Ben Bryant was officially announced as the starter yesterday before the Bearcats kicked off against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Ben Bryant ended up beating Evan Prater for the job and had a tough test to begin his 2022 season with the Bearcats. Bryant a guy who sat behind Desmond Ridder for three years finally was given an opportunity to start and take control of the kingdom in Nippert.
Bryant started off his first drive by connecting with multiple receivers. He also used his legs a couple of times on the drive as he led the Bearcats deep into Arkansas territory. The redshirt senior would make a crucial mistake trying to throw the ball on the opposite side of the field as Dwight McGlothern would pick him off and run it all the way back deep into Cincinnati territory setting up the Razorback’s first score. Bryant would continue to struggle in the first half as he overthrew a bunch of his receivers and seemed to be trying to force too much in the first half. This led to the Bearcats trailing at the half and being held scoreless. This was the first time the Bearcats were held scoreless in a half since 2019 against UCF.
Bryant would jump into the second half looking for some revenge. The Bearcats offense would go down the field in 12 plays for 75 yards and get on the board thanks to Corey Kiner. The new starting quarterback stepped up on that drive as he went 5-of-8 for 50 yards and seem to control the offense much better to begin the second half. He completed multiple tough throws to Josh Whyle and Tyler Scott to continue the drive on third down. Continuing his good play the next drive which was arguably his best drive. Bryant would take the Bearcats 71 yards after the Razorbacks scored to get the Bearcats within a touchdown. The impressive part of this drive was the deep ball accuracy of Ben Bryant. He struggled with overthrows early on, but was able to connect with Tyler Scott on a fade route out of bounds for 30 then came back to Nick Mardner over the middle for a deep 35-yard bomb. For the rest of the game made plays on and off, but he also missed some opportunities that everyone who talks to Ben knows he would want back. The Bearcats offense had a lot of mistakes including delay of games, false starts and careless mistakes that ruined big plays and field position. The Bearcats could have 100% won this game today, but the Bearcats outplayed themselves and just couldn’t get enough luck to defeat a really good SEC team on the road. Bryant overall, played okay as he finished 26-of-43 for 325 yards and two touchdowns. The bad part of the game was the turnovers he caused in Arkansas territory as he threw the bad interception and then didn’t feel the pocket collapse in the 4th quarter and fumbled in Arkansas terrority. The bad thing about the fumble is the Bearcats were driving and were 30 yards away from tying the game. The game just did not go the Bearcats’ way, but in the end, Bryant has been given the opportunity to start for this team and will hopefully be able to bounce back at home against Kennesaw State.
Bryant commented after the game saying, “biggest takeaway is just missed opportunities. Obviously, I overthrew a couple that would have been touchdowns. We did a really good job in the 2nd half of coming out and executing better, cleaning things up. This is a learning moment, I think we get a lot better from here.” This quote speaks to me after watching the game because it shows Bryant’s leadership and just how much he understands about the game. He knows the mistakes and will get better. So hang tight Bearcat fans a rare regular-season loss does not derail the season. We will have to see just what Bryant and company do for the rest of the season. The season is young. Did Bryant struggle during the game? Yes. Does he understand that? Yes. Bryant is a veteran guy and will hopefully get better after getting his wet during a very tough SEC atmosphere. Bryant will learn from his mistakes and until next week Bearcat fans let’s just enjoy the ride, be happy Bearcat football is back and ain’t going anywhere for a long time to come.
