Cincinnati shuts out Houston, 34-0
Cincinnati returned to Nippert Stadium Saturday for a Big 12 opener against the Houston Cougars.
Fresh off a 27-16 win over rival Miami in week three, the Bearcats were searching for their first Big 12 Conference home victory.
Scott Satterfield's offense didn't waste any time to set the tone.
After a three-and-out on their first possession, Sorsby and the offense would use five explosive plays on their next two possessions to jump out to an early 14-0 lead.
(Photo: Tayor Keeton / RiverfrontCincy )
The offense was given a boost by the defense following a Josh Minkins interception on Houston's first offensive possession.
On UC's second offensive possession, the Bearcats took advantage of a short field and drove 45 yards in four plays to take a 7-0 lead with 10:46 remaining in the opening period.
Brendan Sorsby capped the drive off with a 19-yard touchdown strike to Xzavier Henderson.
On the next offensive possession, Corey Kiner took a hand-off from Sorsby, broke a tackle, and raced 44 yards for a touchdown. The scoring drive took just four-plays and covered 80 yards over two-minutes, 17 seconds.
Eight plays, 125 yards, 14 points.
Houston opened the second quarter driving from their own nine-yard line to the Cincinnati 14, but Joseph Kim missed a 32-yard field goal attempt to end the scoring threat.
Houston quarterback Donovan Smith completed a 52-yard pass to Joseph Manjack to put Houston in Cincinnati territory during the drive.
With Cincinnati taking over at their own 20 following the missed field goal attempt, Brendan Sorsby would once again go to work.
After completing passes to Barry Jackson, Joe Royer, and Tyrin Smith, Houston defensive backs Kriston Davis and Teagan Wilk were called for defensive holding on consecutive pass attempts.
Two plays later, Sorsby threw a beautifully placed ball to Xzavier Henderson for a 15-yard touchdown strike.
The 12-play, 80-yard drive took 7:11 off the clock to give the Bearcats a 21-0 lead with 6:32 remaining in the first half.
Nathan Hawks extended the UC lead to 24-0 with a 46-yard field goal on the Bearcats' next offensive possession.
Houston's offense opened the second half with a sustained drive but would once again see an opportunity taken away by the Cincinnati defense.
After Re'Shaun Sanford broke through the Cincinnati front seven for a 20-yard gain, Derrick Canteen laid a big hit on the Cougar running back, forcing a fumble that would be recovered by Tre Gola-Callard at the Bearcats' own 11-yard line.
The Bearcat offense, once again, took advantage of a big play by the defense.
Keyed by a 47-yard Sorsby to Berkhalter completion, the UC offense marched 89 yards in eight plays and extended their lead to 31-0 with an eight-yard Brendan Sorsby touchdown run.
GROWN MAN RUN @Brendan_Sorsby2
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) September 21, 2024
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The defense got their third takeaway of the game on the next Houston possession.
With the Houston offense driving and going for it on 4th-and-1, Jordan Robinson stripped Re-Shaun Sanford and recovered the fumble to give the UC offense the ball at their own 33-yard line.
Up 31-0 with under ten minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Scott Satterfield and his staff began subbing freely to give some of the key reserves an extended opportunity.
Back-up quarterback Brady Lichtenberg came on to replace Brendan Sorsby and helped lead a 15 play, 52-yard scoring drive that took 9:21 off the clock.
Kicker Nathan Hawks connected from 34 yards out with 3:47 remaining for the final score of the game.
Final Score: Cincinnati 34 Houston 0
Final Stats:
- Brendan Sorsby was the story of the day. The redshirt-sophomore completed 12 consecutive passes at one point and finished the day 12-of-15 for 188 yards and two touchdowns.
- Corey Kiner rushed for 78 yards on 16 carries and continues to look like one of the top backs in the league. Kiner once again picked up tough yardage in key situations to extend drives.
- Ten different receivers caught a pass from Sorsby today. Sterling Berkhalter led the group with three receptions for 60 yards. Joe Royer had a 22-yard reception and finished with three catches for 41 yards. Xzavier Henderson caught just two passes but scored on both.
- Nathan Hawks had another strong day as the starting kicker. The redshirt-senior made both field goal attempts from 34 and 46 yards and connected on all four extra point attempts.
- UC outgained Houston 362-233 and had 22 first downs, compared to 12 for Houston.
- Jake Golday and Antwan Peek Jr both had seven tackles to lead the defense. Derrick Canteen and Kam Wilson combined for three of UC's seven tackles for loss.
Final Thoughts:
Extremely encouraging effort and performance today by the Bearcats. Offense was clicking on all cylinders and the defense came up with multiple big plays and takeaways for the first shut-out since 2018.
There were a lot of questions following the Pitt loss and the team has responded well to the adversity. Still a lot to improve on but the Bearcats were 4-for-4 in redzone opportunities and converted 40% of their third down opportunities against a defense that had limited their opponents to a 28% success rate prior to today.
With the win, Cincinnati improves to 3-1 (1-0 Big 12).
Up Next:
Saturday 9/28 at Texas Tech
Kickoff: TBD