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HONOLULU -- The University of Cincinnati football team struggled to get going in the 2015 Hawai'i Bowl and fell to Mountain West Conference champion San Diego State, 42-7. The defeat caps the UC season at 7-6.
"From the get-go, we got out-physicaled on both sides of the ball," said head coach Tommy Tuberville. "Our defense played hard. They hung in there, they tackled hard, they did a pretty good job, but gave up a couple big plays. You can't play that way on offense."
The Aztecs (11-3) won the coin toss and elected to receive, then returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. SDSU forced Cincinnati three-and-out on its first possession, then nine plays later extended the lead to 14-0.
After an interception by UC quarterback Hayden Moore (Clay, Ala./Clay-Chalkville), the teams traded punts until another Morre interception set-up a four play San Diego State scoring drive which made it 21-0.
Cincinnati showed signs of life with an eight-play drive as the half was ending, but a delay of game penalty forced a punt and the Aztecs took the 21-0 lead into the locker room.
The UC defense was doing its best to keep the Bearcats in the game, holding San Diego State to just 165 total yards in the opening two quarters. The Mountain West champions, who own the nation's third-longest winning streak, were averaging 378.3 yards per game entering the bowl.
The teams traded punts to open the second half before UC drove to the SDSU 33-yard line where a fake field goal was snuffed out. The Aztecs scored eight plays later to extend the lead to 28-0.
San Diego State added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter before Mike Boone (Macclenny, Fla./Baker County) scored on a one-yard rush to provide the final margin of 42-7.
"This is one you'd like to have back," Tuberville added. "You hate to end this way for the seniors. They were good leaders here at the bowl game. It didn't look like it, but we had good practices. Some of the younger guys got better."