When they take the field Thursday night at what's expected to be a loud, unwelcoming Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, the Hurricanes will be without two of their regular safeties and a linebacker.
That's challenging enough for any team, but it seems an especially cruel twist of fate to have to deal with those losses while trying to find ways to contain an opponent that, in its last game, totaled 752 yards and scored 46 points — and still, somehow, lost.
But that's what the Hurricanes face as they prepare for Thursday night's nationally-televised game against the high-powered, quick-scoring Bearcats.