Recap: Kansas State 41 Cincinnati 15

by Ryan Roberts

Cincinnati's losing streak continued Saturday night as the Bearcats dropped their fourth consecutive game, 41-15, to Kansas State.

Kansas State's offense finished the game with 428 yards of total offense, keyed by 281 rushing yards.

Doak Award Semi-finalist DJ Giddens led the Wildcats with 143 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Quarterback Avery Johnson had 72 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, while also completing 13-of-23 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns. 

(Photo: Scott Sewell images)

After the Bearcats went 3-and-out on their opening drive, Johnson had a 33-yard run to set up a 21-yard quarterback keeper for the score to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead at 11:25 in the first quarter. 
 
Cincinnati had to punt on their second drive, leading to a 28-yard field goal by Chris Tennant at 3:37 in the first quarter to extend the Wildcats lead to 10-0. 
 
On the Bearcats next possession, Sorsby was stopped an inch short on a 4th-and-1 try from midfield, leading to a 32-yard field goal from Tennant to take a 13-0 lead at the 13:37 mark in the second quarter. 

Kansas State extended their lead to 27-3 just before the half after a Sorsby interception on a screen attempt that would be returned to the Bearcat 6-yard line.

With :08 seconds remaining in the first half, Johnson found freshman wide receiver Tre Spivey in the back of the end zone for the six-yard touchdown strike. 

Sorsby finished 21-of-39 passing for 200 yards and two touchdowns. 

Wide receiver Tony Johnson led UC with eight catches for 52 yards and was on the receiving end of both Sorsby touchdown throws scoring bot touchdowns in the second half. 

Johnson's second touchdown came with 5:09 remaining in the fourth quarter to cut the Kansas State lead to 41-15 and would be the final score of the game. 

In a game that saw Cincinnati struggle in multiple areas, running back Corey Kiner was once again a bright spot. 

Kiner finished with 140 yards on 15 carries and now has 1,043 yards on the season, becoming the fifth Bearcat with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in school history and the first since Mike Warren (2018-19). 

Antwan Peek Jr led the Cincinnati defense with seven tackles, followed by freshman Simeon Coleman with six tackles.

Kansas State's defense dominated the game, finishing with four sacks and nine tackles for loss.

Cincinnati falls to 5-6 (3-5  Big 12) with the loss, while Kansas State improves to 8-3 (5-3 Big 12) and remain in contention for an appearance in the  Big 12 Championship Game.

Final Stats:

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