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By Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
HOUSTON - If you were puzzled when you saw the University of Cincinnati Bearcats attempt an on-side kick to begin the second half with the score tied, you had good reason to be.
The kick wasn't supposed to happen.
"It was a miscommunication," said UC coach Tommy Tuberville. "That's my fault. We just didn't communicate very well on it."
Tuberville wouldn't elaborate on the details. All he would say when pressed was, "It just kind of blew up in our face. But that's my fault."
When the kick went out of bounds at the UC 43-yard line, presenting Houston with a short field for its first drive of the second half, it opened the floodgates for a 16-point third-quarter barrage that put the Bearcats in a hole they couldn't climb out of.
They came back to get within three points and had the ball at their own 15-yard line with 2:10 left, but after one first down they were unable to move the ball further and the Bearcats fell, to the Cougars, 33-30, on a rainy Saturday before 32,889 fans at TDECU Stadium.
UC (5-4 overall, 2-3 in the American Athletic Conference) was looking to become bowl eligible while posting its first win over a ranked opponent since Sept. 29, 2012, neither of which it was able to accomplish. To make matters worse, the loss mathematically eliminated the Bearcats from having a chance to win the American East division.
No. 18 Houston (9-0, 5-0) won its 10th straight game and ended a five-game losing streak vs. the Bearcats.
UC quarterback Gunner Kiel completed 28 of 51 passes for a career-high 523 yards - the third-highest total in school history - and four touchdowns, but he was intercepted twice. Kiel, who has thrown nine touchdown passes in the last two games, declined to comment after the game.
"Sorry, guys," he said, as he walked past two reporters.
The Bearcats gained 589 yards to 427 for Houston, but were done in by a flurry of mistakes, as they have in at least three of their four losses this season.
"We've just got to clean up our mistakes and we could have come out of there easy with a win," said wide receiver Chris Moore. "That's every game this year so far."
The list of UC miscues was long and varied. It included a blocked punt, a fumble into the end zone, a botched on-side kick, three major penalties on one play, a 51-yard interception return for a touchdown, and a safety. Overall, UC was called for two personal fouls and three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and committed three turnovers against the Cougars, who lead the nation in turnover margin.
"That's what they hang their hats on," said Moore, who caught six passes for 140 yards and four touchdowns.
The Bearcats fell behind, 7-0, when Houston took advantage of a blocked punt that put the Cougars on the UC 20-yard line. The Bearcats tied the score on Kiel's 25-yard touchdown pass to Moore. Trailing, 14-7, they had a chance to tie the score again only to have running back Tion Green fumble the ball into the end zone with 9:05 left in the second quarter.
They eventually did pull even at halftime, 14-14, on Kiel's 7-yard pass to Nate Cole, but went into intermission knowing they should have had the lead.
Then came the disastrous on-side kick to start the second half. The UC defense did its best to rise to the occasion - it took the Cougars 11 plays to score - but Houston did finally push across the go-ahead touchdown during a series of plays that left the UC players and coaches frustrated and angry.
The Bearcats appeared to have forced a three-and-out after the kickoff, but a roughing-the-passer penalty on Sione Tongamoa kept the Houston drive alive. On fourth-and-goal at the UC 1-yard line, the Bearcats threw Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. for a 4-yard loss but cornerback JJ Pinckney was called for a face mask penalty. When Leviticus Payne disputed the penalty, he was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, followed by the same call against Tuberville.
"Their left tackle moved," Tuberville said. "Everybody in the stadium saw it but they didn't call it. That's what we're looking at. Even their guys stopped. I don't even think it was a face mask. The kid said he didn't grab his face mask, he grabbed his shirt. It's just one of those things. I didn't like the call. I still don't like it."
Ward then threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Greg McCloskey to give Houston a 21-14 lead. On UC's next possession, Houston's Brandon Wilson intercepted a Kiel pass and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown. A sack of Kiel in the end zone for a safety with 5:08 left in the third quarter made it 30-14.
The Bearcats were stunned but they weren't finished. They made it 30-22 on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Kiel to Shaq Washington, then made the 2-point conversion when Washington returned the favor by passing in the end zone to Kiel.
Ty Cummings' 29-yard field goal expanded Houston's lead to 33-22, but again UC came back, this time scoring on Kiel's 29-yard pass to Moore. He connected with Moore again for another 2-point conversion and it was 33-30, with 5:07 left.
The Bearcats were still alive.
The UC defense then forced Houston to punt from its own 50, giving the Bearcats one last shot, but they couldn't close the deal.
"We shot ourselves in the foot with penalties and with turnovers and we still had a slight chance there to get back in it and possibly get it to overtime on that last drive," Tuberville said. "We just didn't do it."
Houston's Ward was as good as advertised, passing for 161 yards and rushing for 119, but the UC defense played well overall, especially in the fourth quarter.
"We couldn't come out with the win," said UC linebacker Bryce Jenkinson. "But we gave it our all. I honestly think we did very well (against Ward). I think we contained him very well. He did slip through some cracks a couple of times but we got that worked out on the sideline."
Ultimately, there were just too many mistakes for UC to overcome on the road against a Top 25 team. It's a familiar refrain that left the Bearcats, the preseason favorites to win The American championship, with a lot of head-shaking after they let still another victory slip away.
"We just gave them too many things," Tuberville said. "We just gave them a gift and you can't do that when you're playing on the road."
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.