Cincinnati will get arguably its toughest test of the season right off the bat. On Saturday, the Bearcats will travel to Arkansas, No. 19 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

It will be the first time in five years that the quarterback will not be Desmond Ridder, who graduated after last season and now plays for the Atlanta Falcons. Cincinnati has welcomed a battle for his replacement this fall. And while coach Luke Fickell does not want to acknowledge the winner of that battle, he did acknowledge Tuesday during his press conference, the challenge the Razorbacks present.

"Week one, you're always trying to figure out exactly who you are," Fickell said. "And I think it's gonna be like that. It's gonna be a tough, nasty game, just like the environment's gonna be. We've prepared ourselves for that. That's what the expectation is."

The Bearcats' starting quarterback will be either senior transfer Ben Bryant or redshirt sophomore Evan Prater. Bryant spent his first three seasons at Cincinnati and played sparingly. He transferred to Eastern Michigan last season, where he threw for more than 3,000 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Prater, a four-star prospect in the 2020 class, was Ohio's Mr. Football award winner in the 2019 season. He redshirted in 2020, then saw time in seven games last season, when he threw for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Fickell said he and his staff know who will start at quarterback on Saturday. But they plan to keep that decision amongst the team.

"For us, you've gotta have a plan, you've gotta move forward," Fickell said. "But there's no reason for us to announce things."

Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm ET Saturday in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The game will be televised by ESPN.