Cincinnati Bearcats safety Antwan Peek Jr. was named a semifinalist for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award. Peek Jr. is a former walk-on who has recorded 28 tackles and two forced fumbles this season. Cincinnati Bearcats redshirt junior Antwan Peek Jr. was named one of 15 semifinalists for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Baylor is in town for the second-ever matchup between the two schools. UC had a fourth-quarter comeback to pull close to the Bears in 2023, but fell short 32-29. Dave Aranda's squad lost in Fort Worth to TCU 42-36 Oct. 18 and comes in 4-3 (2-2 Big 12) against the 6-1 (4-0) Bearcats.

Jalen Haynes recently underwent surgery for his knee injury, and it’s not clear when the transfer forward will be able to make his Cincinnati debut. The Bearcats open the season at home on Monday, Nov. 3 against the Western Carolina Catamounts of the Southern Conference.

The Bearcats have rattled off seven straight wins and are sitting tied atop the Big 12 standings with BYU at 5-0 in conference play.

UC now checks in at No. 23 in the FBS on Bill Connelly's SP+ metric (25th last week). Among others, Cincinnati is at No. 26 on ESPN's Football Power Index (34th last week) and 24th on Brian Fremeau's BCF rating metric (28th last week). It moves Cincinnati to an average ranking of 24.3 nationally (29th last week).

Cincinnati (7-1, 4-0 Big 12) has won seven-straight games for the first time since the 2021 Bearcats reached the Cotton Bowl with a 13-0 record. Cincinnati travels to Utah on Nov. 1 to keep alive in the Big 12 title race.