CINCINNATI — It’s a clash of cultures in Cincy this weekend.
It’ll be Arizona football’s “Redline” mantra versus consumers of Skyline Chili. Bear Down versus Bearcats.
Arizona’s roster has a strong Polynesian influence and players from the West Coast and Texas, while Cincinnati’s roster is mostly made up of hard-nosed Midwestern kids who’ve been playing football since they were toddlers.
One side of the Arizona-Cincinnati game believes Rob Gronkowski is the best tight end of all time, while the other believes that crown belongs to Travis Kelce.
Regardless, both Arizona (6-3) and Cincinnati (7-2) have plenty to prove when the Wildcats and Bearcats clash Saturday morning at Nippert Stadium.
Arizona, after an emotional win over Kansas and reaching bowl eligibility in its second season under head coach Brent Brennan, is hoping to avoid letdown performances in the final three games against No. 25 Cincinnati, Baylor and Arizona State — the fourth quarter of the season.
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Arizona head coach Brent Brennan exhorts his defense to hold with Oklahoma State trying to convert from inside their own five during the third quarter, Oct. 4, 2025, in Tucson.
Reaching six wins “wasn’t the goal when we started in the fall,” Brennan said earlier this week.
“The goal wasn’t to just get to a bowl game,” he added. “Now we’re in a situation where we have three big-time games coming up, three excellent opponents and two of the three are on the road.”
Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege said the Wildcats “are fired up about being bowl eligible, but that’s not the standard and that’s not what they came here to do. Our kids came here to win every possible game they could play. We’ve got three left and that’s the goal, to win all of them. It starts this week.”
On the other side of the coin, Cincinnati controls its destiny to the Big 12 championship game, where the Bearcats will likely face sixth-ranked Texas Tech. The Bearcats’ only two losses this season are against Nebraska in Kansas City and Utah in Salt Lake City. The last time they lost at home was the regular-season finale last year.
In their first postseason run since 2022, the Bearcats aren’t clamoring for just a bowl berth, they’ve got Big 12 title and College Football Playoff aspirations.
Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield looks on during the first half of the Bearcats’ game against BYU on Sept. 29, 2023, in Provo, Utah.
The Bearcats host 12th-ranked BYU next week — the winner of that game could determine who’s facing the Red Raiders in Arlington for the conference championship. To set up the highly anticipated matchup against BYU, Cincinnati will first need to take care of business against Arizona.
Cincinnati third-year head coach Scott Satterfield said the Wildcats “easily could be at 8-1 right now” instead of 6-3 after a double-overtime loss to BYU and losing to Houston in walk-off fashion. Since then, Arizona has back-to-back wins over Colorado and Kansas.
“They were up 10 against BYU and had that game won,” Satterfield said of Arizona. “BYU did a great job pulling it out, but if one little thing goes differently, Arizona’s winning that game. … I think they are underrated at 6-3. They have an outstanding football team. They have team speed, they can run physically, they have good plans in all three phases. That’s the recipe for success.”
Arizona’s defense has held opponents to under 200 passing yards seven times this season, the most since 2009. The Wildcats are in the top 25 nationally in total defense (17th), turnovers gained (10th), tackles for loss (17th), pass efficiency defense (second), passing defensive (seventh) and interceptions (seventh). The Wildcats’ 18 takeaways ranks 10th in college football.
“I think that’s also a big part of their success, creating turnovers and they’ve taken care of the football on the offensive side,” Satterfield said. “That turnover margin is a huge stat, and I think that’s why they’ve had a lot of success this year. They just do a good job. … They’ll jump into some different looks to try to confuse the quarterback. I think that’s where quarterbacks have gotten in trouble, throwing in the coverage.”
Cincinnati has the third-best scoring offense in the Big 12 and is averaging 35.6 points per game. The Bearcats are averaging 436.4 yards per game, which ranks fourth in the conference. Cincinnati has only forced seven turnovers and two interceptions this season. The Bearcats have given up the fewest sacks in college football this season. Arizona leads the Big 12 in defensive efficiency, and Cincinnati is tops in the conference in offensive efficiency.
Across the board, between Cincinnati veteran quarterback Brendan Sorsby (who is one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the Big 12), the one-two rushing punch of Tawee Walker and Evan Pryor, wide receiver Cyrus Allen (who leads the Big 12 in touchdown receptions), All-Big 12 tight end Joe Royer and an offensive line that protects Sorsby, the Bearcats are sound. It’s why Brennan believes the Bearcats are “the best football team we’ve played this year.”
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita points skyward after scrambling for a touchdown vs. Hawaii during the third quarter of the season opener, Aug. 30, 2025.
After allowing five sacks and 17 quarterback pressures to Kansas last week, “that’s something we’ve gotten to work on fixing yesterday. There’s nothing more important to us than protecting Noah Fifita,” Brennan said. The Bearcats are 12th in the Big 12 in sacks, but rank third in the conference in forced fumbles.
“You’d love to be able to get some pressure on (Fifita) to be able to get him,” Satterfield said. “Looking at that film of getting to the quarterback, they sacked him five times and they were back there some more times, as well. But he is slippery. He does a great job of moving around. … If you lose some cover somewhere, he’s going to make you pay. So he’s a tough guy to cover, to defend so we have to do a good job again.”
Satterfield said Fifita, who could pass Nick Foles and Willie Tuitama as Arizona’s all-time passing touchdowns leader on Saturday, “does a great job of buying time and his pocket scrambling.”
“He’s a much more dynamic runner, but he can throw,” Satterfield said of Fifita. “He ended up tying for the most touchdowns in Arizona football history. That speaks volumes about how good of a player he is.”
Saturday will mark the first-ever football matchup between the Bearcats and the Wildcats, but the first one could go down as one of the better matchups in the Big 12 this season.
“It’s a humongous challenge for our entire football team and I cannot wait until Saturday,” said Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales.
Added Gonzales: “Now, that bowl game thing is great and is fantastic, but we don’t want to win six (games), we want to win seven, eight, nine, 10. … I’m super proud of our football team and super proud of our players.”
Up next
What: Arizona (6-3, 3-3) vs. No. 25 Cincinnati (7-2, 5-1)
When: 10 a.m. Saturday
Where: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati
Watch: FS1
Listen: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM, 92.5-FM (Spanish)
Contact Justin Spears, the Star’s Arizona football beat reporter, at jspears@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @JustinESports
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