Nippert Stadium hasn't seen a Bearcats loss yet this year, and Cincinnati has stayed home for its entire non-conference slate — Boston College, Western Carolina and now Miami (OH) all came through Nippert before this one. That's a program that knows its building, its snap counts and its rotations cold heading into conference play, even if the results against Miami suggest the margin for error just got smaller.
Nicholls71-3
Western Carolina62-10
For Kansas State, this is the first real road environment of the season and the first true step up in competition, both landing in the same week. A true road trip into a Big 12 opener, against a team that just needed a furious comeback to stay unbeaten, is a different animal than anything on the Wildcats' schedule so far — favorable as their results have looked on paper.
- QuestionableM. Lovett (WR) — Lovett id dealing with an arm injury and it is unclear if he will play against the Tulane on Saturday, September 19th.09/12
- QuestionableB. Barnett (QB) — Barnett is bothered by a lower body injury, and it remains to be seen if he will take the field against Tulane on Saturday, September 19th.09/12
- OutD. Duff (QB) — Duff is bothered by an undisclosed injury, and it is anticipated that he will not take the field against Tulane on Saturday, September 19th.09/19
- OutJ. Pastore (OG) — Pastore has been shut down for the remainder of the season with a lower leg injury.08/21
- OutNewD. Witherspoon (TE) — Witherspoon has been placed on the injured list with a undisclosed injury, and team officials have yet to provide an exact return date.09/24
Neither side has had to burn a signature win yet, which is what makes this one worth watching: Cincinnati has to prove the Miami OH scare was a blip and not a preview of its Big 12 defense, and Kansas State has to prove three blowouts translate against a step up in competition, on the road, in front of a Nippert crowd that's had a week to talk about that comeback.