Photograph UC Football Media Center
Fresh off a home opening win against Bowling Green, the 1-1 Bearcats brought a 70-0 victory to the Nippert faithful. In a game that brings new meaning to the phrase “Cats by 90”, Cincinnati had an offensive slugfest against Northwestern State. NSU is a small school from Louisiana out of the Southland conference. Expectations for NSU weren’t terribly high, as Minnesota handed them a 66-0 loss in week two.
Cincinnati wasted no time, marching down the field on the opening drive for a Sorsby-to-Royer touchdown. NSU answered with a quick three-and-out. Cincinnati followed with a one-play 55-yard touchdown pass, lasting only nine seconds, Sorsby finding Caleb Goodie for six.
This pattern continued. NSU could not find a first down for the majority of the game, while almost every Cincinnati drive resulted in a touchdown.
By the end of the first quarter, Brendan Sorsby had thrown for five touchdowns. His touchdown passes set the record for a quarter or a half by a Bearcat. He left the game midway through the second quarter, 15-15, with 253 yards.
The lopsided game allowed for some new names to see some action and make plays. Quarterback Brady Lichtenberg took over for Sorsby and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Cyrus Allen to end the half 56-0.
Both coaches agreed to shorten the second half to 10 minute quarters. The pattern continued with Northwestern turning the ball over and Cincinnati scoring two more touchdowns to cap the shortened game with a 70-0 final score.
The takeaway from this blowout is to look at the players who don’t usually get minutes. Senior Brady Lichtenburg was 4/6 with 56 yards and a touchdown. Freshman quarterback Samaj Jones was 2-2 with 53 yards and a touchdown.
Caleb Goodie led the team on the receiving end with three receptions, 106 yards and a touchdown. Cyrus Allen with 59 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Johnson had 50 yards and two touchdowns. And the standout from last week was Jeff Caldwell, with 58 yards. Cincinnati used a lot of their roster not only to minimize injury, but to give some guys some real reps on the field.
On the ground, Cincinnati’s rushing attack was slippery, with backs escaping tackles on several plays. Senior running back Tawee Walker led the team with six carries for 66 yards and a touchdown.
The defensive action is all shown in the score. Not a single point was scored on them, and very rarely even a first down. They suffocated NSU’s run game, with 68 total tackles and six tackles for loss.
Northwestern State is one of the worst opponents Cincinnati has faced in a long time, but it was an excellent opportunity for the entire team to gain some confidence-boosting reps before Big 12 play opens up next week when Cincinnati travels to Lawrence, Kansas, to take on the 2-1 Jayhawks.
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