College football is finally back! This memorable and dramatic offseason brought us a number of headlines: The College Football Playoff expanded to a 12-team format, the Big Ten Conference now has 18 members, and the defending champion Michigan Wolverines are still in the headlines for its cheating scandal. With all the drama and conference realignment, it will be an interesting season to say the least.
After a less-than-stellar debut season, the Bearcats enter year two in the Big 12 Conference. It’s also the second year for head coach Scott Satterfield, who has big shoes to fill since the departure of Luke Fickell. On Saturday, Towson University, an FCS school out of the Coastal Athletic Conference, traveled from Maryland to take on UC.
Nippert was packed for the home opener. Herds of rowdy students jammed into the student section as the marching band did its famous run down the stairs to start the pregame show. The Bearcat ran around hyping up the crowd, changed costumes, and even gave birth to a baby Bearcat.
All eyes, as usual, were on the quarterback. Last season highlighted issues with the entire quarterback room, leading the Bearcats to former Indiana University Hoosier Brendan Sorsby. Fresh out of the Big Ten, Sorsby had 15 touchdowns and 1,587 yards last season. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound QB played every snap in his final six games with IU and made just his eighth career start in the Bearcats season opener.
Sorsby introduced himself with a two-yard touchdown run. He kept firing with a 42-yard touchdown pass and a 61-yard touchdown pass, leading to 21 Bearcat points in the first quarter. Sorsby completed the good first impression by, finishing the first half with a 12-yard touchdown run, putting the Bearcats up 28–17 at the half.
It wasn’t all fireworks in the first half. Special teams proved to be an issue, as Bearcats kicker Carter Brown booted a kickoff out of bounds and missed a 31-yard field goal. A muffed punt from punt returner Michael Mussari added to the mistakes. Unlike the NFL, college football kept the kickoff rules the same, so hopefully these problems aren’t here to stay. The Bearcats gained only 67 yards on the ground in the first half but redeemed themselves in the second with an explosive 64-yard touchdown from running back Evan Pryor. The Bearcats finished the game with 275 rushing yards.
Towson managed to gain more than 400 yards on the Bearcats defense, but failed to convert much of that offensive effort into points. In the red zone, the Bearcats defense held, but the type of lackluster coverage displayed on the rest of the field against Towson, likely won’t cut it in conference play or even on Saturday against Pitt.
Facebook Comments