Bearcats Offensive Game Balls: Kansas State

Cincinnati improved to 4-0 (3-0, 1-0 Big 12) Saturday night following their 31-26 victory over Kansas State. 

This was Cincinnati’s first 4-0 start since the Historical 2021 season. Worth noting, it was also the first 4-0 start of Scott Satterfield’s career. 

The Bearcats offense racked up a total of 436 yards in their victory over Kansas State. Meanwhile, 271 of those came in the rushing attack behind career nights from Cincinnati running backs Gi’Bran Payne and Cole Tabb. 

Check out our offensive players of the game below. 

Cincinnati offensive line as a whole gets a huge shoutout for their performance on Saturday. The offensive line dominated the trenches for the 4th straight week.
For the Bearcats offensive line, they did a great job containing a dominant Kansas State defense that entered tonight as a top-five defensive unit in the country. 

For the Bearcats, it was very fitting that they had an elite performance on National Pancake Day. The trio of Evan Tengesdahl, Joe Cotton and Taran Tyo had a great showing, yet again which really made things open up for guys like Cole Tabb and Gi’Bran Payne. 

Junior running back Cole Tabb had yet another elite performance for Cincinnati. Tabb has solidified his position within the Bearcats offense to say the least. 

The crafty speedster finished the night tallying a career high 124 yards and three touchdowns on just eleven carry this evening. Which, for Tabb, becomes the first Bearcat since 1998 to record three touchdowns in consecutive weeks. 

Following the victory over Kansas State, Tabb is now averaging roughly 11 yards per carry, 10.8 to be exact, but still electric numbers for the Stanford transfer. 

It is safe to say that Cincinnati has a legit weapon with Tabb. He has great patience and vision as a runner which has really been fun to watch. 

Gi’Bran Payne also had a huge night for Cincinnati racking up 126 yards on 12 carries. The veteran back has been a legit driving force for Cincinnati’s offense to say the least. He now averages seven yards per carry following the victory and has embraced the opportunity to come back home to Cincinnati. 

Wide receiver Malachi Henry, for me, was the biggest winner of the night. The Central Arkansas transfer has been a huge part of the Bearcats offense, although it may not appear in the statsheet. 

Henry secured a crucial block last week vs Miami to spring open Tabb for the eventual game winning touchdown. Which was something that was on display again tonight especially early in the second quarter. 

Henry had a huge downfield block on a run from Tabb, which sparked a huge 30-yard gain while the Bearcats trailed 10-0. The very next play, JC French was able to go over the top to Henry for a huge 39-yard touchdown catch, which was the first touchdown for Henry as a member of the Bearcats. 

He also made a valuable impact in the special team's aspect. He took over for Cade Wolford in the second quarter as the team's return specialist following a muff from Wolford. Which, looking back on it, was a big impact in this game as well. 

Henry had a big 40-yard return on the first opportunity of the night which gave the Bearcats great field position to start the drive in the third quarter. Just a few moments later, Cincinnati would go on to score on that drive.