Four games left.
If No. 17 Houston football wants one final playoff push, it starts Saturday against Cincinnati.
The Bearcats are currently 5-3 and led by head coach Scott Satterfield, who is in his fourth year with the program.
With everything on the line, here are four storylines heading into the game.
Bye week refresher
The bye week was an opportunity for the players to get rested and healthy for the rest of the season. The Cougars had one last week, and it came at a good time.
“It helped us get ready to go,” coach Willie Fritz said.
Fritz told reporters on Monday that fifth-year quarterback Conner Weigman is ready to go.
Despite playing visibly hobbled against Utah, Weigman still had over 280 passing yards, and will look to have another strong performance now fully rested.
Along with him, senior linebacker Jaden Yates, who suffered a leg injury in early October, will return for Saturday’s game.
Despite missing four games, Yates is tied for third on the team in tackles.
Defensive lineman De’Marion Thomas, who suffered a foot injury, is also expected return. Thomas has 14 tackles this season and will look to help stop the run game.
Senior tight end Patrick Overmyer got knocked out early with an upper-body injury against the Utes but will look to be fully healthy against the Bearcats.
Front seven vs. Bearcats running game
The Cougars come in with the fourth-ranked rushing defense in the Big 12, and will be facing the second-best rushing attack in the conference.
The Bearcats average 229.4 yards per game, while the Cougars only give up 100 rushing yards per game.
The Bearcats are led by junior running back Cole Tabb, who is sixth in the Big 12 with 752 rushing yards, while averaging a nation-best nine yards per carry.
“He’s a physical runner,” Fritz said. “Their backs run extremely hard.”
Tabb also gets help from senior Gi’Bran Payne, who has 485 rushing yards, averaging six yards per carry.
The matchup will feature two strongly built offensive lines.
“It starts with their offensive line,” Fritz said. “They’re right there with us.”
On defense, the Cougars will need senior defensive linemen Ashton Porter, Khalil Laufau and edge rusher Brandon Mack II, who have combined for 18 tackles for loss.
The line will also get a boost with Thomas returning.
“He’s a big guy,” Fritz said. “He’s a guy that stays on the line of scrimmage and doesn’t get knocked off the line of scrimmage.”
The unit will look to bounce back after giving up 226 rushing yards against Utah.
Both teams looking for a bounce-back game
Two weeks ago, the Bearcats upset ranked Texas Tech at home.
The celebration was good for one week, as the Bearcats would get crushed the following week, 49-25 by Utah.
The Utes exposed many of the Bearcats’ problems, including rushing for 268 yards, along with 266 passing yards.
Tabb and Payne combined for 198 rushing yards, but it was not enough for the Bearcats.
Utah’s junior tight end Hunter Andrews led the way with 112 yards and two touchdowns on five catches.
With the Utes running all over the Bearcats, look for Weigman’s legs and running back duo junior Re’Shaun Sanford II and senior Makhi Hughes to make a difference.
Overmyer will look to have a productive day after exiting early with an injury against the Utes.
On the other side, Houston also lost to the Utes 21-13
Utah was able to rush for 226 rushing yards, while holding the Cougars to 86 rushing yards.
The Bearcats will also lean on their defensive front to make a difference, led by senior edge Patrick Bauer, who leads the team in both tackles for loss (7) and sacks (3.5).
Crowd Stability
“It really felt like we had a home field advantage,” Fritz said of the sold-out crowd three weeks ago against Oklahoma State.
With a sold-out crowd, the Cougars responded by giving the fans a high-scoring 35-32 ranked win.
Now, three weeks later, on homecoming, the Cougars will look for some crowd stability as they take on the Bearcats.
The game is on tap for 2:30 p.m., with the expected temperatures to be in the low-to-mid 70s.
Before Oklahoma State, the last time Houston sold out a game was last season against Texas Tech, where it lost 35-11.
With the season on the line, Houston will look to make it back-to-back sellouts as they kick off Cincinnati at 2:30 CT. Saturday at TDECU Stadium.
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