West Virginia and Cincinnati will look to shake off recent defeats to Arizona when the Mountaineers and Bearcats meet in Big 12 Conference play on Saturday afternoon in Morgantown, W.Va.
The Mountaineers (3-3, 0-3) were picked apart for 341 passing yards as they fell 52-31 to the Wildcats last Saturday. West Virginia has given up more than 40 points in all three of its conference games this season.
Coach Rich Rodriguez was candid when asked about his team’s defensive struggles, saying, “It is really frustrating.”
“The whole staff watched the film for 4 1/2 hours on Sunday morning, watched it with the whole defense Sunday afternoon, trying to get to the bottom of exactly why,” Rodriguez said. “Because it’s been a different issue — or issues — every week.”
Cincinnati (4-1, 1-1) lost 34-7 to Arizona on Oct. 3 in the Bearcats’ last game before a bye week. Cincinnati was outgained 522-227, giving up 238 yards on the ground.
The task won’t get easier this week against the Mountaineers, who have the best rushing offense in the Big 12 at an average of 295.5 yards per game. Cam Cook leads the team with 793 yards on the ground.
“You have to fit the defense correctly,” Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield said about facing West Virginia’s rushing attack. “If a guy’s out of his gap, that’s where they’re going to make you pay.”
Expecting a lot of man-to-man coverage from the Mountaineers, Satterfield said he hopes for an improved day from his receiving corps after the offense has fallen short of 200 passing yards in each of the past two games.
“The challenge is to go out there and win the one-on-ones. And so when we get those, I think that’ll be huge,” Satterfield said.
West Virginia has won both meetings since Cincinnati joined the Big 12 in 2023 and holds an 18-3-1 advantage all-time in the series.