Morgantown at noon can turn a so-so season around, and West Virginia (3-3, 0-3 Big 12) needs that badly. Cincinnati (4-1, 1-1) visits Milan Puskar Stadium on TNT, rested after an open week and looking to stay near the top of the Big 12.
It's a clash of opposite profiles. Cincinnati insider Lionel "Skyline" Abernathy ranks everything in chili ways and calls the Bearcats' tidy passing attack "a five-way take." JC French IV has 949 yards and no interceptions, and ESPN's numbers put the Mountaineers' defense 123rd. West Virginia insider Jolene Buckhannon answers with bravado and a run game. Cam Cook has 793 yards and seven touchdowns, Michael Hawkins Jr. has thrown just one interception, and DJ Epps averages better than 28 yards a catch.
Injuries hit the Mountaineer secondary hardest. Safety Da'Mare Williams and nickel Emory Snyder are out, and cornerback Nick Taylor is questionable, so French should have chances downfield. Cincinnati will be without lineman Aiden Pastoriza and tight end DaMari Witherspoon. West Virginia lost 52-31 to Arizona last Saturday, while Cincinnati hasn't played since a 34-7 loss at Arizona on Oct. 4. Both teams want to wash away a bad memory.
Our call: Cincinnati 34, West Virginia 33.