Today’s matchup between the No. 22 Army Black Knights and the No. 14 Cincinnati Bearcats was a battle of willpower, the ability to forget and forge ahead.
The Bearcats ran onto the field with energy and passion today, despite the thin crowd due to Covid restrictions and overcast weather. However, things at the start did not go the Bearcats way. The offense struggled through the first quarter, with a fumble from Desmond Ridder resulting in an Army touchdown and followed by an interception for Army shortly after. There were many missed opportunities for the Bearcats in the first quarter with only six completed passes and five net rushing yards. The saving grace was the Bearcat defense who held strong and steady against the Army rush game. Cincinnati defense was able to hold the offense scoreless until the fourth quarter where they added a field goal to their earlier defensive score. Army had their struggles as well as several penalties resulting in 87 lost yards. The Bearcats ability to hold off Army as they attempted to bully through for 3rd and 4th down conversions allowed the offense to bounce back and make plays.
Ridder was able to find his stride later on and had success with both Michael Young and Jayshon Jackson down the field who totaled for 135 yards on the day. Today’s offensive success was found through receivers, as the tight ends were underutilized in comparison to last weeks matchup with Austin Peay. The Bearcats rushing efforts was minimal as well as they finished with just 69 rushing yards, led by Jerome Ford who had a touchdown and 34 yards on the day.
The Bearcats gained momentum and excitement through blocked punts and interceptions; however they were unable to capitalize in those moments. Despite shortcomings on the offensive end, Bearcats defense continued to show true grit and strength.
The exclamation point of todays win was brought courtesy of Gerrid Doaks, who had previously had a quiet game. His 60-yard touchdown reception put the Bearcats two scores out of reach from Army with just under 7 minutes left.
To finish out the game, Cincinnati ran the ball until they punted,and Army made efforts to score one last time to lessen the lead, but fell short leaving the final score to be 24-10 Bearcats win.
Next week the Bearcats will host USF, making it their third home game straight to start the season. There will still be no fans allowed with only limited family present due to Covid. USF had to postpone their game against FAU due to Covid-19 complications and will continue to monitor, however the game against Cincinnati is still set to take place October 3rd.
