Gerrid Doaks scored three touchdowns, two rushing, one off a pass play to send the Cincinnati Bearcats to its fifth straight win 24-13 over Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
Tulsa (2-5, 0-3) outgained the host Bearcats (6-1, 3-0) 377-319 but turned the ball over four times.
Doaks took a short pass from Desmond Ridder and broke several tackles, stretching out to touch the corner pylon in the endzone to score from 28-yards out.
"It was like a movie," Doaks said. "When I got the ball, I saw open field and I dove over the safety. I hopped up and saw everyone cheering. It’s something everyone on the field wants to live."
"He’s an example in that locker room of what you can do when you never drop your head, you never give in," Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell said. "The opportunity has got to come your way. He’s the reason we’re sitting here happy right now."
Doaks, a junior, has battled injuries since he arrived on campus from Indianapolis. He had a groin injury that held him out last season. He had a minor knee injury against UCLA, then missed the next to games. He slowly worked his way back with a few carries against Marshall, UCF and Houston. He finished with 91 yards on 17 carries.
"After everything I went through the past couple years, to celebrate a win, that feels good," Doaks said. "It’s kind of hard knowing you can perform at that high ability but something is holding you back."
The Bearcats held Tulsa twice inside the 10. Shermarr Robinson recovered Ridder's fumble at the Cincinnati at the Cincinnati eight in the third quarter. Tulsa drove to the Cincinnati 10 early in the fourth quarter but had to settle for field goals by Jacob Rainey to pull within a touchdown at 17-13.
"We have to take advantage of our opportunities in the red zone," Tulsa coach Phil Montgomery said. "These guys (Cincinnati) is really good in the red zone so it wasn't all us."
Cincinnati went for the first down with 4:58 to play on a fourth and four play from the 12. Tulsa stopped them on the 10.
Elijah Ponder hit Tulsa quarterback Zach Smith as he threw. Darrick Forrest picked off the affected pass and returned it to the Tulsa 27. Doaks ran it in on the first play to put the Bearcats ahead 24-13 with 3:31 to play
Cincinnati took a 10-0 lead up to the last minute of the first half.
Tulsa used a fluke play to retain possession after Cincinnati blocked a punt but a Bearcat touched the aborted punt and Tulsa recovered. TK Wilkerson scored on a three-yard plunge to get within a field goal at the half.
"It was almost like we were in a little bit of shock," Fickell said. "We’re accustomed to moving the football. It was quiet in the locker room. I think they really believed they had the confidence in what they were going to do."
Cincinnati scored on a 50-yard field goal by Cole Smith and a four-yard run by Gerrid Doaks in the first quarter. The touchdown was setup by an athletic, 49-yard reception by Alec Pierce, who stepped in front of a Tulsa defensive back to make the catch.
Ja'von Hicks intercepted a pass by Zach Smith in the end zone to stop a drive by the Golden Hurricane. It was his third interception in the last two weeks.
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