Week two of college football is upon us. After a commanding performance in week one against Eastern Kentucky, Cincinnati heads a state over to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to take on the Pitt Panthers. This will be the first matchup between the former Big East conference rivals since 2012. While these current teams aren’t too familiar with each other, the programs had quite a competitive rivalry in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The Bearcats travel to Acrishire Stadium for this 6:30 kickoff. The Panthers will come to Nippert Stadium next year as a part of the home-and-home agreement.
The River City Rivalry
It’s pretty great for both programs to renew the rivalry that had awesome moments about a decade or more ago. With the disbandment of the Big East, there was the dispelling of some great rivalries, Cincinnati and Pittsburg were one of them. It’s known as the River City Rivalry. The two teams faced off every year from 2005-2012. Pitt leads the all-time series 8-4, but Cincinnati has defeated the Panthers in four of the last five meetings. Cincinnati was led by some all-time greats in this era. Tony Pike, Mardy Gilyard, Travis Kelce, Jason Kelce, Derek Wolfe, and Isaiah Pead all dawned the black and red over those several years
The 2009 Classic
One of the greatest games in Cincinnati Football history. 33 seconds left, down 44-38, undefeated season on the line, Pike to Binns. Bearcat legend Pike lofted up a beautiful arching pass to Armon Binns in the corner of the endzone for a game-winning 29-yard touchdown pass. Capping off a 21-point comeback. This improved the Bearcats’ 2009 record to 12-0 and a number three overall ranking in the BCS. Before the 2021 season, this was undoubtedly the best team in school history, encapsulated by an incredible comeback win against the Pitt Panthers.
The 2023 Pittsburg Panthers
Pitt has been an impressive program over the past few years. They’re a great competitor early season for Cincinnati where they can and will learn a lot about themselves. Head coach Pat Narduzzi has led his squad to back-to-back final top 25 Coaches Poll finishes the last two seasons. Week one was a cakewalk for them as well, taking down Wofford in a 45-7 final score.
The Pitt Offense; Led by a Veteran QB
Phil Jurkovec is a Pittsburg native who decided to come home to play his last year of college football. Originally at Notre Dame, Jurkovec transferred to Boston College after not getting a ton of playing time. He then became the guy under center there for a few years, posting some very respectable stats. The veteran now is reunited with his old offensive coordinator, Frank Cignetti Jr., and leads the Panthers with hopes of keeping the program standard high. The Panthers were selected to finish sixth in the preseason ACC poll. After week one, they’re in the “others receiving votes” group for the AP poll, so right on the edge of being ranked.
The Rest of the Offense
Pitt loses their top pass catcher from last year, Jared Wayne. He was the only one to eclipse the 1,000+ yard mark for them. They do have a few returners from the receiver room though, Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means highlight the group. Mumpfield had 58 catches for 551 yards last year, Means posted 28 and 401. Tight end Gavin Bartholomew returns as well, he had 21 catches and over 200 yards a season ago.
They’ll lose their top back from last year, Israel Abandikanda who is now part of the loaded New York Jets Runningback room. Rodney Hammond steps in to replace him, a third-year guy in the program with some good experience. Expect to see a good bit of Hammond as he looks to be the bell-cow back behind three returning starters at offensive line. But, they will have their hands full in an effort of trying to contain Preseason All-American Dontay Corleone and company who hold a stout front for the Cincinnati defense.
The Pitt Defense; Replacing Production
Current Cincinnati defensive coordinator Bryan Brown led a Louisville defense last season that finished number one in the country in sacks. The Pitt defense was second. However, they did lose quite a bit of production. Defensive lineman Calijah Kancey was a first-round pick in this year’s NFL draft. He was second on the team in sacks, just behind linebacker Sirvocea Dennis, who joins Kancey with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a fifth-round pick. The linebacker group will now be led by Shayne Simon and Bangally Kamara, two guys with significant playing time in their careers.
The Defensive Backfield
The secondary could be a strength to this defense. MJ Devonshire, Javon McIntyre, Phillip O’Brien Jr., and Marquis Williams lead the back half of the defense. The wide receiver group for Cincinnati has emerged as a strength of the offense with solid opening game performances by Xzavier Henderson and Braden Smith. It’ll be an interesting match-up to see if these guys can have some success against a veteran Pitt DB group. Creating separation and finding holes in the Pittsburg defense will be crucial to help out Cincinnati quarterback Emory Jones this week.
Game Outlook
This Pittsburg team is a great test for a Cincinnati that enters the game as seven-point underdogs according the DraftKings. The River City Rivalry returns Saturday as a great opportunity for both teams to secure an early season, out-of-conference, Power Five win. Watch and enjoy this one closely, there should be a lot to learn about these two teams, and in a continuation of an old rivalry, it could be a fun one.
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