Utah football vs. Cincinnati by the numbers

The stage is set for a pivotal Big 12 matchup between Utah and Cincinnati.

College football's Week 10 slate is set to start and finish from Salt Lake City, where ESPN's College GameDay pregame show will go live from early in the morning to break down all the storylines before the Utes and Bearcats go toe-to-toe from Rice-Eccles Stadium at 8:15 p.m. local time.

In addition to the national stage, conference title and College Football Playoff implications will be at hand when Utah and Cincinnati meet on the gridiron for the first time. The Bearcats (7-1, 5-0 Big 12) are tied for the No. 1 spot in the Big 12 standings with an unblemished record in league play, while the Utes (6-2, 3-2) are hoping to keep pace with every win, plus help from other teams around the league.

Let's take a look at some key stats going into Saturday's matchup.

179: Consecutive pass attempts without an interception for Brendan Sorsby

In other words, Saturday will mark 63 days since Sorsby's last interception, which came on the Bearcats' last offensive drive of their 20-17 loss to Nebraska on Aug. 30.

Since then, the 6-foot-3 redshirt junior has guided Cincinnati on a seven-game win streak while completing 67% of his pass attempts for 1,774 yards and 20 touchdowns. Playing turnover-free football — in addition to his effectiveness on the ground — has propelled Sorsby's quarterback rating to No. 7 in the Football Bowl Subdivision (84.8) and made Cincinnati's offense one of the country's most productive through the air. The Bearcats, who rank No. 4 in the FBS in passing efficiency, are also No. 5 in the Big 12 in rushing, with Sorsby ranking third on the team with 425 rushing yards.

Meanwhile, the Utes defense has been stout against the pass; Morgan Scalley's unit ranks top 10 in the nation in passing yards allowed per game (148.8, No. 7) and pass defense efficiency (100.21, No. 5) despite forcing just 1 turnover in its last four games.

Granted, Texas Tech's Behren Morton and Will Hammond have presented the only true test for Utah's secondary this season. Sorsby will be case study No. 2.

3.13: Sacks per game for Utah's defense

For Utah, generating pressure will be crucial to throwing Sorsby and Cincinnati's potent offense out of sync. Getting home will be easier said than done, though, given that the Bearcats have allowed only 2 sacks all season.

Conversely, the Utes defense is No. 10 in the FBS and No. 2 in the Big 12 with 3.13 sacks per game. Think about that: Utah finishes a game with more sacks, on average, than Cincinnati's front line allows in eight games. Needless to say, John Henry Daley and the rest of the Utes' front seven will have their work cut out for them against the Bearcats' athletic offensive line.

Sending more than four pass rushers against Colorado worked out well for Utah, which finished the night with 7 sacks after pressuring the Buffaloes on over 70% of their drop backs. Whether Scalley dials up a similar game plan to defend Sorsby will be intriguing to monitor.

32: Negative plays for Cincinnati offense

Put simply, the Bearcats offense hardly falls behind schedule. In fact, they've endured the fewest negative plays among Big 12 teams, underscoring how efficient they've been both through the air and on the ground.

For Utah, a team that averages 7.0 tackles per loss (No. 14 in the FBS), keeping Cincinnati below its usual pace of 7.4 yards per play will be crucial. As alluded to earlier, the Utes defense hasn't been keen on creating turnovers, and have been able to get off the field primarily through stops on third down. Given Sorsby hardly puts the ball in harms way, Utah will need to be stout, limit yards-after-catch and yards-after-contact opportunities if it wants a chance at slowing down the Big 12's No. 3 scoring offense.

Here's a look at where Utah and Cincinnati rank nationally in other key stats heading into Saturday:

Strength of record ranking

Cincinnati: No. 22 (Big 12 rank: 4)
Utah: No. 31 (Big 12 rank: No. 5)

Offensive efficiency

Cincinnati: 85.8 (No. 4; No. 1 in Big 12)
Utah: 81.4 (No. 14; No. 2 in Big 12)

Defensive efficiency

Utah: 83.5 (No. 9; No. 2 in Big 12)
Cincinnati: 55.6 (No. 65; No. 12 in Big 12)

Special teams efficiency

Cincinnati: 71.5 (No. 6; No. 1 in Big 12)
Utah: 34.8 (No. 122; No. 14 in Big 12)

Overall efficiency

Utah: 86.5 (No. 6; No. 2 in Big 12)
Cincinnati: 79.8 (No. 15; No. 4 in Big 12)

Third down conversion rate

Utah: 54.2% (No. 3; No. 1 in Big 12)
Cincinnati: 43.2% (No. 44; No. 4 in Big 12)

Third down conversion defense

Utah: 30.1% (No. 12; No. 2 in Big 12)
Cincinnati: 35.4% (No. 40; No. 9 in Big 12)

Scoring rate in red zone

Cincinnati: 97.1% (No. 4; No. 1 in Big 12)
Utah: 91.7% (No. 25; No. 6 in Big 12)

Red zone defense

Cincinnati: 76.9% (No. 22; No. 2 in Big 12)
Utah: 86.7% (No. 86; No. 11 in Big 12)

Average time of possession

Utah: 31:36 (No. 28; No. 3 in Big 12)
Cincinnati: 24:58 (No. 133; No. 16 in Big 12)