Today the No. 8/10 Cincinnati Bearcats kicked off their highly anticipated season as they welcomed rival Miami RedHawks to Nippert stadium for the first time since 2019. The Bearcats were looking to make it 15 wins in a row versus the RedHawks and keep the Victory Bell in Clifton. The Bearcats did that, as they came out and dominated the RedHawks from start to finish. The Bearcats had fans back in the stadium for the first time since 2019 and they didn’t disappoint as the energy. The announced attendance was 37,798 for today’s opener.
The Bearcats came out firing as we have talked about all offseason and how quarterback Desmond Ridder has been connecting with his receivers and had a great camp. Today the senior quarterback showed that early as he connected with sophomore Tyler Scott on the second play of the game for an 81 yard touchdown pass. This throw was an absolute dime to hit Scott in the open field. This was Scott’s first touchdown reception as a Bearcat and man was it a big one. The Bearcats didn’t stop there as they were just getting started. Ridder settled in and continued to find his receivers. On The second drive he connected with Ryan Montgomery for a 8 yard touchdown after a big 50 yard run by Jerome Ford set up the Bearcats with great field position. Ridder’s first two drives of his senior campaign was phenomenal as he went 4-of-5, 104 yards and two touchdowns. They didn’t stop there though as Ridder connected with his guy Josh Whyle for a 23 yard touchdown to give the Bearcats a big 21-0 lead over the RedHawks early. The Bearcats kept their foot on the gas as this scary good defense was creating a lot of problems for Miami, as Jerome followed suit when he rushed for his first touchdown run of the season, a 21 yard run right down the RedHawks defense.
The offense looked phenomenal in their first game back and many guys played a big role. The younger guys like Tyler Scott, Jadon Thompson and Ryan Montgomery all had big days. The offense was clicking on all cylinders and it was an amazing sight to see at Nippert Stadium. We have seen Ridder work all offseason on many things ahead of his senior season, the main thing was to focus on the deep ball accuracy and I will say this that first throw down the field to Scott was an absolute beauty. The offense is looking to be very solid as Ridder has a group of guys he can count on as we saw today. Jerome Ford had a monster day today where we saw what the Alabama transfer can do for the Bearcats offense. Ford broke off a 50 yard run early in the first quarter to set up the Bearcats for great field position early on the 2nd drive. This offense is special, so deep on all aspects and can cause a lot of problems.
One thing I will hit on the offensive side is the depth up front in the offensive line. The Bearcats saw center Jake Renfro leave late in the 2nd quarter due to injury, but senior Vinny McConnell stepped in and did a fantastic job. Something to take note on is John Williams the redshirt freshman started on the line for the Bearcats, but on the second drive they rotated and let James Tunstall start the second drive. The Bearcats can throw about 9-10 different guys onto the line like we saw at camp, we saw guys like Metz, Tunstall, Williams and few others get thrown around and slotted in with different people but the offensive line looked phenomenal for the Bearcats as they did a great job creating holes for Ford and Ridder, but an even better job at protecting Ridder, allowing him the time to find his open receivers and connect on all aspects of the game.
Miami had no answer as the Bearcats defense was giving them a lot of trouble, guys like Coby Bryant, Sauce Gardner Joel Dublanko, Darrian Beavers, Deshawn Pace, Ty Van Fossen, Jowon Briggs, they were all making plays for the Bearcats as they held AJ Mayer of the Redhawks to only 109 yards on 9-of-28 passing. The Bearcats did though lose their streak of going 20 straight games with a turnover which was the longest in the FBS, but that was alright as the Bearcats are still settling in under new defensive coordinator Mike Tressel. The Bearcats defense though on the other hand will cause a lot of problems this year as they are returning almost 3/4ths of their defense from 2020. This defense is just getting started and will be a shining factor to this teams success this season. The Bearcats have so much talent on defense, but one guy to keep an eye on as we have been saying all camp and is set to have a big season is Deshawn Pace, Pace led the team in tackles today where he recorded 8 tackles versus his brother Ivan and the Miami RedHawks.
Stat leaders for the Bearcats today as as followed.
Desmond Ridder went, 20-of-25, 295 yards, four touchdowns in the air, Ridder also had a 25 yard touchdown run so five total touchdowns on the day. Jerome Ford had 12 carries for 121 yards , including a 50 yard run, and one touchdown. Jadon Thompson was the leading receiver for the Bearcats as he hauled in four catches for 79 yards, Tyler Scott had one catch and it was his 81 yard touchdown catch to open the game, Josh Whyle also had a big game as he had two catches for 32 yards with one touchdown. Evan Prater also had a 14 yard touchdown run late in the game where he flipped over Miami Defenders for the score to solidify the Bearcats 49-14 victory. On the defensive aspect Deshawn Pace led the team in tackles with eight followed by Jowon Briggs with six, Joel Dublanko also had six tackles but he also had three quarterback hits and gave AJ Mayer and the RedHawks a lot of problems.
The Bearcats will be back in action next Saturday September 11th when the welcome Murray State to Nippert Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm and the Bearcats will look to continue their home winning streak and run to a historic 2021 season.
