Cincinnati routs Western Carolina 62-10
Team pages: Western Carolina · Cincinnati
Cincinnati routed Western Carolina 62-10. Share this game
We had Cincinnati favored. It won.
How it swung
Before kickoff, our ratings gave Cincinnati a 77% chance, and the closing betting line (Cincinnati was a 36.5-point favorite) put it above 99%.
Cincinnati led by 4 after the first quarter and by 18 at the half.
Cincinnati 62-10 Western Carolina
Cincinnati wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.Western Carolina 10-62 CincinnatiWestern Carolina lostMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.No single play moved the chance by 20 points.
No single play moved the chance by 20 points.
How to read this chart
Starts from the pregame line (Cincinnati -36.5), at 99% for Cincinnati (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores.Every drive
Cincinnati scored on 9 of its 11 drives; Western Carolina on 2 of its 12.
Cincinnati’s drives are teal, Western Carolina’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.
Box score
Cincinnati 62, Western Carolina 10
Cincinnati covered −36.5 by 15.5. The total, 72, went over 61.5.
| Team totals | Western Carolina | Cincinnati |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 241 | 690 |
| Passing | 24 of 37, 167 yds | 28 of 31, 272 yds |
| Rushing | 20 for 74 yds | 49 for 418 yds |
| First downs | 13 | 32 |
| Third down | 2 of 12 | 8 of 11 |
| Fourth down | 1 of 2 | 1 of 2 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Penalties | 5 for 45 yds | 11 for 105 yds |
| Time of possession | 27:23 | 32:37 |
Western Carolina leaders
- Passing Lex Thomas 23 of 32, 165 yds
- Rushing Marlin Cochran 3 for 25 yds; Josh Perry 7 for 24 yds
- Receiving Jake Young 5 for 49 yds; Jai Boyd 6 for 32 yds
Cincinnati leaders
- Passing JC French 21 of 24, 245 yds, 2 TD
- Rushing Gi'Bran Payne 12 for 102 yds, 2 TD; Zylan Perry 5 for 76 yds, 1 TD
- Receiving Malachi Henry 3 for 87 yds; JaVonnie Gibson 5 for 79 yds, 1 TD
No rain and calm
77° at kickoff · no rain recorded · wind 2 mph from the northeast, gusts to 5
September game-day temperatures at Nippert Stadium
Drag along the chart, or step through the game.
Where this weather comes from
Measured at Cincinnat/lunken airport, 5.6 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.Before kickoff
Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.
Recent games
Last two games
Western Carolina · 1-1
Rated 197th in our preseason ratings, 195th now.
1-1 in its last two — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
W 45-21 vs Eastern Kentucky #169 of 668
won by 24 as a 3-point favorite
Last three games · 2025 season
Cincinnati · 7-6
Rated 109th in our preseason ratings, 110th now.
Three straight losses.
L 13-35 vs NavyTop 25 #59 of 667
lost by 22 as a 7.5-point underdog
L 23-45 @ TCUTop 25 #40 of 667
lost by 22 as a 3.5-point underdog
L 14-26 vs BYUTop 25 #25 of 667
lost by 12 as a 2.5-point underdog
L 24-30 vs ArizonaTop 25 #50 of 667
lost by 6 as a 6.5-point favorite
L 14-45 @ UtahTop 25 #9 of 667
lost by 31 as a 9.5-point underdog
W 41-20 vs Baylor #40 of 667
won by 21 as a 3.5-point favorite
W 49-17 @ Oklahoma State #170 of 667
won by 32 as a 23.5-point favorite
W 20-11 vs UCF #57 of 667
won by 9 as a 10.5-point favorite
W 38-30 vs Iowa StateTop 25 #42 of 667
won by 8 as a 1.5-point favorite
W 37-34 @ Kansas #36 of 667
won by 3 as a 4.5-point underdog
W 70-0 vs Northwestern State #262 of 667
won by 70 as a 48.5-point favorite
W 34-20 vs Bowling Green #97 of 667
won by 14 as a 21.5-point favorite
L 17-20 vs NebraskaTop 25 #31 of 667
lost by 3 as a 5.5-point underdog
Week by week
Cincinnati
- Wk 1Wvs Boston College34-15
Western Carolina
- Wk 1Wvs Eastern Kentucky45-21
- Wk 1Lat Campbell19-28
The series
Cincinnati leads the series 1-0
1 meeting since 2005 · Cincinnati won the last meeting
- 2005Cincinnati 7-3
Line, fans and home field
The betting line, and the fans
Our model and the betting line don’t fully agree on Cincinnati’s chances here.
Cincinnati favored by 36.5 · Total 61.5
How games like this usually go
Cincinnati by 36.5, and it went to form
Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game
The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 411 games since 2025 with a favorite of 21.5 points or more.
The market
The total rose 1 point.
Total: 60.5 → 61.5
Weather at kickoff
Warm and dry. Feels like 77° at kickoff.
Western Carolina at Cincinnati · Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026 · Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati
- 77°feels like at kickoff
- Dryno rain at kickoff
- 97weather score, Comfortable
- Tiedfor the best of the day's 7 kickoff times
At kickoff, Sept. 12, 2026.
Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.
Kickoff times that Saturday
Games in this time zone used 7 kickoff times that day, local time (kickoffs within 30 minutes of each other count as one). This game, ringed, was tied for the best of the day's seven kickoff times. At Nippert Stadium that day, a 3:30 pm kickoff would have scored 44, against 97 at 7 pm.
- noon: 84, Mixed
- 1 pm: 80, Mixed
- 2 pm: 68, Rough
- 3:30 pm: 44, Harsh
- 6 pm: 85, Mixed
- 7 pm: 97, Comfortable (this game)
- 7:30 pm: 97, Comfortable
Weather score at each kickoff time.
Tap a dot to read that kickoff time.
At kickoff, Sept. 12, 2026. Wind is not drawn here; gusts are in each score.
Home field
Cincinnati is worth +5.8 points (±3.9) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top third of FBS, 79th percentile.
76% at home, 58% on the road against FBS opponents (37-12 home, 25-18 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +3.6 at home vs. away over 97 games — inside the ±5.9 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 274 miles to get here.