The Cincinnati Bearcats suited up on a rainy Saturday night to take on the Temple Owls for their last regular season game at home. It was also Senior Night for the 16 seniors on this Bearcat football team. Temple has a record of 7-3 and are 4-2 in conference play. After Cincinnati’s last-minute win last week, the Bearcats are 9-1 overall and undefeated in conference play. Last year, Temple beat UC 24-17 in overtime. The Bearcats were looking to avenge last year’s heartbreaking loss to Temple and a win would guarantee them a spot in the AAC championship game.
The Bearcats won the toss and chose to receive the ball in the second half, so the Owls started with the first drive of the game. The Owls marched down the field and made it to the Cincinnati 30 and went for it on 4thdown and couldn’t convert, so the defense got the stop and didn’t allow any points. The Bearcats didn’t do anything on their first drive. They ran 3 plays for -6 yards. This starts the back and forth of 3-and-outs by both teams. The three drives resulted in 3-and-outs. On the next drive the Bearcats finally get some offense going and the first quarter ends in the middle of their drive, making the first quarter score 0-0.
The second quarter starts with a continuation of the Bearcat’s drive and after 16 plays for 53-yards, the Bearcats get on the board first with a 36-yard field goal by Sam Crosa. The next drive the Bearcat defense stands strong again and forces another Temple 3-and-out, making it their third in a row of the game. The Temple defense does the same and forces a Bearcat 3-and-out on the next drive. Temple doesn’t do anything on their next drive and gives the ball back to Cincinnati and on the second play Desmond Ridder throws an interception on the Temple 44-yard line, giving Temple the ball right back. Temple doesn’t capitalize on the turnover and ends up giving UC the ball back after 6 plays for 8-yards. The Bearcats couldn’t do anything on offense again and gave Temple the ball back with under 2 minutes to go in the first half. They didn’t go anywhere and had to punt, but the Temple punter Adam Berry’s knee touched the ground and they ruled him down at the 6-yard line. The Bearcats got the ball there and failed to get into the endzone, but Sam Crosa made another field goal from 37-yards out, making the final score of the first half 6-0 Bearcats.
The Bearcats got the ball to start the second half and started from their own 35, after the kickoff went out-of-bounds. They went 9 plays for 65 yards and capped it off with a 13-yard rushing touchdown by Michael Warren II, putting the Bearcats up 13-0 early in the third quarter. Temple then marched 55-yards down the field, setting them up for a field goal opportunity, but missed wide right. UC got the ball back on their own 20-yard line. UC didn’t go far and ended up having to punt to ball back to Temple. Temple went 7 plays to the Cincinnati 21 and went for it on 4thand 1 and was stopped short by Perry Young, giving the Bearcats the ball back. The Bearcats started their drive at the end of the third quarter, and the final score of the third quarter was 13-0 Bearcats.
The fourth quarter started with the end of their drive and punted the ball back to Temple. Temple went 10 plays, for 73-yards and ended their drive with a 7 yard rushing touchdown, but the extra point was blocked by Lorenz Metz and returned by Coby Bryant, making the score 15-6 Bearcats. After scoring two points, the Bearcats got the ball back and the Temple defense forced a 3-and-out. Temple went 7 plays for 65 yards ending their drive with a touchdown, making the score 15-13 Bearcats, with about 7 minutes left in the game. The Bearcats got the ball on their 35-yard line because another kickoff was out of bounds. The Bearcats march down the field with under 4 minutes to go in the game, they failed to score any points and gave Temple the ball back. Temple coverts on a 4th-and 1, but on the next play Darrick Forrest intercepts the ball and the Bearcats take a knee and get the win. The final score was 15-13 and with the win the Bearcats are the AAC East champions and have a spot in the championship game.
The final stats of the game were; Ridder 9-25, 62 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Warren had 24 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown. Rashad Medaris two catches for 19 yards. UC had 210 total yards, 148 on the ground, and 62 in the air.
