The Bearcats Celebrate Homecoming With a Victory Over Arizona State

UC’s defense steps up in a major way to take down the Sun Devils.
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Homecoming in Cincinnati! Both the fans and players were decked out in red. The excitement coming from the homecoming parade and pregame festivities could be felt on Saturday against the Arizona State Sun Devils. ASU entered the game with a 5-1 record while Cincinnati entered at 4-2.

The Bearcats got off to a rocky start, opening with a three-and-out, giving up an ASU touchdown, and then throwing an interception. Sorsby’s pass was intended for Henderson but was just a bit short. He has been less accurate lately but is very good at shaking off his mistakes and continuing his confident leadership on the next drive. Antwan Peek Jr. fired up UC’s homecoming crowd by stripping the ball from ASU.

Just two plays later, Sorsby ran 14 yards, weaving through ASU’s defense for a touchdown in front of the student section sea of red. Back-to-back great plays had Nippert’s homecoming crowd on their feet. The Bearcats swallowed ASU’s offense on the next drive as they took a gamble on a fourth and two. UC Linebacker Jake Golday brought down ASU running back Cam Skattebo for a loss of seven yards, placing the Bearcats at the ASU 41-yard line. After a few yardage losses and a penalty, Nathan Hawks’ kick was good from 46 yards.

Through the end the first quarter, UC’s defense was all over ASU. On a crucial third down play, Bearcat Linebacker Jonathon Thompson sacked ASU quarterback Jeff Simms for a loss of nine yards forcing them to punt. Cincinnati has been doing an amazing job feeding off the energy of the other side of the ball. It seems that with every big defensive play, the offense is able to reciprocate. And that they did, with Evan Pryor’s explosive 55-yard breakaway touchdown run on the next drive.

Up 17-7, UC and ASU took turns punting for a few drives. Henderson, Johnson, and Kiner all had gains of more than 15 yards before Sorsby ran it in for his second touchdown of the day. I feel like a broken record writing this, but to end the half, Hawks missed a field goal attempt from 42 yards to keep the score at half 24-7. Kicking has been a mystery all year. Hawks has proven that he can nail long-range field goals, yet he occasionally struggles with shorter, more routine kicks, especially right before the half.

The second half was interesting, to say the least. The Bearcats did not score a single point. But credit to the defense, they only allowed ASU to score once, early in the third quarter. ASU had two missed field goal attempts as the UC defense did not let them too close.

The heroes of the game were the defense. The typically run-heavy Sun Devil offense was severely slowed down. Their star running back Cam Skattebo averaged 50 yards less than his average this season. Antwan Peek Jr., Jonathan Thompson, and Jared Bartlett deserve praise, as they led the team in tackles. Not to mention the frozen UC offense in the second half, further emphasizing the importance and insane talent of their defensive line.

The praise for the defense makes it sound like nothing good came from the offense, but that is not the case. The Bearcats ran for 191 yards, and Pryor had a 55-yard touchdown. Sorsby was 23/31 and passed for 206 yards. The only issue is their lack of production later in the game. Not to mention a weird streak of missing field goals going into the half. They did build themselves a sizable lead, but they are lucky that the defense was able to maintain it. Overall, it just seems like a fluke, and didn’t end up costing them the game.

As for ASU, their second loss of the season was a tough one. Their two missed field goals in the second half could have put them right back in the game. “If you can kick and you’re at Arizona State, email me. We’re going to have kicking tryouts on Monday. Seriously” said ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham. The viral quote is a funny cap to an all-around weird, lopsided game. Cincinnati will travel to Boulder next to take on Coach Prime and the highly anticipated Colorado team.

Charlie Jaeb heads up Bearcat Football coverage for Cincinnati Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter @CharlieJaeb.

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