Inside the Bearcats: Cincinnati expert breaks down matchup with Arizona football

In similar fashion as Arizona football’s win over Kansas last week, the Wildcats’ upcoming opponent is more known for their hoops than anything else.

Even though the Wildcats and Cincinnati Bearcats have never faced each other on the football field, they’ve shared the basketball court five times — Arizona won all five contests, including the most recent one, which was the first time they met as Big 12 opponents.

The most memorable game between Arizona and Cincinnati was at the 7-Up Shootout in Phoenix during the 1995-96 season, when Arizona guard Miles Simon grabbed a loose ball and heaved a 65-foot shot and banked it in for a 79-76 win.

The ABC broadcasters said after Simon’s buzzer-beater, “Do you believe in miracles? … Back at Dirtbag’s in Tucson, they are going crazy.” The win marked Lute Olson’s 500th career victory as a head coach.

“Everyone in Cincinnati knows about Miles Simon,” said Bearcats insider Scott Springer from the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Anyone who watches Cincinnati basketball remembers that shot vividly.”

It’s tough to top Simon’s game-winning shot, but Arizona’s first-ever battle with Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium on Saturday could be one to remember.

Both teams enter Saturday with a combined 13-5 record, and the Bearcats are eyeing a potential spot in the Big 12 championship game. The Wildcats aren’t mathematically out of the equation for the conference title game entering this week, but it’s unlikely they’ll reach the conference championship.

Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said the Bearcats are “the best football team we’ve played this year.”

“They’ve done an outstanding job of building a roster and adding good players from the portal,” Brennan said.

Cincinnati is led by standout junior quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who has passed for 2,064 yards, 21 touchdowns and two interceptions this season, while rushing for 453 yards and eight touchdowns. The 6-3, 235-pound Sorsby “is the best quarterback we have seen so far,” Brennan said.

“He’s a clean passer and he’s extremely athletic,” Brennan added. “This is the most team speed we’ve seen.”

Sorsby’s supporting cast features running backs Tawee Walker and Evan Pryor, who’s been nursing an ankle injury. Sorsby, Walker and Pryor have combined for 1,464 rushing yards this season, which is more than Arizona’s entire team (1,364). Cincinnati wide receiver and Texas A&M transfer Cyrus Allen is first in the conference with 10 touchdown receptions and is “the best receiver we’ve played against. He’s excellent,” Brennan said.

“Just the combination of speed and talent, his ability to finish, he’s tough,” Brennan said of Allen. “They’ve done an awesome job. When you have someone who’s delivering the football with the accuracy and confidence that Sorsby has, they present a real challenge that way.”

Cincinnati has the third-best scoring offense in the Big 12, averaging 35.6 points per game, in head coach Scott Satterfield’s third season in Cincy. The Bearcats have the fourth-best offense in the conference, averaging 436.4 yards per game.

However, Cincinnati is 12th in the Big 12 in total defense, allowing 381.1 yards per game. Arizona is first in the conference in defensive efficiency, while the Bearcats are 14th. The Bearcats’ defense has two interceptions and has allowed 13 touchdowns, while Arizona leads the league in interceptions (12) and has only allowed seven touchdowns in nine games.

Leading up to Saturday’s game, Springer joined ESPN Tucson’s “Spears & Ali” to provide more insight on the current state of Cincinnati football.

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Has Cincinnati exceeded your expectations this season in terms of success and wins?

A: “I had them at seven wins and they’re at seven now. There’s three (games) to play and none of these are cupcakes. Arizona is good and is a six-win team. ... Their goal all along was to get to the Big 12 championship game. If they win out, I think they’re there, because that would give BYU its second loss, assuming BYU beats TCU this coming week.

“Texas Tech is in the driver’s seat and there’s no oil money in Cincinnati, so they can’t afford some of those guys. The Red Raiders look tough. Cincinnati went there last year and only lost by 3. ... If you’re a Cincinnati fan with an ounce of sense, you know the Arizona Wildcats are not exactly lousy. They put up points, (quarterback) Noah Fifita can throw the ball, a couple of good wins here. It’s not a gimme.”

Where does Sorsby rank among all-time quarterbacks to play at Cincinnati?

A: “If he keeps having success, he’ll be right up there with them. He’ll have another year of eligibility, but some mock drafts have him out there already. He has improved a lot this past year. He had a rough game against Utah, admittedly. They didn’t run him as much in that game and they probably should’ve ran him more. But he’s capable of having a 100-yard rushing game or a 350-yard throwing game — or both.

“He’s a big guy, he doesn’t usually slide, and he doesn’t mind juking or trying to take a hit. The receivers he has this year are better and a little bit faster, so he’s able to get some long throws in. ... Sorsby is almost a tight end-sized player himself.

“I wouldn’t call him arrogant, but he has a confidence about him. He’s a baseball player, so he can sling it at different arm angles like (Patrick) Mahomes. He has a way of getting out of jams and they do like to run the quarterback; that’s a staple of Scott Satterfield’s offense.”

Even though Sorsby, Walker and Pryor are the most talked about players in Cincinnati’s offense, the outside threat of Allen makes this a balanced offense, right?

A: “Satterfield’s offense, even when you go back to his Louisville days, they were averaging 200 rushing (yards) and 200 passing (yards). That’s where they like to be and take what they give you and all of that. They will throw it deep if they can. If not, they’ll try some other things. It’s an offense, even when they lose, they rack up a fair amount of yards.”

What kind of player is Cincinnati defensive tackle Dontay Corleone, who is viewed as the heart and soul of this defense?

A: ”Unique. Not exactly tall. He’s a hair over 6-feet tall and is a solid 335 pounds. I first met him in high school when he was a sophomore, and he came up to me and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a size 18 shoe.’ I guess that was code for, ‘Look out, I’m a big fella.’ Good guy, great ambassador for the program. They’ve had some trouble keeping him on the field. He tweaked his ankle earlier in the season, so he doesn’t necessarily play every down.

“When you look at the stats, he doesn’t have many tackles or sacks, but he’s occupying two guys and he’s getting in the backfield. He’s freeing up other guys to come in. In that 3-3-5 defense, they don’t have a ton of sacks. It’s a different defense, but you know when he’s out there.”

Is Cincinnati still considered a basketball school, or is the current rendition of Cincy football turning the tide?

A: “In recent years, honestly, football took over. Basketball had done well, (men’s basketball head coach) Mick Cronin had done well, but they haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since Mick Cronin left and went to UCLA. ... I think everyone would like to have basketball on the map again, but in recent years, football took the lead over basketball. But at one time, it was definitely basketball. It was all Bob Huggins. People were wondering why you’d put a parking lot on this guy’s car, because he was generating all of the revenue.”