The Cincinnati Bearcats can leapfrog towards the top of the American Athletic Conference East standings with a conference win over the undefeated Memphis Tigers on Thursday night.
After a disappointing 34-26 loss to Temple two weeks ago at home, the Bearcats bounced back with a road win against Miami (OH) this past Saturday. Unfortunately, starting quarterback Gunner Kiel had to leave the game in the third quarter due to a concussion and his status for the game is unknown. Backup quarterback Hayden Moore struggled, turning the ball over four times, but regained his composure down the stretch to put the Bearcats ahead late. Head coach Tommy Tuberville said after the game that the short turnaround would be tough on Kiel, but will be monitored as a day-to-day situation.
Memphis has had a perfect start thus far, notching a quality road victory over Bowling Green this past weekend. Cincinnati’s defense is going to have their hands full with a potent Memphis offense that has scored 63, 55 and 44 points in their three games played this season.
On the secondary market, Cincinnati football tickets are satisfyingly cheap for an important conference road game. According to TiqIQ.com, the average ticket price is only $23 with a get-in price of $12 for entrance into Liberty Bowl Stadium. With cheap tickets to the game, Cincinnati loyalists can use Hipmunk.com for Memphis flights to start the weekend early. Hotels in Memphis on Hipmunk start from $51 to complete the getaway.
This is a pivotal point of the season for the Bearcats, who are now chasing Temple at the top of the East division standings after their loss. After playing Memphis, the Bearcats host the Miami (FL) Hurricanes and then travel to BYU to face a quality Cougars team. With questions at quarterback after Kiel had to exit the game, a lot of pressure will be on both the offense and defense to keep up with their quality out-of-conference opponents in the upcoming weeks.
Cincinnati and Memphis, along with Central Florida, were co-champions of the conference last season. With an East and West division being created, there will no longer be a co-champion, and these two teams will be in the mix throughout the season for the top spot. Last season, Memphis defeated the Bearcats 41-14 at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.
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