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The task is straightforward for Cincinnati in Saturday night’s Big 12 Conference clash with visiting TCU.

“We need that one win,” said Bearcats running back Corey Kiner. “We’re trying to send the seniors out right. The underclassmen understand that, the older guys understand that, everybody understands that.”

Understanding and doing are two different things, though, as Cincinnati (5-6, 3-5) has learned during a four-game losing streak that has brought the team to the brink of elimination from bowl eligibility.

The Bearcats were never in last week’s 41-15 loss at Kansas State, trailing 27-3 at halftime. They allowed 281 yards on the ground and couldn’t get Kiner going until it was too late.

Kiner, the first Cincinnati player with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons since Michael Warren in 2018-19, eventually ran for 140 yards. But with the defense getting gashed constantly on the ground, his contributions weren’t close to being enough.

Meanwhile, the Horned Frogs (7-4, 5-3) improved their bowl standing last week by stomping Arizona 49-28 on their Senior Day. It was the fourth win in the last five games for TCU, which scored touchdowns on five straight drives to break the game open.

One key to the Horned Frogs’ recent success has been an increased deployment of wide receiver Savion Williams in the backfield. He rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns against Arizona and now has 312 yards on the ground, good for second on the team.

“There was one play against Utah and it was supposed to be a one-off,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said of the strategy. “And then it was like, ‘That was really good, let’s do that again.’ I think this has helped his draft status unbelievably.”

In addition to his rushing total, Williams is also second on the team with 57 receptions for 596 yards and six TDs.

This will be the first meeting of the teams since 2004, when Cincinnati earned a 21-10 home win.

–Field Level Media