Cincinnati handed the keys to JC French IV after Brendan Sorsby left for Texas Tech, and French brings real pedigree — 5,882 career passing yards and a 15-11 record as a two-year starter at Georgia Southern. The catch is the Bearcats return zero skill-position starters around him, so the building blocks are as new as the QB. Western Carolina has its own transition at the position, replacing Taron Dickens, who set NCAA records for consecutive completions before transferring to North Carolina.
The Catamounts aren't walking in as a token opponent. They've won at least 7 games in each of the last 3 seasons — a program-best streak — and last year's offense set school records with 4,268 passing yards, 5,920 total yards and 463 points. That kind of firepower is why this game carries more juice than a typical Power Conference-versus-FCS opener.
Western Carolina is also overhauling its defense under new coordinator Nick Reveiz, who arrives after his Charleston Southern unit ranked 34th nationally in scoring defense and held FBS foe Coastal Carolina to just 13 points. If that defense travels well, it gives the Catamounts a puncher's chance against a Cincinnati offense that's still figuring out its own identity under French.
Cincinnati should still have the talent and depth edge that usually decides these matchups, but Western Carolina's track record of overachieving against FBS competition means this isn't a game to sleep on entirely. For the Bearcats, it's step one of proving French can run a Big 12 offense; for the Catamounts, it's a measuring-stick shot before they turn to defending their SoCon standing.