Scott Satterfield and the Cincinnati Bearcats (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) will travel to Lubbock, Texas to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday with hopes of securing their third straight victory heading into Big 12 conference play.

Now, for Cincinnati, they travel to Lubbock, Texas for just the second time in history with the lone matchup between programs coming back in 1968 that resulted in a 10-10 tie. So, a victory for either team will be the first in this new aged battle between conference foes.

Satterfield and the Bearcats are currently riding a two-game winning streak following their victories over Miami and Houston with hopes of keeping the ball moving in the right direction come Saturday.

Now, for Joey McGuire and the Red Raiders, they are currently (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) on the season following their 30-22 victory over Arizona State. But, for the Bearcats, they know this isn't going to be an easy match up come Saturday, in what will be their first true road test of the 2024 season.

However, both McGuire and Satterfield understand that Saturday's contest could be of the best conference battles within the Big 12 this weekend. Heck, McGuire even went as far to say that it could be one of the best matchups within college football this week. "I'm really excited for this matchup." McGuire told reporters in his weekly press conference. "It will be one of the best games in all of college football this week. Both teams are 3-1, I'm really excited that they are coming here to Lubbock."

"We have a great challenge ahead of us on Saturday in Texas Tech," said Satterfield. "This is the first time this season we have had to go get on a plane for a true road game here in the fifth week of the season. Texas Tech has great tradition and has put up a tremendous amount of points every year going back for the last 10-15 years. This will be a great environment within the Big 12, but most of our away games within this conference iwll be some great games."

Saturday's showdown will feature two of the Big 12's best offenses as the Red Raiders average nearly 488 yards per game, while the Bearcats on the other hand average 467.5 yards of offense, which ranks second and third in the Big 12 in terms of total offense just behind Central Florida.

The Red Raiders are led by senior running back Tahj Brooks, who is coming off a fantastic junior season where he finished with 1,541 yards and ten touchdowns a season ago. It is clear to many, that Brooks is the key piece to Texas Tech's offense and the Bearcats will have to find a way to slow Brooks down. Brooks is averaging nearly 23 carries per game over the first three weeks of the season, where he has eclipsed 100 or more yards in every game so far this season.

"Tahj Brooks is arguably one of the best backs in the country, " Scott Satterfield told reporters. "5’10”, 230 pounds, he can run, extremely quick and explosive for someone his size. It’s going to be difficult to stimulate what he does. You won’t see many guys across college football at his size that runs the way he does. We have to rally to the football and have a lot of hats around him when he has the ball.”

Now, senior quarterback Behren Morton is looking to really push the tempo with this Red Raiders offense as he is averaging nearly 40 passing attempts per game over the first four weeks of the season. It is clear that McGuire wants to push the offense and run a high paced offense and is looking to get points in any way possible.

Morton, is playing the best ball of his career but is someone who will look to sit in the pocket and let his arm do most of the work. Morton has completed nearly 64% of his passes on the season, which is a career high, but it's safe to say that in order for Cincinnati to be successful they will have to find a way to slow down the high-powered offense.

Worth, noting that Scott Satterfield said that Pittsburgh has been the only team the Bearcats have faced so far this season, that replicates anything close to the kind of temp the Red Raiders will push come Saturday. Now, like Pittsburgh, Cincinnati will have to find a way to contain a dynamic playmaker in Brooks, which is something they really struggled with vs Pittsburgh and running back Desmond Reid, especially in the second half.

Here are my keys to the game for Saturday.

1) Contain Tajh Brooks. Simple as day. It's not going to be an easy challenge as Brooks has run for 95 or more yards in each of the last 13 games dating back to last season. This will be a huge test for Cincinnati and will be interesting to see what Dontay Corleone and Eric Phillips are able to do in terms of slowing him down. Phillips currently is ranked in the top-5 of Power four players in terms of quarterback pressures with 17 and is going to be relied on heavily again on Saturday.

Worth noting that Cincinnati will get some extra boost back at the defensive line position as Satterfield told reporters that Rob Jackson is expected to be back after missing the last two games due to injury. Satterfield also noted that Kamari Burns is going to be questionable for Saturday's contest and they are hoping he will be able to suit up after missing the Houston game with injury as well.

But, key point, Stop the run. Cincinnati will have to find a way to keep Brooks under 110 yards in my opinion. He will get his carriers, as every dynamic back does. However, Brooks has rushed for an average of 23 times per game to start the 2024 season and is a key vocal point for the Red Raiders and what they try to do offensively.

2) Feed Corey Kiner- Now for Cincinnati, I think the mindset here is very similar to what Texas Tech will try to do with Brooks. However, Cincinnati will look to get Corey Kiner going early as the senior running back is averaging nearly 6 yards per carry. The Red Raiders did a great job at containing Arizona State's Cam Skattebo, who finished with just 60 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, which averages out to be roughly three yards per carry.

The Red Raiders run defense will be tough but if Cincinnati is able to get Corey Kiner going early it will really allow things to open up for Brendan Sorsby. Now, for Kiner this could be a huge opportunity to raise his NFL Stock with a great week. If Cincinnati is able to get the ball in his hands at least 20 times on Saturday, the Bearcats should be in great hands.

"The one thing about Coach Satterfield is that he has an offense the last 11 years that has averaged over 200 rushing yards per game." Said Texas Tech Head Coach Joey McGuire. "That is top 30 in the country for the last 11 years. They are really good at running the football. Both of their running backs in Corey Kiner and Evan Pryor are both legit running backs."

3)- Creating turnovers- The Bearcats created three big turnovers in their 34-0 victory over Houston on Saturday. Worth noting that the Bearcats have also recorded a turnover on opposing teams opening drives for the third consecutive game, with two of them coming from senior safety Josh Minkins. The Bearcats know that in order to stop a high-powered offense they have to capitalize on the limited opportunities that may come. Which is something Cincinnati has done very well over the last two weeks.

However, for Cincinnati they will have to keep the Red Raiders out of the endzone and make them settle for a field goal compared to a touchdown. We have heard all season about the Motto "Defense must live here" and through the first four weeks of the season its safe to say at this rate, Cincinnati could potentially surpass their 2023 total much earlier than many predicted.

Now, in order for this to happen, they have to find a way to get to the backfield and contain Brooks and Morton. This could be a huge game for edge rushers Eric Phillips, Darien Varner, Marquaze Parker, Cam Roetherford and Rob Jackson as Cincinnati will look to disrupt Mortan and make it difficult for him to get in any sort of rhythm.

However, expect McGuire and the Red Raiders to scheme up something offensively to counter Dontay Corleone. McGuire referenced Corleone as an "animal" and someone he could see go within the first two rounds of Aprils NFL Draft.

4) Capitalizing in the Redzone.- This is something that Cincinnati has done very well over the first quarter of the season, especially over the last two weeks. Cincinnati knows with two high powered offenses they will have to put up seven, instead of three and find ways to get touchdowns. This is where I think Brendan Sorsby could really showcase all of his abilities and his connection with guys like Joe Royer and Xzavier Henderson.

Sorsby has been playing excellent ball over the first four games of the season and is one of the only quarterbacks in all of college football that is yet to create a turnover. Now, if Sorsby has a game like he did on Saturday vs Houston, it is safe to say the Bearcats could be trending in the right direction with hopes of getting back to a bowl game.

Now luckily for Cincinnati, this is a very young Texas Tech defense as nearly 60% of their snaps played on the defensive side of the ball come from underclassman. Which, could play into Cincinnati favors with a veteran offensive core highlighted by seniors Corey Kiner, Joe Royer and Xzavier Henderson. Look for those three to have a crucial impact on the game Saturday as Henderson and Royer have quickly emerged as Sorsby's number one and two targets on the offensive side of the ball.

Prediction- Everyone knows what happens when two great offenses meet, and I truly expect this one to be a shootout come Saturday night. The Red Raiders opened the week as -6.5-point favorites but have quickly seen that line drop to -2.5 points with ESPN's matchup predictor giving Cincinnati a 42% chance for a victory on Saturday.

However, I will set my prediction at Cincinnati 38, Texas Tech 34 in what will be a back-and-forth battle till the very end.