The Cincinnati Bearcats and the Miami RedHawks met for the 124th time this afternoon in historic Nippert Stadium for the Battle of the Victory Bell. Miami still leads the all-time record 59-58-7, but the Bearcats have won the last 13 straight games and make it 14 with this one. The Battle for the Victory Bell is the longest, non-conference, rivalry in college football. The Bearcats were looking to bounce back from their 42-0 loss to fifth ranked Ohio State and head into their first bye week with a win.
The first quarter had a slow start with both teams going 3-and-out on their first drives. Miami scored first in the game with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Tyre Shelton. The RedHawks drive was kept alive by a pass interference call on third down, allowing them to score and make it 7-0. The Bearcats got the ball back and had another 3-and-out situation giving the ball back to Miami. The RedHawks marched down the field and scored a field goal, putting them up 10-0. That would end up being the final score of the first quarter, but the Bearcats ended the quarter driving down the field.
The Bearcats open the second quarter continuing that drive and after going 11 plays and 77 yards, the Bearcats put their first points on the board off an 8-yard rushing touchdown from Michael Warren II. The RedHawks got the ball back and Bryan Wright got a sack causing a fumble that was recovered by Myjai Sanders. The Bearcats do not capitalize on that turnover and the next two drives for each team ended in punts. The Bearcats start their final drive of the half with just a little over 2 minutes left. To keep the drive alive, the Bearcats went for it on 4th-and-6 and converted with an 11-yard pass to Rashad Medaris. They continued down the field and scored a touchdown on a wildcat formation with Ridder in the slot and Warren II in shotgun. Warren ran the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown. Making the score 14-10, Bearcats on top. This would be the final score of the first half.
The Bearcats got the ball to start the second half and picked up right where they left off in the first half. They marched down the field and Ridder threw a 27-yard touchdown to Josiah Deguara, adding to the Bearcats score, making it 21-10. Miami had to punt on the next driving giving the ball back to the Bearcats again. After three plays Ridder got intercepted by Travion Banks, giving Miami the ball back. Miami does not capitalize on their turnover. They made the choice to go for it on 4th-and-7 and failed to convert, so the Bearcats got the ball back with no harm done. This time the Bearcats do capitalize on the turnover and score on a Ridder 51-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Geddis putting the Bearcats up 28-10. Miami put some points on the board with their next drive. They went 7 plays, 49 yards, to score a field goal, making the score 28-13. The Bearcats don’t waste any time on the next drive scoring in just 47 seconds. Warren II ran 73 yards all the way to the house, adding 7 more to make the third quarter total 35-13.
The fourth quarter was very quiet for both sides. It started off with two Miami punts and one Cincinnati punt. The following drive the Bearcats went for it on 4th-and-goal and did not convert, turning the ball over on downs. Miami punted on the following drive giving the Bearcats the ball back to run the clock out. The Bearcats won the game with a final score of 35-13. Ridder was 14-of-30, with 186 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Warren II had 12 carries for 113 yards, five catches for 45 yards, and had three rushing touchdowns. The Bearcats had 420 total yards, 186 passing, and 234 rushing.
After the game the first thing Fickell said was, “The most important thing is a win… wins are not easy to come by.” Then he went on to say that he was really proud of how the guys came out after halftime and were able to roll off 18 unanswered points. One of the points that was brought up once again was clean play. “I’ve said it over and over again… it’s just something we’ve got to do a better job at… we’re an aggressive team, I don’t want to be a passive team… I think right now they don’t understand the difference from playing smart and playing aggressive.” Fickell said that the team’s character really showed today, after their slow start they battled back and came alive with some help from a few voices in the locker room. “Mike Warren and Bryan Wright stepped up for us, both sides of the ball, and when they can come together you get that spark and positive leadership.” Fickell then went on to say that the bottom line in a rivalry game is respect. “It’s about the respect you have for your opponent and you got to understand it lasts for a long time, these are the things you’ll talk about regardless where you come from.”
Cincinnati is now 2-1 overall, heading into the bye week.
1 thought on “The Victory Bell Stays in Cincinnati, Bearcats handle RedHawks 35-13”