Bond (knee) is day to day at center but Mainello played well in his place and will start, Tuberville said. #Bearcats

— Tom Groeschen (@TomGroeschen) September 16, 2025

The news came from Tommy Tuberville's weekly media availability which took place yesterday at noon. I am just getting around to watching it now, at 11:30 tuesday night because...well because I got home from work at five and wanted to take a nap.

Mainello has 13 career appearances and has been the primary backup at center for each of the last three seasons, so it isn't like the Bearcats are going to be throwing a guy who is brand new to the spot out there. Mainello should be able to hold up relatively well against a resurgent Miami RedHawks defense. The physical aspect of the game isn't the biggest concern, it's getting the mental aspect of things down. Only the quarterback has to deal with more complexity in reading his assignments than the center.

The biggest question with this is what impact does this have on the Bearcats pace. The staff has really practiced what they preached in this regard, so every team practiced in camp at the same tempo as the varsity squad. So Mainello has some experience reading the defense and making adjustments at something like game pace. But as anyone who played the game at any level can tell you there is nothing as fast as the game.