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By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The life of a kicker is frequently filled with ups and downs, but rarely has a kicker had a more topsy-turvy game than the University of Cincinnati's Andrew Gantz had Saturday.
Gantz missed an extra point, kicked a 50-yard field goal, missed a 44-yard field goal that would have broken a 16-16 tie late in the fourth quarter, then kicked the game-winner from 42 yards on the last play of the Bearcats' 19-16 victory over East Carolina before 40,743 fans at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in the final regular-season game of 2015.
"I knew I was going to make it," Gantz said. "I don't think I've ever missed twice in a row in my entire college career, knock on wood. I try to go out there and put everything right down the middle of the pipes and it went through on that one."
UC (7-5 overall, 4-4 in the American Athletic Conference) will learn next Sunday which bowl game it will participate in. East Carolina (5-7, 3-5) failed to become bowl eligible and saw its season come to an end.
The victory was quite a turnaround after the Bearcats had suffered a 65-27 loss at South Florida a week ago, a defeat so humbling it compelled head coach Tommy Tuberville to apologize to UC fans earlier in the week.
Somehow, the Bearcats - already disappointed that they had failed to live up to the high expectations that had them picked to win the AAC championship - summoned the resolve to post a victory against the Pirates, who were desperate for a win to keep their season going.
"That was obviously a well-needed win from a group that last week was just a total disaster," Tuberville said. "But we bounced back today."
Senior wide receiver Shaq Washington caught 15 passes for 124 yards and one touchdown to break the school records for catches in a game and in a season. He already owned the record for career receptions. Junior quarterback Gunner Kiel completed 30 of 47 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
"We were just trying to take advantage of what they were giving us," Washington said. "I was just moving the chains, the thing that I've been doing since I came on this campus."
The game didn't start well for the Bearcats, who trailed, 10-0, before they registered a first down. But they got their offense on track in the second quarter with a 90-yard drive that ended with Kiel's 8-yard touchdown pass to Washington, only to have Gantz miss the extra point - his only miss of the season after 47 straight conversions - leaving UC facing a 10-6 deficit at halftime.
UC received the second-half kickoff and drove 76 yards in 16 plays covering 7:32 to take a 13-10 lead on Mike Boone's 2-yard touchdown run.
After the UC defense stopped East Carolina, the Bearcats took over on their own 14-yard line and drove to the Pirates' 33 to position Gantz for a 50-yard field goal, the second-longest of his career. That gave UC a 16-10 lead with 26 seconds left in the third quarter. The Bearcats out-gained East Carolina, 129-34, in that period.
"They didn't want to kick the 50-yarder," Tuberville said. "We're sitting there and the wind's in our face. I've seen him kick so many good balls but our special teams coach said, `Let's just punt it.' (Gantz) said, I don't think I can make it. I said, `Yes, you can. Let's go.' And he caught the thing perfect."
Gantz tells a somewhat different story.
"He asked me, do you have the distance," Gantz said. "I said, `I've got it as long as there's no wind. But if there's wind it might be a little iffy.' The wind had died down so I told him I could go out there and make it."
The Pirates regained their footing in the fourth quarter, driving 78 yards in 15 plays to tie the score at 16-16 when backup quarterback James Summers threw a 2-yard pass to Bryce Williams on fourth-and-goal. UC defensive end Silverberry Mouhon was called for targeting on Summers and was ejected with 10:36 remaining. On the same play, Summers was called for taunting, which forced the extra point attempt to come from 34 yards. ECU's Davis Plowman missed it and the score remained tied.
The Bearcats then drove to the ECU 27-yard line, where, with 4:27 to play, Gantz missed a 44-yard field goal attempt wide right. That's when Gantz implored Kiel to give him another chance, remembering that last year he had kicked a 47-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining to beat ECU.
"On the 44-yarder, I didn't hit my best ball that I could," Gantz said. " I knew it as soon as I hit it. And I barely missed it. I wanted us to get back down there and give me another shot to pull us through. l did the same thing I did last year. I went to Gunner and I said, `Dude, just try to get me down there and I'll pull through for us like I did last year,' same exact thing."
After the UC defense forced the Pirates to punt, the Bearcats took over on their own 19-yard line with 2:34 remaining and drove to the ECU 25. They called their final timeout with four seconds left to set up Gantz' game-winning kick.
"The big drive was right there, the last one," Tuberville said. "We missed a field goal and then they go three and out. (Defensive coordinator) Steve Clinkscale said, `I don't care if they throw the ball, but they're not going to run it.' We stayed in run defenses and fortunately they ran the football and we were able to stop them."
UC controlled the game in the second half by running the ball. The Bearcats gained 136 yards on the ground in the second half after managing only 21 in the first half. Hosey Williams led the way with 69 yards, followed by Boone with 56 and Tion Green with 26.
"What happened is we tagged passing plays onto running plays (in the first half)," Tuberville said. "If Gunner thinks he can get it into Shaq, then we just read it and fake the ball and throw the little short route. I told `em I didn't want any tagging in the second half. Linemen, wipe all doubt out of your mind. We're running the ball. Fortunately it worked. We called a play and we ran it instead of reading it and going to a pass."
The UC defense, meanwhile, settled down after its slow start, and held the Pirates to only one more touchdown after they had jumped out to their early 10-point lead.
"We prepared well," said defensive back Jarred Evans. "Everybody was really locked in. We were kind of down with the performance we had against USF and we just focused really well. We had a great attitude about the week. We said we're not going to come here and lose for the seniors."
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.