#22 Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Cincinnati Bearcats Preview

Gary Nova will look to lead #22 Rutgers past Cincinnati on Saturday.

Saturday at noon eastern, the #22 Rutgers Scarlet Knights travel to Nippert Stadium to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in a Big East showdown that could see the Bearcats clawing their way back to the top of the Big East standings, although Louisville will need to lose another game or two as well.

The Scarlet Knights are led by sophomore quarterback Gary Nova, who is 162/264 for the year with 1,939 yards, 18 touchdowns thrown, and 10 interceptions. Nova has been a staple in the offense, and has stepped up saying he'll take a bigger role if junior running back Jawan Jamison can't go because of an ankle injury. Coach Kyle Flood has said Jamison has a 75% chance to go against the Bearcats on Saturday. Good sign for Rutgers, as Jamison has over 900 rushing yards, and punched it in the endzone for four touchdowns.

Junior wide receiver Brandon Coleman will also look to have a big game, adding on to his receiving total of an already impressive 503 yards and eight touchdowns.

Another big factor of this game with be the Scarlet Knights' defense, who has only given up an average of 13 points per game. That makes them ranked fifth in the nation.

New starting QB Brendon Kay looks to take down the Scarlet Knights.

Cincinnati looks like they have found a new starting quarterback in their senior QB Brendon Kay, who had his first career start last week against Temple. He led the Bearcats to a 34-10 victory, throwing for over 200 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

Munchie Legaux, who had a lot of hype coming into the season, hasn't been as effective as the Bearcats had hoped, so it looks like Kay may have earned himself the starter role for the rest of his senior year.

Legaux however still could be used as he can throw the ball as well as scramble with it. Not sure if Cincinnati would want to go that route, but with another QB like Munchie, it opens up the playbook to all sorts of trick plays.

The Bearcats rushing game has averaged 226 yards per game, which makes them ranked 16th in the country. Senior running back George Winn is leading the team with 173 carries for 980 yards and nine touchdowns. Winn will be looking to break 1,000 yards for the season this Saturday, and odds are, he will. Ralph Abernathy, who is a sophomore, has also seen some rushing attempts for 341 yards and three touchdowns.

Brendon Kay finds himself in a high pressure spot Saturday at Nippert Stadium, but he has two wide receivers that will make his job a little easier. Both seniors, Travis Kelce and Kenbrell Thompkins have about 50 receptions between the two of them for over 800 combined yards and six total touchdowns.

The key to this game will be Brendon Kay and the Bearcats offense. If they can wear down Rutgers defense, and be able to have a good showing from George Winn to open up some nice deep pass plays by QB Kay, the Bearcats could definitely win this game.

The Scarlet Knights will need to shut down the offensive weapons that the Bearcats possess to win this one. It should definitely be a good one Saturday at noon. It looks like it'll be airing on the Big East Network, or on ESPN3. You can also probably catch it on your WatchESPN app. I know I will be!

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle