TicketsOct. 22, 2006
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CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The University of Cincinnati's defense outscored USF and nearly the Bearcats offensive attack to spark UC to a 23-6 win over USF before a Sunday Night Showdown audience on ESPN.
The victory was Cincinnati's first in BIG EAST Conference play in three starts and evened the Bearcats' overall ledger at 4-4. USF fell to 5-3 and 1-2.
"The defense did a great job," stated UC head coach Mark Dantonio in almost an understatement. "I wish we could have kept (USF) out of the end zone on that last series but we'll take it. I thought we tackled very well on the perimeter. We got pressure on the quarterback. We knocked balls loose. We made pass breakups. We stopped the run. We played very well."
Indeed, the Bearcats defenders scored the first nine points of the game and essentially had the contest well in hand by the time the offense put a pair of touchdowns on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter.
Following a well-placed 33-yard punt by Brian Steel that pinned USF on its own 2, Trevor Anderson and Kevin McCullough combined to collar Bulls running back Benjamin Williams in the end zone for a safety at the 5:39 mark of the first quarter.
It appeared that the Bearcats might make that baseball score hold up for the final tally. UC held USF, which entered ranked No. 32 nationally in rushing offense and No. 35 in total offense, to a mere 78 yards on the ground and 125 in total offense through three quarters of play. The Bulls managed just three first downs in the first half.
USF mounted its lone scoring threat on its first possession of the third quarter, marching to the UC 12. Dominic Ross snuffed out the drive with an interception on the UC 8. It was Ross's sixth career interception and third of which ended a scoring drive inside the 10.
Cincinnati, which had modest success in moving the ball, drove to the USF 30 but Kevin Lovell was short on a 47-yard field goal try. It was the second miss of the evening for Lovell, who pulled a 32-yard try to the right at the close of the first half.
McCullough Scores Another Defensive TD
With the failed scoring chances mounting, it seemed that the defense would have to come up with any insurance points, and it did. Anderson stripped the ball from USF wideout Taurus Johnson and McCullough scooped up the loose ball and raced 39 yards for a touchdown. It was the second TD on a fumble return by the senior linebacker, who tallied the game-winning points in last season's victory at Syracuse.
A failed fake punt attempt by USF early in the fourth quarter gave UC the ball on the USF 27. Two plays later, Dustin Grutza connected with Brent Celek for an apparent 17-yard touchdown pass. Though the score was overturned by the replay officials, the catch gave Celek the UC career record for receptions by a tight end, 82.
Greg Moore scored from the 1 on the next play to give UC a 16-0 lead. The Bearcats added another touchdown with 2:47 to play when, after getting the ball on downs, Butler Benton burst up the middle for a 27-yard score. In the game's only downside for UC, Benton was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, which allowed USF to start its final series on its 39. The Bulls managed to avert the shutout with an 11-yard TD pass, Pat Julmiste to Amp Hill, with 50 seconds to play.
"The guys played hard," Dantonio observed. "We knew we had to do that. South Florida has been a second half team all year long. Our guys came out and played very well the second half."
UC held USF to 219 yards total offense, matching a season best for the Bearcats. Cincinnati is likely to improve its No. 20 national ranking in rushing defense after limiting USF to 92 yards. USF is the fifth team that UC has held to fewer than 100 yards rushing.
Cincinnati amassed a modest 296 yards in total offense. Moore rushed for 66 yards in 12 carries to lead a balanced ground attack that totaled 191 yards. Grutza completed 11-of-18 passes for 105 yards.
The Bearcats have a short week to get ready for Saturday's Homecoming battle with Syracuse. They also have some motivation.
"We're on our bowl march," explained Dantonio. "I keep telling our guys that when you win, the window gets a little bigger. The window got a little bigger for us tonight. We've got to win two out of four. We have another critical game next week when Syracuse comes to town for Homecoming. We need to be 5-4 going into our break week."