BYU football: 3 things to know for the Cincinnati Bearcats

3. Cincy Will Air It Out

The Bearcats run a spread offense, rotating receivers and constantly trying to stretch the field. They haven’t been as successful with it as they were a year ago, but they still sling it.

Cincy averages 264 passing yards per game – but 291 yards at home. On the flipside, BYU allows an average of 292 passing yards per game.

So that’s not good.

Cincinnati has used three quarterbacks this season – Hayden Moore, Ross Trail and Gunner Kiel. Kiel threw for 19 touchdowns and 2,777 yards last season after transferring from Notre Dame. He’s started each of the past two games, completing 38-of-67 passes for 467 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions.

The BYU defense does a pretty good job of bending and not breaking, but they’ll be playing with fire against the Bearcats. The Cougars will have to get the Kiel (who isn’t very mobile) to limit the effectiveness of the passing game.

BYU and Cincinnati kickoff Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MDT on CBS Sports Network.