Cincinnati Bearcats hold off USF, extend home winning streak to 30
With his next victory, University of Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell will be the all-time career leader at the helm of the Bearcats' football program.
On Homecoming 2022 with a sea of red numbering 38,557, Fickell won his 53rd game as the Bearcats came back from a rare home halftime deficit to beat South Florida 28-24.
Senior Charles McClelland had a career-high 179 yards rushing and two touchdowns, including the would-be coffin nail from 35 yards with 9:24 left in the game. Tre Tucker had a career-best seven catches for 64 yards and Jadon Thompson and Nick Mardner had touchdown catches via Ben Bryant.
Bryant was 15-for-21 for 178 yards and the two scores but left the game injured and Wyoming High School product Evan Prater finished the game. Prater was 1-for-2 for 15 yards and ran for 13 but pumped his fist with glee when McClelland gained the final first down of the game to seal the win.
Fickell now equals Rick Minter in coaching victories at UC. The key difference is he did in 69 games and in his sixth season where Minter's mark of 53 was over 10 seasons beginning in 1994.
The Bearcats have defeated the Bulls five consecutive times now. USF's lone win of 2022 was against Howard Sept. 10. The Bearcats remain unblemished since their opening loss at Arkansas. It was their 30th-straight win at Nippert Stadium.
USF briefly silenced the homecoming enthusiasm with an 11-play, 75-yard drive on their first series, chewing up over five and a half minutes. The Bearcats then had their shortest drive of the year as Ben Bryant was intercepted throwing deep for Tyler Scott by Aamaris Brown. That translated to a 22-yard field goal by Spencer Shrader and UC was down 10 for the first time since the Victory Bell game with Miami University three weeks ago.
With 3:16 left in the quarter, UC received the ball again and got on the scoreboard when junior Thompson caught his first career touchdown pass. Bryant would add a second scoring pass when Mardner hauled one in near the UC student section.
After another long drive lasting 5:24, USF's Gerry Bohannon found Xavier Weaver in the other endzone. Bryant appeared to hit Chris Scott late in the half to get UC in scoring position but Will Jones II broke the pass up with a flag being thrown. Though it appeared to be targeting, it was ruled incomplete. UC would get a last-second heave that was intercepted by Matthew Hill and the Bearcats trailed 17-14 at the break. It was their first halftime deficit since the Arkansas game and first at home since Oct. 4, 2019 against Central Florida.
A 10-play drive started the second half with UC regaining the lead on a Charles McClelland 1-yard dash. The drive featured an early Prater cameo at quarterback with a nine-yard run near the endzone. Late in the third quarter, UC failed on a 4th and 1 from the USF 12. The Bulls then turned what could have been an 11-point hole to a three-point advantage when Bohannon hit Weaver for his second score of the day putting USF up 24-21 early in the fourth frame.
On UC's next series Bryant had a seven-yard scramble to get to the USF 43 sliding. Hit on the play, he exited for the medical examination tent sending Prater under center. A pair of McClelland runs got them to the 34-yard line, but a sack by Jatorian Hansford took the Bearcats out of scoring position. Bryant would not return to the game.
With 9:24 remaining, McClelland would ramble 35 yards to again place the Bearcats in front. USF threatened late getting to the UC 30-yard line but Ty Van Fossen and Ja'Von Hick stopped USF's Battie for a loss, giving the Bearcats the ball with a little over five minutes left. McClelland would ice it and the red-clad Bearcats joyously ran to the closed end of Nippert to celebrate with the students.
USF returns to Tampa for their own Homecoming next Saturday against Tulane. The Bulls have been on the road four straight weeks as Hurricane Ian forced them to move last week's game vs. East Carolina to Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton. The Bearcats have a bye weekend and next travel to SMU on Saturday, Oct. 22. The game time has not yet been determined.
NO COREY: After a 106-yard effort against Tulsa. Sophomore running back Corey Kiner did not play due to an injury to his hand.
THREATS SITS A HALF: As a result of a targeting penalty last week vs. Tulsa, starting safety Byron Threats could not play the opening half. That led to the first career start for senior Jacob Dingle. Threats started the second half.
HUGGY: West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins and his 1992 Bearcat Final Four team were introduced in the second quarter of the game on the field. It was the loudest cheer of the day to that point with fans chanting, "Huggy" to the new College Basketball Hall of Famer and his squad from 30 years ago.
CINCINNATI 7 7 7 7 28
USF 10 7 0 7 24
USF - Battie 22-yard run (Shrader kick)
USF - Shrader 22-yard FG
UC - Bryant 28-yard pass to Thompson (Coe kick)
UC - Bryant 14-yard pass to Mardner (Coe kick)
USF - Bohannon 9-yard pass to Weaver (Shrader kick)
UC - McClelland 1-yard run (Coe kick)
USF - Bohannon 16-yard pass to Weaver (Shrader kick)
UC - McClelland 35-yard run (Coe kick)
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats beat South Florida Bulls to extend home win streak
