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By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
OXFORD, Ohio – No matter how badly things went in the first half for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats – and they surely didn't go well - they never flinched and never stopped believing.
"We were going into halftime, coming into the locker and we all knew that we had it in us," said UC quarterback Hayden Moore. "It was a weird feeling. We all knew that we were gonna win. There was no doubt."
Rest assured there was plenty of doubt among UC fans, especially after Miami took a 17-6 lead on Sam Sloman's 37-yard field goal with 4:45 left. But in the end, the Bearcats' unwavering confidence made the difference in their stunning come-from-behind 21-17 victory over the RedHawks, their 12th straight over Miami in the annual Battle for the Victory Bell before 21,811 fans at Yager Stadium.
UC scored 15 unanswered points in the final 2:52 to pull out the win.
"It's an incredible program win," said UC coach Luke Fickell. "To put yourself behind the 8-ball a little bit like we did and see the guys continue to fight and scratch and claw, there was no give-up in that. There was no pouting. There were no chins down, heads down. That's what I'm most proud of. Obviously, we came down and we made the big play at the end to stop them to win the game, but to see how they fought and how they stayed together through some adversity, again I'm proud."
The Bearcats (2-1) haven't lost to Miami (1-2) since 2005, although the RedHawks still lead the series, 59-56-7. In addition to continuing its mastery over Miami, UC ended a six-game losing streak to Football Bowl Subdivision teams that began last year.
UC's improbable comeback began with an 8-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Moore to Kahlil Lewis with 2:52 to play. It was the only touchdown of the game for a UC offense that had sputtered until then. But suddenly, when it appeared that they had no chance to win, the offense came alive.
What suddenly clicked?
"To be honest with you I don't know," Fickell said. "All of a sudden you're down and you've got to really let it fly and see what you're made of and all of sudden you see guys that are starting to make plays. They seemed more relaxed. They're catching balls and turning the ball upfield when we were having a hard time just even grasping it. That's where you're starting to see the maturity starting to grow."
Still, even after the Lewis touchdown, you had to like the RedHawks' chances to end their losing streak until Miami's Jaylone Bester had trouble controlling the kickoff by Ryan Jones and was forced out of bounds on the return at the Miami 5-yard line.
On third-and-7 from the 10, UC's Malik Clements picked off Miami quarterback Gus Ragland's pass and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown. After Josh Pasley's extra point kick, the Bearcats had a 21-17 lead with 1:07 left.
"The coaches called the coverages and I just did my responsibility," Clements said.
As he saw the ball coming in his direction, Clements said, "I was thinking that I had to catch it. The game was on the line and big-time players make big-time plays. I just had to make a play for my team."
But Miami wasn't finished. Ragland drove the RedHawks down the field to the UC 20. On fourth and 5, Ragland, under intense pressure from Cortez Broughton, threw an incomplete pass, giving the Bearcats possession with seven seconds left.
The winning streak was still intact.
"I almost wanted to close my eyes and just listen to either our sideline was going crazy or theirs was," Moore said. "But I believed in our defense no matter what was happening. I knew, all right, this is where they stop 'em. But I was very close to closing my eyes on that very last play."
The Bearcats survived two crucial interceptions by Moore and a failure to convert a fourth-and- 1 on their first possession of the second half to pull out the win.
Trailing 7-3 at halftime, UC went for a first down from its own 34, but Moore was stopped short on a quarterback sneak. Six plays later, running back Kenny Young ran into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown to give the RedHawks a 14-3 lead with 9:55 left in the third quarter.
"I didn't really want to do that," Fickell said. "We had a little bit of a communication thing, but that's on me. I wanted to try to draw them offsides, but we snapped the ball. I can't put them in that situation. I've got to do a better job, especially coming out of the half. That was on me."
The UC offense finally showed a little life on its next possession, driving to the Miami 30 only to see Pasley miss a 47-yard field goal wide right with 7:00 left in the third.
After Miami went three-and-out, UC drove from its own 28 to the Miami 7. On third-and-goal, Moore was picked off for the second time, this time by Cedric Asseh, who caught the ball at the goal line and returned it to the RedHawks' 46 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter.
Moore said he was looking for Lewis.
"They were playing man," he said. "They switched out of it right at the end. They made a good call. They basically switched it off."
The Bearcats drove to the Miami 19 on their next possession before settling for a 36-yard field goal by Pasley to make it 14-6 with 11:38 remaining.
The RedHawks then moved to the UC 19, aided by a targeting penalty against Perry Young after it appeared that the Bearcats had stopped them on third down at the UC 33. That set up Sloman for the field goal that appeared to finish off the Bearcats.
UC played without starting running back Mike Boone, who twisted his left ankle on the final play of the Michigan game last week and wore a protective boot on the sideline. Redshirt freshman Gerrid Doaks made his first career start in Boone's place and gained 71 yards on 11 carries. Freshman Michael Warren added 51 yards on nine carries.
Fickell said after the game that Boone might be back next week for the Bearcats' game at Navy, then praised the two rookies for the way they played.
"I think that's really what got this thing rolling," Fickell said. "It's the 4-yard run, the 5-yard run, the 3-yard run, the battle that you see from those guys, taking them man-on-man in the hole. You could just sense that stuff on the sidelines and that's where the adrenaline came from. That went a lot further than some of the long throws."
Moore was 24 for 43 for 222 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He had six passes dropped, including one by Devin Gray at the Miami 40 that would have resulted in a UC touchdown. Ragland was 16-for-31 for 221 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Bearcats out-gained the RedHawks, 361-291 and had 21 first downs to Miami's 14.
"It's in the back of your head that you don't want to be that team to let the bell go," Moore said. "That gives us even more motivation to be able to take it back home. I know how important it is to all the people at UC and all the fans and all the alumni."
Even Fickell rang the bell in celebration, something he had resisted doing all week.
"I told them I can't touch that Victory Bell because I didn't earn it," Fickell said. "I didn't touch that Victory Bell until that game was over because I didn't think it was right."
It is now.
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.
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
OXFORD, Ohio – No matter how badly things went in the first half for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats – and they surely didn't go well - they never flinched and never stopped believing.
"We were going into halftime, coming into the locker and we all knew that we had it in us," said UC quarterback Hayden Moore. "It was a weird feeling. We all knew that we were gonna win. There was no doubt."
Rest assured there was plenty of doubt among UC fans, especially after Miami took a 17-6 lead on Sam Sloman's 37-yard field goal with 4:45 left. But in the end, the Bearcats' unwavering confidence made the difference in their stunning come-from-behind 21-17 victory over the RedHawks, their 12th straight over Miami in the annual Battle for the Victory Bell before 21,811 fans at Yager Stadium.
UC scored 15 unanswered points in the final 2:52 to pull out the win.
"It's an incredible program win," said UC coach Luke Fickell. "To put yourself behind the 8-ball a little bit like we did and see the guys continue to fight and scratch and claw, there was no give-up in that. There was no pouting. There were no chins down, heads down. That's what I'm most proud of. Obviously, we came down and we made the big play at the end to stop them to win the game, but to see how they fought and how they stayed together through some adversity, again I'm proud."
The Bearcats (2-1) haven't lost to Miami (1-2) since 2005, although the RedHawks still lead the series, 59-56-7. In addition to continuing its mastery over Miami, UC ended a six-game losing streak to Football Bowl Subdivision teams that began last year.
UC's improbable comeback began with an 8-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Moore to Kahlil Lewis with 2:52 to play. It was the only touchdown of the game for a UC offense that had sputtered until then. But suddenly, when it appeared that they had no chance to win, the offense came alive.
What suddenly clicked?
"To be honest with you I don't know," Fickell said. "All of a sudden you're down and you've got to really let it fly and see what you're made of and all of sudden you see guys that are starting to make plays. They seemed more relaxed. They're catching balls and turning the ball upfield when we were having a hard time just even grasping it. That's where you're starting to see the maturity starting to grow."
Still, even after the Lewis touchdown, you had to like the RedHawks' chances to end their losing streak until Miami's Jaylone Bester had trouble controlling the kickoff by Ryan Jones and was forced out of bounds on the return at the Miami 5-yard line.
On third-and-7 from the 10, UC's Malik Clements picked off Miami quarterback Gus Ragland's pass and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown. After Josh Pasley's extra point kick, the Bearcats had a 21-17 lead with 1:07 left.
"The coaches called the coverages and I just did my responsibility," Clements said.
As he saw the ball coming in his direction, Clements said, "I was thinking that I had to catch it. The game was on the line and big-time players make big-time plays. I just had to make a play for my team."
But Miami wasn't finished. Ragland drove the RedHawks down the field to the UC 20. On fourth and 5, Ragland, under intense pressure from Cortez Broughton, threw an incomplete pass, giving the Bearcats possession with seven seconds left.
The winning streak was still intact.
"I almost wanted to close my eyes and just listen to either our sideline was going crazy or theirs was," Moore said. "But I believed in our defense no matter what was happening. I knew, all right, this is where they stop 'em. But I was very close to closing my eyes on that very last play."
The Bearcats survived two crucial interceptions by Moore and a failure to convert a fourth-and- 1 on their first possession of the second half to pull out the win.
Trailing 7-3 at halftime, UC went for a first down from its own 34, but Moore was stopped short on a quarterback sneak. Six plays later, running back Kenny Young ran into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown to give the RedHawks a 14-3 lead with 9:55 left in the third quarter.
"I didn't really want to do that," Fickell said. "We had a little bit of a communication thing, but that's on me. I wanted to try to draw them offsides, but we snapped the ball. I can't put them in that situation. I've got to do a better job, especially coming out of the half. That was on me."
The UC offense finally showed a little life on its next possession, driving to the Miami 30 only to see Pasley miss a 47-yard field goal wide right with 7:00 left in the third.
After Miami went three-and-out, UC drove from its own 28 to the Miami 7. On third-and-goal, Moore was picked off for the second time, this time by Cedric Asseh, who caught the ball at the goal line and returned it to the RedHawks' 46 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter.
Moore said he was looking for Lewis.
"They were playing man," he said. "They switched out of it right at the end. They made a good call. They basically switched it off."
The Bearcats drove to the Miami 19 on their next possession before settling for a 36-yard field goal by Pasley to make it 14-6 with 11:38 remaining.
The RedHawks then moved to the UC 19, aided by a targeting penalty against Perry Young after it appeared that the Bearcats had stopped them on third down at the UC 33. That set up Sloman for the field goal that appeared to finish off the Bearcats.
UC played without starting running back Mike Boone, who twisted his left ankle on the final play of the Michigan game last week and wore a protective boot on the sideline. Redshirt freshman Gerrid Doaks made his first career start in Boone's place and gained 71 yards on 11 carries. Freshman Michael Warren added 51 yards on nine carries.
Fickell said after the game that Boone might be back next week for the Bearcats' game at Navy, then praised the two rookies for the way they played.
"I think that's really what got this thing rolling," Fickell said. "It's the 4-yard run, the 5-yard run, the 3-yard run, the battle that you see from those guys, taking them man-on-man in the hole. You could just sense that stuff on the sidelines and that's where the adrenaline came from. That went a lot further than some of the long throws."
Moore was 24 for 43 for 222 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He had six passes dropped, including one by Devin Gray at the Miami 40 that would have resulted in a UC touchdown. Ragland was 16-for-31 for 221 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Bearcats out-gained the RedHawks, 361-291 and had 21 first downs to Miami's 14.
"It's in the back of your head that you don't want to be that team to let the bell go," Moore said. "That gives us even more motivation to be able to take it back home. I know how important it is to all the people at UC and all the fans and all the alumni."
Even Fickell rang the bell in celebration, something he had resisted doing all week.
"I told them I can't touch that Victory Bell because I didn't earn it," Fickell said. "I didn't touch that Victory Bell until that game was over because I didn't think it was right."
It is now.
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.