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GAME NOTES: Fresh off a surprisingly easy victory over a fellow Big East Conference school, the 23rd-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats get right back to action as they open the home portion of their schedule this Saturday night against the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State.

An FCS squad playing its football out of the Ohio Valley Conference, the Redhawks are 1-0 on the young season, having beat up on NAIA foe Quincy in last week's season opener, 72-3. Southeast scored early and often against its overmatched opponent, reaching the end zone three times in the first 4:25, and the 72 points scored by the team established a new modern-day school record. The Redhawks, who have dropped eight straight games to FBS foes and have been outscored 174-13 in their last three bouts with their collegiate big brothers, will open OVC play next week at home against Eastern Illinois. Southeast is just 1-13 all-time against FBS clubs, its lone win coming against Middle Tennessee State (24-14) in 2002.

Cincinnati opened the 2009 season with a resounding 47-15 victory at Rutgers, giving the team a 1-0 record on both the season and in Big East play. As a result, the Bearcats gained admission into the AP Top-25, one of three new teams in the poll this week. UC won 11 games last season and its first Big East championship, and while the Bearcats fell to Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, it is considered to be one of the best seasons in school history. Cincinnati has won at least 10 games in back-to-back campaigns, quite a feat considering the program had just one 10-win season previously (1951).

These two teams are meeting for just the second time, with Cincinnati laying claim to an easy victory in the first encounter, 59-3, back in 2007.

Southeast Missouri State dominated every phase of the game last week against Quincy, amassing 512 yards of total offense (282 rushing, 230 passing), and successfully converting 11-of-12 third down opportunities while scoring on all seven trips to the red zone.

RB Henry Harris led the ground attack with 88 yards and three TDs in just his second career start, while QB Matt Scheible went 11-of-18 and accounted for three scores (two passing, one rushing) in just the third start of his career. The Redhawks averaged 6.7 yards per rush and more than 19 yards per pass completion.

WR Walter Peoples led all pass catchers in the game with 76 receiving yards, scoring a TD along the way. He has now caught a pass in 15 consecutive games and surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for his career in the lopsided win. Fellow wideout Miles Edwards is poised to join him in the 1,000-yard club, needing just seven yards to do so after picking up 81 yards last week.

As easy as the Redhawk offense had it against Quincy, the same can be said of the defense which despite being on the field for more than 34 minutes, held the Hawks to 220 total yards, only 63 of which came through the air.

San Jose State transfer Justin Woodlief led the way for the Southeast defense, logging 10 tackles and a PBU, while fellow LBs Joshua Jackson and Blake Peiffer finished with nine stops apiece. The Redhawks came up with three turnovers and were credited with seven TFLs, including a pair of sacks. Southeast scored a TD on an INT return by LB Tyler Epstein, and FS Tylor Brock added a TD on a blocked punt.

Tony Pike threw for a career-high 362 yards and three TDs to power Cincinnati past league rival Rutgers last week, and was named the Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his effort. Pike completed 27-of-34 passes, and it was third time in his career that he threw for 300 yards in a game.

Mardy Gilyard was Pike's favorite target on the day, hauling in eight balls for 89 yards and a TD, while RB Isaiah Pead found the end zone twice (one rushing, one receiving).

Jacob Ramsey led the UC ground assault with 77 yards on eight carries, while Pead finished with 47 yards on the same number of totes. Overall, the Bearcats generated 564 yards of total offense compared to just 293 for the Scarlet Knights, and they scored on all six trips to red zone.

Coach Brian Kelly was obviously happy with the way his team came out swinging. "I think it's pretty obvious we got off to a great start, got into a great rhythm offensively." He continued, "I think we made it difficult for Rutgers to stop us today. We wanted to be aggressive offensively and I thought it was important early on to really do some things that a lot of college football teams aren't doing in the opener and that is being really aggressive."

The Cincinnati defense stood tall against the Scarlet Knights, yielding just 50 rushing yards on 33 attempts (1.5 ypc). It also helped the team's overall effort as RU QBs threw three INTs and the Bearcats also scored on a safety in the fourth quarter. DE Curtis Young and DB Aaron Webster both finished in double digits in total tackles, making 11 and 10, respectively, with the former being credited with a game-high three TFLs, one of which was a sack.

The Bearcats finished with five sacks, part of 11 TFLs on the day. Coach Kelly liked what his defense did, but tempered his praise. "Not bad, not bad. I think there are some things we will look at. (Defensive Coordinator) Bob (Diaco) had a very good plan and it went the way we wanted it to. I think there are some things because we know our personnel a little better. It will allow us to tweak some things going into this Saturday."

As easy as Southeast Missouri had it last week, there is no way the Redhawks will enjoy the same kind of success in this one. Expect Cincinnati to roll to victory in front of the hometown faithful, giving the team even more momentum as it looks ahead to next week's trip to Oregon State.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Cincinnati 49, Southeast Missouri State 10