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By Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI - Playing against a Miami (Fla.) team that's known for its abundant speed, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats discovered that the key to winning was to slow down.
The Bearcats gained 446 yards and received another standout performance from redshirt freshman Hayden Moore, who made his first career start in place of the injured Gunner Kiel, but it was the defense that was most instrumental in UC's 34-23 victory over Miami (Fla.) on Thursday night before a national television audience on ESPN and a sellout crowd of 40,101, the first since the Nippert Stadium renovation and the largest on-campus crowd in UC history.
"We probably had 12 missed tackles (in the first half) just like we've been watching the last few weeks," said UC coach Tommy Tuberville. "At halftime (defensive coordinator) Steve Clinkscale got the defense together and told them to just slow down. We try to play too fast sometimes."
Armed with that directive, the defense held Miami to three points in the second half to help produce a victory that was badly needed for a UC team looking to put its season back on the right path after a disappointing start.
"We knew that we were already 2-2 and we can't any more losses," said wide receiver Shaq Washington, who caught eight passes for 106 yards and returned a punt a career-high 65 yards. "We all know that we're supposed to be winning. We've just got to take care of the smaller things and we can do it."
The Bearcats, who led by seven at halftime, put together a five-play, 81-yard touchdown drive to put the game away after Miami pulled within four with 8:59 left.
UC (3-2) has now won 28 straight non-conference games at Nippert, a streak that began with a 30-24 win over Temple in three overtimes on Sept. 20, 2003. Miami (4-1) saw an 11-game winning streak against UC come to an end. It was UC's first win over the Hurricanes since 1947.
The Bearcats at one point had six freshmen on defense as Tuberville went with speed and athleticism over experience. If Miami held an edge in that department, it was difficult to discern.
"We've been trying to build speed," Tuberville said. "That's all we've been recruiting, athletes and speed. We just decided a couple of weeks ago enough's enough. We've got to put athletes out there. If they make mistakes, they make them, but usually they can make up for them because of the speed and quickness that they have."
Moore, who broke the school record for passing yards in a game last week with 557, found the Miami defense more difficult to penetrate, but he still played well, completing 22 of 33 passes for 279 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in his first career start. He also ran for one touchdown.
Moore conceded that the Miami defense made life tough for him, especially in the third quarter when the Bearcats were limited to just five yards and one first down after they had taken a 27-20 halftime lead and rolled up 300 yards of total offense.
"Last week there was a lot of passing," Moore said. "This week they played a defense that really kind of limited us."
The Hurricanes increased the pressure on Moore in the third quarter with the apparent hope that he would panic. But Moore kept his composure.
"They turned the heat up on him a little bit," Tuberville said, "but he didn't turn the ball over. My last words to him going out for the second half were you don't have to win this game. Let somebody else do it."
What had been an offensive display by both teams in the first half turned into a defensive struggle in the second. The UC defense shut out Miami from the 11:26 mark of the second quarter until the 8:59 mark of the fourth quarter.
"We really just settled down and got used to their speed," said linebacker Eric Wilson. "Those guys pretty much recruit pure speed out of Miami."
But the Miami defense was stout, too. With just under a minute left in the third quarter, the Bearcats had minus-2 yards and had produced only one first down during the period. Early in the fourth quarter, Miami drove from its own 11-yard line to the UC 10 but was stopped short on third-and-six. Michael Badgley kicked a 26-yard field goal to cut UC's lead to 27-23.
Then it was time for the UC offense to come alive. The Bearcats took over on their own 19 after the Miami kickoff and Moore connected with Mekale McKay on a 52-yard pass to the Miami 22. Three plays later, Moore threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Cogswell that put UC ahead, 34-23, with 6:54 remaining.
Miami responded by driving to the UC 5-yard line, but on fourth-and-goal, quarterback Brad Kaaya's pass to tight end Standish Dobard was broken up in the end zone by UC's Tyrell Gilbert with 4:41 to go. Kaaya saw his streak of 16 straight games with a touchdown pass come to an end.
The Bearcats, who played without running back Mike Boone, wide receivers Chris Moore and Johnny Holton, as well as Kiel, rushed for 167 yards, getting 90 yards on 15 carries from Tion Green and 80 yards on 11 carries with one touchdown from Hosey Williams.
The kicking game came up big, too. Place kicker Andrew Gantz kicked two field goals, including one from 51 yards, which was his career high, and punter Sam Geraci averaged 46 yards on six punts.
The Bearcats are off next week before they resume play on Oct. 16 at BYU. At this point, it's anybody's guess who the UC starting quarterback will be for that game, but Tuberville said Moore has earned the chance to compete for the starting job.
"He grew up a lot tonight," Tuberville said. "I saw his eyes tonight. He was a little bit nervous. He knew what he was about to face, but he held in there good. They'll both compete. You've got to do that. I want both of them to be out there helping each other but competing against each other. It's gonna be a friendly competition and let the best man go. But I'll tell you, in two games Hayden had done a real good job."
Bill Koch covered UC Athletics for 27 years - 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer - before joining the staff of GoBEARCATS.com in January, 2015 as featured columnist. Follow him on Twitter @bkoch.