Cincinnati Bearcats beat Temple Owls, keep AAC title hopes alive
PHILADELPHIA – All Ben Bryant could do was watch from the sideline while resting on a pair of crutches with his right foot in a boot.
After the University of Cincinnati senior quarterback suffered a foot injury in the first half, sophomore backup Evan Prater came in and finished off a 23-3 win over Temple Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.
Prater completed 12 of 17 passes for 127 yards and rushed for another 24 yards in the relief effort.
"I talked to all the coaching staff and they said, 'We're going to need you at some point in time,' and these moments are showing up," Prater said. "I'm just trying to stay ready for them. That's one of the things I didn't want to waver. I always come in with a smile on my face, always upbeat, happy and preparing like I am the starting the quarterback. Having this opportunity today to showcase that I can do it just means a lot to me and to everybody around me for sure."
While Prater (Wyoming HIgh School) did enough to secure the victory, it was the Bearcats defense that stole the show. The unit allowed just 202 yards on the day, including 35 yards on the ground. Cincinnati (9-2, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) also forced four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles).
"I feel like the key was just having a lot of energy, going out there with the energy that we brought to the stadium," said sophomore linebacker Jaheim Thomas (Princeton HIgh School), who finished with six tackles, including a team-high two tackles for loss. "I feel like having the energy, having guys make plays and having the right opportunities helped us create those turnovers."
Temple (3-8, 1-6) found itself in a second-and-24 hole early after a botched snap on the first play of the day. Following a punt by the Owls on their opening drive, the Cincinnati offense stalled at the goal line on its first possession. The Bearcats went 49 yards on 12 plays but failed to cross the goal line after running eight plays inside the Temple 15-yard line. Running backs Corey Kiner and Ryan Montgomery were both stuffed at the 1.
Bryant and the Cincinnati offense went three-and-out on their next drive.
As Temple’s offensive struggles continued, Cincinnati finally found its footing on its third drive. After linking up with junior wide receiver Tyler Scott on a 23-yard gain, Bryant found senior wide receiver Tre Tucker for a 42-yard score with 1:19 to play in the opening frame.
The Owls then fumbled on their ensuing drive, giving the Bearcats the ball at the Temple 26. Cincinnati freshman defensive tackle Dontay Corleone (Colerain High School) handled the strip and the fumble recovery on the play.
The Bearcats took advantage of the short field with a 14-yard rushing touchdown by senior running back Ryan Montgomery to give UC the 14-0 lead at the start of the second quarter.
Junior kicker Ryan Coe pushed Cincinnati ahead 17-0 with a 28-yard field goal with 9:55 to play before halftime.
Temple answered with a field goal of its own – a 43-yarder – at the 8:24 mark.
Bryant was sacked on third-and-10 on the next drive and limped off the field and into the medical tent. After senior safety Jacob Dingle, who started for sophomore Bryan Threats (ejected for targeting in the second half of last week’s win over East Carolina) intercepted a pass deep in Bearcats territory, Prater (Wyoming High School) took over for Bryant with 5:59 remaining in the first half.
Prater, in his two first-half series, completed both of his passes for 31 yards, ran for an 8-yard gain but was sacked twice and failed to extend the Bearcats’ 17-3 lead.
After an evaluation by Cincinnati’s medical staff, Bryant was ruled out for the second half.
"At first, they said, hey, we're going to tape him up. Maybe he'll be able to go back in," UC coach Luke Fickell said. "And then they said, I don't know. Let's hold on this thing and see what it looks like at halftime. And then at halftime, we just felt like hey, this is an opportunity. I don't know if they could tell exactly what was wrong with him."
Fickell turned to Prater, and the highest-rated recruit in program history was ready.
"They just came in and they were just like, 'All right, it's your time. Let's go.' And I was like, 'All right, let's do it,'" Prater said.
The Bearcats got the ball first in the second half, and started slowly with Prater leading the charge. Cincinnati managed just 20 yards on Prater’s first drive after intermission. Prater didn’t do much better on his next drive, but the Bearcats were able to scrape together enough yardage to secure a 37-yard field goal by Coe and push their lead to 20-3 at the 7:22 mark in the third.
"It's definitely going to take some time," said Prater, who was sacked four times in the win. "It was pretty cold out there too. So getting warmed up a little bit, getting in there, getting a feel for the game. After a couple possessions, I started to feel real confident, real good about myself and what everybody was doing around me."
Threats, who started the second half, intercepted Temple quarterback E.J. Warner in the end zone with 5:09 left in the period to halt the Owls’ attempt at its first touchdown of the day.
Prater then led a 12-play, 74-yard drive that nearly ended with Prater tossing a score to Montgomery but an illegal-touching penalty nullified the play. The Bearcats settled for a 24-yard field goal by Coe to push ahead 23-3 with 14:40 left.
Senior linebacker Ty Van Fossen then forced a fumble and junior defensive end Noah Potter recovered the loose ball to start the Cincinnati offense at its own 28-yard line with 8:00 remaining.
Look ahead
Cincinnati, which is No. 25 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, will host No. 21 Tulane (9-2, 6-1) at noon on Friday at Nippert Stadium. Since No. 20 Central Florida fell to Navy 17-14 earlier in the day Saturday, the Bearcats now find themselves in the driver's seat.
The two-time defending AAC champions will clinch a spot in their fourth straight AAC championship game with a win against Tulane. If Cincinnati beats the Green Wave, the AAC title game will be at Nippert for the third straight year.
"What more can we ask for?" Fickell said. "We've had a lot of ups and downs. We've battled through a lot of things. We're going into the last week with an opportunity to control our own destiny."
Injury report
Graduate tight end Leonard Taylor did not play due to an undisclosed injury. Sophomore Payten Singletary started in his place (alongside senior tight end Josh Whyle, who had seven catches for 70 yards). Freshman safety Armorion Smith and sophomore offensive lineman Mao Glynn II (Walnut Hills High School) both left the game in the first half with injuries and did not return.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: College football week 12 scores: Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Temple Owls
