Cincinnati-South Florida Preview

No. 17 Cincinnati will be going for an eighth consecutive victory when it plays at South Florida on Saturday.

While the Bulls are struggling -- they have lost two of their last three games and need two wins just to get to bowl eligibility -- Bearcats coach Luke Fickell remembers all too well the last time the teams met on the Bulls' home field in Tampa.

That was in 2017 in Fickell's first season, and the Bulls won handily 33-3.

That USF team was undefeated at the time of that meeting, however, while the current crew is coming off a 17-7 loss to Temple that dropped the Bulls (4-5, 2-3 American Athletic Conference) under .500 again.

One of their wins was over an FBS opponent (South Carolina State) and another came against struggling UConn, which was just waxed 48-3 by Fickell's Bearcats last week and is winless in AAC play.

Nevertheless, Fickell is taking nothing for granted.

"I really believe this is a talented football team," he said of USF. "I know their record might not indicate it, but they sometimes play to the level of their opponent as well.

"But at home, at night, we were there two years ago and it wasn't close. I don't think they've dropped off. Obviously, we've gotten better, but they haven't dropped off talent-wise. They're a challenge for us."

The Bearcats (8-1, 5-0) have much more than the memory of their last visit to Raymond James Stadium as incentive. They can clinch at least a tie for the AAC East title and could sew up a spot in the league championship game if Temple loses to Tulane earlier in the day.

And they also lead the race for a New Year's Six bowl game as the highest-ranked team among the Group of Five conferences. Cincinnati finishes the season with challenging games vs. Temple and at Memphis.

USF is pushing for bowl eligibility while having to navigate Cincinnati and Memphis at home before finishing at UCF.

Coach Charlie Strong sees that as motivation for his players.

"They see that in front of them and they'll come back to work," Strong said. "You've got enough seniors who have enough leadership about them and will get them going."

Strong hopes to have reinforcements with the return of a couple of injured players -- tight end Jacob Mathias (virus) and defensive tackle Kevin Kegler (unspecified). But starting left tackle Donovan Jennings' status was undetermined early in the week. He injured an ankle in the loss to Temple.

"He's one of those guys who is very tough," Strong said. "If he can go, he'll go out there and do what he needs to do."

Jennings' return could be vital. The Owls sacked USF quarterback Jordan McCloud nine times last week. Backup quarterback Jah'Quez Evans, a freshman who rushed for 99 yards in one half against East Carolina on Oct. 26 but sat out last week's game, also is iffy with an undisclosed injury.

"We're going to test him this week, just to see where we are with his injury to see if he'll be back," Strong said.

--Field Level Media