The No. 17 Houston Cougars need to find a way to win against a dangerous Cincinnati Bearcats team . There are some burning questions surrounding this matchup.
Fans may be wondering about some critical things:
Houston's last game was against the undefeated Utah Utes, where it blew a 10-0 lead and lost 21-13, with the offense running straight into a brick wall in the fourth quarter.
The loss against Utah was hard to take, especially since it was a huge opportunity to make a massive statement. It was the second time the Cougars blew a 10-0 lead over a ranked opponent on the road. But Houston has had a bye week to bounce back, which could be huge this Saturday.
Houston QB Conner Weigman | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
If Houston goes 10-2, it will likely reach the College Football Playoff. The Cougars were ranked No. 17 in the new CFP rankings . That shows that the Cougars can bounce back and reach the CFP. It will be interesting to see how this team approaches a bad loss.
Two weeks ago, frankly, the Bearcats routed an undefeated Texas Tech Red Raiders team. The Bearcats came out and sucker-punched the Red Raiders, ultimately overpowering them 37-24.
That was the dangerous version of Cincinnati. A team that could play defense, run the ball, get explosive plays, and more. Then there is a completely different version of the Bearcats. The version that lost 34-7 against the Arizona Wildcats and the version that showed up against the Utah Utes.
Bearcats RB Cole Tabb runs for a touchdown against Texas Tech. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Last week, Utah completely destroyed the Bearcats, winning 49-25 with no problems against Cincinnati. That begs a burning question: What will the Bearcats show on Saturday? It will be interesting to see, but Houston must be prepared for both versions.
Against Utah, the Houston offense dearly missed tight end Patrick Overmyer , who was injured. The offense couldn't run effectively, while the passing game wasn't quite the same as before.
But quarterback Conner Weigman is getting Overmyer back, and the team still has wide receivers Trent Walker, Amare Thomas, and Koby Young, plus a strong running back room. This powerful offense needs to get back to what it was doing before.
Utah's defense really exposed the Houston offense and its weaknesses. We'll see whether that continues or Willie Fritz and his offense step up under pressure this Saturday against the Bearcats. This offense can't afford to do as badly as it did against Utah.
A few weeks ago, watching the Houston secondary was torture for a defense fan like me. It was uncoordinated, couldn't tackle well, and let offenses do whatever they wanted. But it finally looked good against the Kansas State Wildcats.
Houston CB Jalen Mayo defends Utah. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Drew Mestemaker did Mestemaker things against the secondary, but once again Houston played pretty good defense against Houston. The defense needed to do much more in the second half, but it didn't perform as well as it had in prior games.
Houston isn't asking for the defense to look extremely good; it just wants a good performance. This offense should be good enough to easily put up numbers against the Bearcats. But for now and for the future, seeing the defense actually play well is a beautiful thing.
Why? Because if Houston does make the CFP, then it has a solid chance at winning some huge games with a good defense.
We will answer all of these questions on Saturday. It will be intriguing to see how Houston answers them. At the very least, the Cougars need to find a way to get back into the win column against Cincinnati.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/houston as 4 Burning Questions Surrounding Houston's Big 12 Matchup Against Cincinnati .
