UConn football vs. Cincinnati Bearcats: How to watch, by the numbers, what to watch for

KICKOFF: 3:30 P.M. ET

TV: CBS Sports Network

ANNOUNCERS: Rich Waltz (play-by-play), Aaron Murray (color analyst)

RADIO: UConn IMG Radio Network; TuneIn; 97.9 ESPN Hartford, WINE 940 AM, WGCH 1490 AM, WICC 600 AM, WAVZ 1300 AM, WATR 1320 AM WILI 1400 AM and 95.3 FM

ANNOUNCERS: Mike Crispino (play-by-play), Wayne Norman (color analyst), Adam Giardino (sideline), Bob Joyce (pregame host)

RECORDS: UConn (2-6, 0-4 American); Cincinnati (7-1, 4-1 American)

POINT SPREAD: Cincinnati - 35

OVER/UNDER: 54.5

SERIES HISTORY: The UConn Huskies and the Cincinnati Bearcats will meet for the 16th time on the gridiron on Saturday afternoon. The Bearcats own a 12-3 advantage and an 8-0 advantage at Nippert Stadium.

Fun With Numbers

3 - The number of times that UConn has beaten a ranked opponent in 34 tries.

11 - Turnovers forced by UConn in just eight games. In the 2018 season, the Huskies only forced 11 turnovers.

20 - Cincinnati ranks second in the country with 20 forced turnovers.

31 - Tackles by true freshman Jackson Mitchell in his last three games.

What to watch for

Ball security = job security

UConn quarterback Jack Zergiotis isn’t exactly careful with the football and is prone to turnovers. While that is totally fair to expect from a true freshman, he’ll need to make smart decisions throughout the game and limit turnovers against a defense that is one of the best in country at forcing them.

Darrian Beavers revenge game

After two seasons at UConn, including leading the Huskies with four sacks in 2018, linebacker Darrian Beavers left UConn to play at Cincinnati. This season, he has 18 tackles and zero sacks for the Bearcats.

Keep on running, Kevin

While the team itself is struggling, Kevin Mensah is putting together a fantastic junior season. After eclipsing 2,000 career yards earlier this year, Mensah has rushed for at least 100 yards in two straight games. He’s run for 100 or more yards four times total this season, and will go for a fifth 100-yard game against a stout Cincinnati run defense that allows just over 134 yards per game on the ground.