Bearcats Control Knights To Remain Unbeaten

 

 

 

The Cincinnati Bearcats got two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter from Jerome Ford in the first quarter to pace them to a 56-21 win over the Central Florida Knights.

Short runs of one and two yards set up the No. 3 Bearcats for their sixth straight win of the season.

The unranked Knights, who have 24 former players in the National Football League came into the contest at 3-2.  They will join the Bearcats in the Big 12 in 2023.

The Knights are playing with out starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who had his clavicle fractured on September 17 against Louisville.  Freshman Mikey Keene took over for Dillon.  His third outing was against the stout Cincinnati defense.  

Keene struggled in the first half until the end.

The Knights had just 32 yards of total offenso on its first six possessions.  Ryan O'Keefe took a handoff and raced 51 yards to the Cincinnati 24.  Keene threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Johnson to get on the scoreboard.

The problem was Ford had runs of 79 and four yards.  Desmond Ridder threw a 13-yard strike to Alec Pierce to put Cincinnati ahead 35-0.

"Cincinnati can play with any team in the country.  They have a great defense.  They have a great offense. They could win the whole thing,” UCF coach Gus Malzhan said.  Malzhan spent years coaching at Auburn

Ford finished with 189 yards on the ground.  He is the last UC running back to score four touchdowns since Isaiah Pied in 2010.  Pied was at the game today.

Coby Bryant returned an interception 76 yards in the second half.  Ethan Wright added a two-yard plunge. Backup quarterback Ethan Prater scored the Bearcats eighth touchdown of the day.

Isaiah Bowser scored on a five-yard rush with :41 left in the third quarter for Central Florida with the Bearcats second team defense on the field. Mark-Antony Richards scored on a two-yard run for the Knights with 1:48 left.

Cincinnati Bearcats Take Down Temple To Justify Its NO. 5 Ranking

 

 

The Cincinnati Bearcats kept up its momentum after an emotional win at Notre Dame by winning its first American Athletic Conference game 52-3 over the Temple Owls.

Elevated to number 5 in the national polls, this week, the Bearcats opened just fast enough to build a 17-0 lead before Wilmington, Ohio grad, Rory Bell kicked a Temple record 55-yard field goal to break the stalwart Cincinnati defense's shutout.

Jerome Ford caught the Owls defense flat footed with a 75-yard run on the first play of the second half and the route was on. It was his second touchdown run

Cincinnati recovered a muffed punt and scored two-plays later on a 38-yard pass from Desmond Ridder to Tyler Scott, pushing the lead to 31-3.  Charles McClelland ran 28 yards for his first touchdown of the season in the middle of the third quarter.  Ridder connected with Michael Young from the 11 yard line.

Cincinnati emptied its bench in the fourth quarter.  Ethan Wright had four carries coming into the game but he raced 58 yards for a touchdown.

Ridder played three quarters, completing 22 of 30 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns.  Ford rushed for 159 yards on 15 carries and scored twice.

D'wan Mathis threw for 120 on 16-27 passes.  He was sacked six times.  Backup quarterback Justin Lynch was the Owls' leading rusher with 29 yards.

The Bearcats held Temple under 100 yards.

Cincinnati had 542 yards of offense.

Temple still leads the all-time series between the teams 9-13-1.  The Bearcats ended a four-game winning streak by the Owls in the series when Coby Bryant returned a blocked extra point 88 yards for two points, providing the winning margin in a 15-13 win at Nippert Stadium in 2019.

Cincinnati improved to 5-0.  Temple is even at 3-3.