-time.
• Last loss vs Tulane was 2002.
• Last home loss? 1998. Cincinnati lost 52-34. That Bearcats team lost their first 9 games (finished 2-9 and 0-6 in C-USA play).