The Cincinnati Bearcats (8-2) made a trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to take on the Temple Owls (3-7). The Bearcats came off a huge win at home against ECU on Friday and were looking to set up a huge game next week at home versus Tulane. If the Bearcats were to win this game today the Bearcats would play Tulane at home on Friday for a chance to host the AAC Championship Game for the third year in a row. The Bearcats got some injury news before the game as they found out running back/safety Ethan Wright would not be available and tight end Leonard Taylor would also be out for the contest. Would the Bearcats be able to go on the road and force a winner hosts the championship game next Friday?
The Owls received the ball first and after a quick first down. EJ Warner could not hang on to a snap and fell on it for a loss of 14, leading to a 3 and out. The Bearcats received the ball at mid-field with this mistake and were able to drive down the field. The Bearcats mixed in a lot of runs on their first drive. The drive went for 12 plays and 49 yards. They were stuffed by the Temple defense at the one though which kept the game scoreless. The Owls and Bearcats traded 3-and-out drives as both offenses were struggling in the first. The away team was able to break through though as Ben Bryant connected with Tyler Scott for a 23-yard gain then followed this up with a 42-yard bomb to Tre Tucker. The Bearcats took a commanding 7-0 lead with 1:19 to go in the first. The Blackcats claimed the momentum after a huge forced fumble and recovery by Dontay Corleone set the Bearcats up at the Temple 26. The Bearcats ran the ball down Temple’s throat and the drive was finished off with a 14-yard scamper by Ryan Montgomery. Now all of a sudden holding a 14-0 lead in a 2-minute span. The defense came to play in the first half as a couple of impressive plays from Ja’von Hicks and Eric Phillips set up another punt from Temple. The Owls had a very short punt that set the Bearcats up at Temple 38 with a chance to bury the Owls early. The Bearcats drove down the field 28 yards, but the Bearcats drive stalled in the red zone. Extending their lead to 17 after a 28-yard field goal from Ryan Coe. This was a huge win for the Owls and kept them in this game in the first half. Temple would keep the momentum from the big stop with a 6-play 50-yard drive that led to a long 43-yard field goal. This cut the lead 17-3 midway through the 2nd quarter. The Bearcats would go three and out on the pursuing drive that saw Bryant limp off after a third-down sack with an ankle injury. The Owls would start driving, but Warner threw a pass over his target and Jacob Dingle made an exceptional play to get the interception. Evan Prater would come in for the next drive with Bryant in the medical tent. The Bearcats would go three and out to give the Owls the ball right back. Both teams would get nothing going before halftime. The score remained 17-3 at the half. The Bearcats would able to control the run game only allowing 7 yards on the ground and a total of 106 yards in the first half. The Bearcats main focus was injuries in the first half losing Ben Bryant and Arquon Bush before the half ended. The main question heading into the second half would be who would be the Bearcats quarterback Ben Bryant or Evan Prater? Would they be able to keep the lead and get the Bearcats a huge win on the road?
