Cincinnati welcomed Baylor into Nippert Stadium for the first time as a Big 12 member. Cincinnati and Baylor both came into he game 2-4, who would get their 3rd win? Cincinnati hasn’t won in Big 12 play and is currently riding a four game losing streak.
Cincinnati won the toss and after a 38 yard run by Corey Kiner was on the Baylor side of the field, Emory Jones hit Braden Smith on 4th and 4 to keep the drive alive, but on 4th and 1, Jones and Kiner fumble on the mesh point it gave Baylor the ball. The defense forced a punt after a few nice plays by Deshawn Pace. Baylor stuck first with a 54 yard field goal by Isaiah Hankins to a take a 3-0 lead with 5:55 left in the first quarter. To start the second quarter Jones hit Xzavier Henderson for a 4 yard touchdown to give Cincinnati a 7-3 lead. Next drive Baylor moved the ball with ease, Blake Shapen hit Ketron Jackson, Jr. for a 41 yard playing beating Justin Harris. Baylor capped the drive off with a 3 yard Shapen touchdown run to take a 10-7 lead. During the kickoff, Smith fumbled the kickoff which was returned for a touchdown to give Baylor a 17-7 lead. Hankins knocked down another field goal this time from 43 yards to give Baylor a 20-7 lead. Myles Montgomery made a nice move to score from 38 yards out to cut the lead down to 20-14, it was a huge score in the second quarter. The defense stood up with a play by Dontay Corleone and Jowon Briggs, on 4th down Bryon Threats laid the boom on Shapen to force a turnover on downs which put Cincinnati in a good spot with 3:10 left in the 2nd quarter. Baylor forced a three and out, after back to back sacks. Can Cincinnati stop Baylor from scoring? Cincinnati goes into the locker room down 20-14.
They have outgained Baylor 218 yards to 188, they’ve rushed for 164 yards, but have only thrown for 54 yards. Kiner has 81 yards and Montgomery has 67 yards.
Baylor came out the locker room and hit Cincinnati with a quick scoring drive that was capped off by a Jake Roberts 6 yard touchdown from Shapen. The play of the drive was Shapen hitting Jackson, Jr. for a 55 yard pass beating Jordan Young and Bryon Threats. Baylor didn’t get the 2 point conversion so Cincinnati is now down 26-14. Can they make this a game? Or will Baylor hand them their fifth loss in a row? Kiner had a nice 40 yard run to get the ball into Baylor territory. The drive stalled after Jones missed a throw on 4th and 3, Cincinnati was a good spot to take a field goal shot. Would Cincinnati not taking the points twice come back to burn them? Hankins knocked down a 46 yard field goal to give Baylor a 29-14 lead. Myles Montgomery scored from 1 yard out to cut the lead down to 8 points, 29-21. Justin Wodtly made a big play to force an intentional grounding on third down, but Hankins knocked down a 43 yard field goal to give Baylor a 32-21 lead. Montgomery had a great 35 yard run, followed by a 29 yard touchdown from Jones to Henderson and Jones hit Evan Prater scored on two point conversion to cut the lead to 32-29 with 5:03 left in the fourth quarter. The defense held tough forcing a punt with 2:29 left, but after a few nice plays the referees held their flags on two plays in a row, one to Smith and the other to Metayer which iced the game for Cincinnati.
They ended up losing 32-29, for their fifth loss in a row and their fourth loss in a row at Nippert Stadium under the new coaching regime.
Kiner finished with 129 yards, Montgomery finished with a career high 103 yards and two touchdowns. Henderson finished with eight catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Metayer finished with five catches for 50 yards. Pace finished with 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Baylor wide receiver Ketron Jackson, Jr. had five catches for 130 yards and had multiple big plays that led to touchdowns.
This was the third game of the five game losing streak where they outgained their opponent (450-396), but yards haven’t equaled wins as self inflicted wounds have burnt them time after time.
Now Cincinnati is 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the Big 12, they will face Oklahoma State next Saturday at 8 pm ET on the road.
