The No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish are hosting the No. 7 Cincinnati Bearcats in a high profile and heavily underrated matchup Saturday afternoon.
Week 5 of the 2021 college football season is loaded with great matchups. No. 12 Ole Miss is headed to Tuscaloosa to take on No. 1 Alabama while No. 8 Arkansas will be in Athens to face No. 2 Georgia. One contest that might be flying a little under the radar, though it should be the recipient of a ton of attention is the game between No. 7 Cincinnati and No. 9 Notre Dame.
This is a must-watch game as the Bearcats and Fighting Irish are competing for more national respect as both teams search for a path to the college football playoffs. Here are three bold predictions for the contest:
No. 3: Notre Dame’s defense causes problems for Desmond Ridder and snags two interceptions
Cincinnati has largely been reliant upon quarterback Desmond Ridder to make a big play. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, Ridder hasn’t been all that accurate at times this season. Sure, he hasn’t made a ton of mistakes, but Cincinnati is about to face a tough defense a in an environment that can be very difficult to compete in.
Through three games this season, Ridder has completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 748 yards and seven touchdowns against two interceptions. But, that completion percentage is bolstered by a strong performance against Miami (Ohio).
Cincinnati had a bye week to prep for this contest, but prior to that week off the Bearcats were in Indiana to face the Hoosiers. In that game, Ridder completed just 55.6 percent of his passes for 210 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s defense is stout and has been very good at defending the pass. The Fighting Irish are forcing their opponents into an average of 2.8 turnovers per game with 2.3 of those being interceptions. Even if Ridder does well and is able to efficiently gain plenty of yards, Notre Dame should be able to make things difficult for Cincinnati’s quarterback.
No. 2: Cincinnati running back Jerome Ford gashes Notre Dame’s defense for at least 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns
The Cincinnati Bearcats snagged a star when they landed former Alabama running back Jerome Ford. While he wasn’t a huge impact player with the Crimson Tide, gaining just 151 yards on 31 carries and scoring three touchdowns, he is having a breakout season right now.
Ford didn’t play much for the Bearcats during the 2020 season, but he has been a key contributor to get the 2021 season started. A season ago, Ford rushed for 483 yards and scored eight touchdowns on 73 carries. Through the first three games of this season, Ford has run for 300 yards on 50 carries, scoring six rushing touchdowns in the process.
Similar to how Ridder struggled a bit against Indiana, Ford didn’t have his best performance against the Hoosiers. That said, in that contest, Cincinnati’s running back scored two touchdowns and gained another 60 yards on 20 carries.
Notre Dame’s rush defense has been solid, but it hasn’t been perfect. In their season opener, Notre Dame was flattened by Florida State’s rushing attack. The Seminoles ran for 264 yards and three touchdowns on 48 carries (5.5 yards per carry).
The Fighting Irish have been able to improve since that opening week defensive mess. In total, opponents have been able to average 129.8 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown per game. But still, we’ve seen this group appear to be vulnerable. Ford should be able to take advantage of that.
No. 1: Cincinnati knocks down Notre Dame, winning 31-28
Cincinnati has a talented team that is determined to win on a big stage this year. After how last season ended with the Bearcats falling to the Georgia Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl, this group has climbed up to No. 7 in the AP poll and is poised to create some chaos in the College Football Playoff picture.
Heading into this game, Cincinnati is ranked as the No. 14 team, according to Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings. While the Bearcats have a solid offense that is averaging 420.3 total yards per game and is scoring 43 points per game, it’s Cincinnati’s defense that has really stood out.
According to Connelly’s latest rankings, Cincinnati currently has the 12th best defense in the country. The Bearcats are holding foes to 15 points per game, which ranks as the 13th best in the NCAA, and just 298.7 yards per game.
Notre Dame has proven to be capable of scoring on strong defenses, as the Fighting Irish put up 41 points on the Wisconsin Badgers. However, Notre Dame has been far from consistent throughout this season. It’s early, but it is concerning how the Fighting Irish struggled against Florida State and Toledo.
With Cincinnati entering this game fresh off a bye week, some injury concerns surrounding Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan, and the stout play of the Bearcats defense, it seems likely that Cincinnati goes in to Notre Dame Stadium and sneaks out with a close win.
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