Game-week gander: These are the Cincinnati storylines heading into Saturday

We know the Bearcats haven’t named a QB, but they have to replace their NFL running back and hope to rebuild the nation’s No. 2 pass defense

It’s game week of the first week of the college football season. At this point, fans know not just everything about their team, but everything about their team’s opponent, too.

Arkansas fans have heard how good the Bearcats program is, perhaps the best in the country outside of the so-called power conferences. They’ve heard about coach Luke Fickell’s quality and how Cincinnati is lucky to still have him. And they’ve heard that Fickell admires Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman and is preparing his team for a dogfight on Saturday.

On the field, a bit less is known. Fickell is keeping his cards close to his chest, as it were. The biggest thing is that, actually. Fickell chose not to name a starting quarterback publicly.

But Cincinnati is more than just its quarterback. Last year’s College Football Playoff team has plenty of talent, but lost plenty, too. It’s a question not only of how Fickell and Co. fill those spots, but what those spots end up looking like.

Here are the Bearcats storylines heading into game day.