The Bearcats traveled to Orlando, Florida where they improved to 4-2 (2-1 Big 12) on Saturday, picking up their first win over the Knights since 2021.
It was an all-out defensive effort on Saturday as the Bearcats held the nations top rushing offense to just 13 points. The Bearcats made it extremly difficult for the Knights to get anything going on offense especially with a new signal caller under center.
Worth noting that UCF quarterback KJ Jeffer didn't play in this contest after being benched for true freshman EJ Colston. However, the Knights played both Colston and Jacurri Brown, with Brown taking majority of the snaps on Saturday afternoon.
However, the Bearcats defense led by Dontay Corleone (4 tackles, sack, 2 TFL's) and Jared Bartlett (2 sacks, 7 tackles, 2 TFL's and a forced fumble) as the veteran duo was a force to be reckon with on Saturday.
The Bearcats defense also created two turnovers which was a great sight to see especially vs a high-powered offense in Central Florida. However, the offense struggled at times on Saturday, but essentially, the defense won the game for Cincinnati on Saturday.
The Bearcats veteran secondary of Antwan Peek Jr (seven tackles), Josh Minkins (six tackles) and Logan Wilson (two tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and two pass breakups) were fantastic on Saturday and have continued to showcase their abilities on the back end.
Offensively, the Bearcats were looking to find their groove coming off the bye week after Brendan Sorsby had his first multi turnover game of the season. Despite throwing for 241 yards and a touchdown through the air along with a touchdown on the ground, Sorsby and the offense started to get going at times.
Central Florida honed in on Xzavier Henderson, who finished with just two catches, but that allowed Tony Johnson to have his best game as a Bearcat hauling in eight of his ten targets for 76 yards and a touchdown. Sorsby was also able to get Joe Royer going as the senior tight end finished with eight catches for 84 yards, which tied a career high.
Senior running back Corey Kiner finished the game with 17 carries for 83 yards which was a great sight to see for Bearcats fans after Kiner left the Texas Tech game due to injury.
How it Happened
After both teams opening drives resulted in turnovers, the Bearcats got a huge gift following the Sorsby interception deep in Knight territory. Jake Golday forced Johnny Richardson into his second fumble of the day where logan Wilson recovered it at the Knights five-yard line.
However, the Knights defense held strong and forced Cincinnati to an early field goal after Nathan Hawks buried it home from 22 yards out to give Cincinnati a 3-0 lead with 8:36 to go in the first quarter.
Cincinnati extended their lead to 10 after Brendan Sorsby capped off an 11-play drive following a three yard touchdown run on third-and-goal. The Bearcats offense was starting to click after the Sorsby toyed with the Knights defense that resulted in three defensive penalties to extend the Bearcats drive.
The Knights however, had nothing going on offense over the first four possessions as the Bearcats defense was all over anything the Knights tried to accomplish. The Bearcats first three drives resulted in two fumbles and a turnover on downs as the defense was bringing relentless pressure on Jacurri Brown and EJ Colson.
However, when things were looking to get worse for the Knights as Cincinnati was driving to make this a potential 17 point game. The Knights came away with a huge interception after Sorsby's pass intended for Joe Royer was tipped and intercepted by Ladrius Tennison. A costly turnover for the Bearcats there in the redzone with the opportunity to put the Knights in a costly situation earlier.
Jacurri Brown would then lead the Knights on a 13 play, 93-yard drive which was capped off with a 22-yard field goal from Grant Reddick to cut the deficit to seven with 1:53 remaining in the first half. The drive was highlighted by a 28-yard run from Brown and then a 29-yard completion to Hudson as the Knights offense was starting to find some momentum after the slow start.
The Bearcats would take a 10-3 lead into the half after leaving points on the field at the end of the first half after Nathan Hawks 36-yard field goal attempt was wide right. The Bearcats essentially left 10 points on the board on the final two drives between the missed field goal and interception deep in the redzone.
Cincinnati's offense was out of sync for the first 30 minutes as Sorsby was just 13-25 to start the game. However, Cincinnati's rushing attack was struggling to get going as the running backs had just seven touches in the first half, with Corey Kiner taking five of them for 52 yards, averaging nearly 10.2 yards per play. However, outside the long run on his first carry of the game both teams have struggled to get the rushing attack going in this one to say the least.
The Knights would come out of the half firing on all cylinders after forcing Cincinnati to a three-and-out on the opening possession of the half. Then turned around and fired off a 10 play, 84-yard drive after Brown connected with wide receiver Kobe Hudson for a 15 yard touchdown with 8:26 left in the third quarter. The momentum was clearly favoring the Knights, and the Bearcats needed a response quickly or things could start trending in the Knights direction.
The Bearcats responded with a nine-play drive that was highlighted by first down catches from Tony Johnson (21 yards) and Joe Royer (11) to put the Bearcats in field goal position. Nathan Hawks would then knock down a 51-yard field goal as Cincinnati would retake the lead with 3:06 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bearcats would keep their foot on the gas after Mason Fletcher pinned the Knights at their own one-yard line. The Bearcats defense would stand tall and force a Knights punt from the back of the endzone setting the Bearcats up with terrific field position to start the fourth quarter.
Brendan Sorsby and the Bearcats would respond with a huge nine play drive that was capped off following a four yard touchdown reception by Tony Johnson. Sorsby has continued to find ways to get Johnson involved in the offense this afternoon and it paid off with a huge touchdown to extend the Bearcats lead to nine with 6:32 to go. However, the PAT attempt from Hawks would be no good.
Central Florida would march down the field following a nine play, 65-yard drive that ended with a Grant Reddick 29-yard field goal to make this a 19-13 game with three minutes to go.
However, the Knights would come back and make a late effort, but the Bearcats defense stood tall. After Brown connected with Harvey for a huge 21-yard gain in with just under fifty second to go. Brown then followed suit with a huge 22-yard to Kobe Hudson the ensuing play to move the Knights into Bearcats territory, However, the Bearcats defense stood tall after a game sealing sack from Jared Bartlett on the final play of the game.
Up Next
The Bearcats now have a huge challenge at their hands as they welcome a surging Arizona State (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) team to Nippert Stadium next Saturday following their 27-19 victory over #16th ranked Utah on Friday night.
