The Houston Cougars visit Nippert Stadium on Saturday to play the Cincinnati Bearcats for the American Athletic Conference championship. Houston improved to 11-1 overall and 9-0 in the American Athletic Conference following a 45-17 victory over the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday. Clayton Tune passed for 301 yards and four touchdowns and Alton McCaskill rushed for 54 yards and one score.
Clayton Tune has passed for 3,013 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Cougars’ signal-caller has been sacked 27 times. The leading rusher is Alton McCaskill with 844 yards and 16 touchdowns, while the leading receiver is Nathaniel Dell with 1,027 yards and 11 touchdown receptions. On defense, linebacker Donavan Mutin is the leading tackler with 65 and lineman Derek Parish is the leader in quarterback sacks with 5.0.
Cincinnati improved to 12-0 overall and 8-0 in the American Athletic Conference following a 35-13 victory over East Carolina on Friday night. Cincinnati is No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings. Quarterback Desmond Ridder threw a pair of touchdown passes and the Cincinnati offense gained 444 total yards but committed three turnovers. The Bearcats held East Carolina to 282 yards and forced a pair of turnovers. Cincinnati also returned a blocked field goal 60 yards for a touchdown.
Desmond Ridder has passed for 3,000 yards with 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The leading rusher for Cincinnati is Jerome Ford with 1,055 yards and 17 touchdowns, while the leading receiver is Alec Pierce with 802 yards and seven touchdown receptions. On defense, linebacker Joel Dublanko is the leading tackler with 99 and lineman Curtis Brooks is the leader in quarterback sacks with 6.0.
