The Bearcats would get the ball to start the second half and they would take off from the gates. Ridder connected with Tyler Scott for a 15-yard catch before he hit Pierce for a 40-yard bomb to set up a 12-yard touchdown throw right back to Pierce. Cincinnati would take a 21-12 lead after that touchdown and they would be cooking to start off the half. The Bearcats defense would continue the momentum for the second half forcing a huge turnover on downs after a 4th and 1 stop on the Tulsa 44 yard line. This would set up great field position for Cincinnati’s offense. Cincinnati would take advantage as Ridder would throw a strike to Young, Jr. and Cincinnati would increase their lead 28-12 with 9 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter. The Bearcats defense would get carved up by the run again, but late in Tulsa’s drive Coby Bryant would force a fumble and Ja’von Hicks would pick up and return it to the Cincinnati 21. When the defense needed a play the top corners have made the plays. This time it was Bryant who changed the momentum of the game and gave Cincinnati a much-needed turnover in a key moment of the game. The Bearcats would go down the field and start to drive, but Josh Whyle would fumble in Tulsa territory and the drive would stall.
In the fourth quarter Tulsa would drive after the fumble and would be able to line up for a field goal attempt. Tulsa would miss the 50 yard wide left and Cincinnati would take over at their own 32 yard line. Cincinnati would go 3 and out and Tulsa would drive down the field again to put them in prime position to get back in the game. Davis Brin would find Santana Juan Carlos for a 21 yard touchdown and Tulsa would get the two point conversion to make this a 28-20 game. Cincinnati would give the ball back to Tulsa and things would get interesting. Tulsa would drive down inside the red zone and would get to the Cincinnati 6 yard line with a 4th and 5 incoming. Cincinnati’s Deshawn Pace would make the tackle at the two and it seemed like everything was wrapped up. But unfortunately that was not the case as Ridder would take a quarterback sneak and fumble to give Tulsa the ball back inside the Cincinnati 5 yard line with a chance to tie the game late. Cincinnati’s defense would do what it does normally do and stop 3 straight run attempts. On 4th and goal Darrian Beavers came up and laid the hit to force the fumble at the 1/2 yard line and Cincinnati would recover to get out here with a 28-20 win in Nippert.
Relive the biggest moments from today's 28-20 #UCHomecoming victory over Tulsa, presented by @StacyHeatingAir.#Bearcats pic.twitter.com/zSLkqtXXsO
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) November 7, 2021
The stats for today’s game:
Desmond Ridder: 15-of-23 passing for 274 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, 12 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown
Alec Pierce: five catches for 113 yards and a touchdown
Jerome Ford: seven carries for 24 yards and a touchdown, two catches for 67 yards
Joel Dublanko: 17 tackles (9 Solo) 1.0 tackles for loss
Bryan Cook: 14 tackles (8 Solo) 1.0 tackles for loss and two pass break ups
Darrian Beavers: 10 tackles (4 Solo)
The Bearcats improved to 9-0 (5-0) on the year and hopefully helped their playoff chances with a big win at home. Cincinnati will be back on the road on Friday as they head to South Florida to take on the Bulls.
