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The Cincinnati Bearcats fought the upset minded East Carolina Pirates at Nippert Stadiium on Friday.
The Bearcats extended their home winning streaok to 32 games by hanging tight to a 27-35 verdict.
Cincinnati forced a punt with seven minutes left but couldn't convert on a third an five, forcing the defense to hold the lead. The Pirates picked up a first down on a fourth and 12 but took over on downs on their own 41 with 1:44 to melt on the clock.
The teams started the night one game apart in the American Athletic Conference.
The Pirates' Jeremy Lewis and Elijah Morris caught Cincinnati quarterback, Ben Bryant, in the end zone for a saftey on a nine-yard sack. The Pirates scored on a 47-yard field goal by Andrew Conrad after the free kick.
Bryant admitted he wasn't sharp in this game, missing some throws and had problems with timing. He was subjected to boos from the crowd.
"I just told my team after game that I wasn't sharp," Bryant confessed. "I told them that I appreciated them. They had my back.
The next kick resulted in a 100-yard return by Cincinnati's Jadon Thompson, his first career TD return. Ryan Coe converted from placement to give the Bearcats a quick edge.
Thompson cut in front of Tre Tucker to take the kick. He broke through some tacklers and only had the kicker to race to the end zone.
"You never want to be tackled by the kicker," Thompson said. "We knew they were going to kick it to my side. I stole it from Tre but it w by accident. It was close to the boundry between us. I looked at him and he looked like he had it but it was in my hands and I just ran."
The Pirates drove to the Bearcat 28 but Conrad missed a 34-yard field goal attempt.
East Carolina canceled the play with a 72-yard strike from Ahlers to C.J. Johnson at the 6:03 mark.
Coe kicked a 37-yard field goal for Cincinnati with 1:48 left in the first half.
East Carolina took the second half kickoff and marched 79 yards on nine plays. It took the Pirates 4:48 before Keaton Mitchell scored from four yards out around left end. It cut the Bearcat lead to 24-19.
After two failed offensive series by Cincinnati, Ahlers found Johnson in the end zone to put the Pirates ahead, 25-24. ECU went for two=poi9nts but the try failed on an incomplete pass.
The Bearcats were left with 17 minutes to get the lead back.
The Bearcats settled for a 31-yard field goal after getting a first and goal on the 10-yard line. Coe's kick put the Bearcats ahead 27-25 with 9:42 remaining.
"This is what us looks like," said head coixach Luke Fickell, who had just six days to prepare for the Pirates, who were coming off a bye. "We made Monday our Tuesday. It is good that we have the maturity. They did some things we didn't expect but it is November. November is made for champions.
Cincinnati is now 8-2 and 5-1 in the conference. The Pirates are 6-4 and 3-3.
"There are a lot of good teams in the conference. There is a lot of talent" Fickell said.
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