TicketsBy Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – They fought and scrapped just like they have all season. They tied the game with 2:22 left in regulation and had SMU on the ropes on the Mustangs' only possession of overtime.
But still the University of Cincinnati Bearcats could not come up with the play they needed to avoid their fifth straight loss, a 31-28 overtime setback Saturday before 30,885 homecoming fans at Nippert Stadium.
The UC defense, which did yeoman's work the entire game against one of the most potent offenses in the American Athletic Conference, limited SMU to a 27-yard field goal on what turned out to be its only possession in overtime.
UC could have won the game with a touchdown or could have sent it to a second overtime with a field goal. But on third-and-4 at the SMU 19, quarterback Hayden Moore was pressured when he went back to pass. With Mustang defenders draped all over him, he tried to shovel the ball to running back Mike Boone only to have it picked off by linebacker Kyran Mitchell to end the game.
"It's a tough situation right there," said UC coach Luke Fickell. "I know he doesn't want to just give in, but there's times and places when you've just got to throw some things away and live to fight another down. Kicking a field goal's not a bad thing."
This was easily the most difficult loss of the season for the Bearcats to bear.
"This one really, really hurts and stings," Fickell said. "I feel bad for those guys in that locker room, specifically the seniors. We went into this thing as a one-game season, having a bye next week, to continue to build on the things that we've done. You saw it tonight that they leave everything out there.
"I kick myself to say, where can I find those inches? What's on me to take that next step and find a way to get them over that hump to find those inches that are out there? It's not from a lack of their effort. I'll lay awake on this one for quite a while, especially with the bye week and the effort that those guys gave."
UC (2-6 overall, 0-4 in the AAC) has now lost eight straight conference games. It has been almost a year to the day since the Bearcats beat East Carolina on Oct. 22, 2016 for their last conference win. SMU improved to 5-2, 2-1 in the league.
The Bearcats gained 438 yards to 435 to SMU and rushed for a season-high 249 yards, 91 by running back Gerrid Doaks. Moore completed 22 of 35 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. SMU quarterback Ben Hicks was 26-for-37 for 295 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Trey Quinn caught 17 passes for 186 yards.
UC, which has lost its last four overtime games, had plenty of the chances to win long before that fateful last play, but was unable to capitalize on any of them.
Take SMU's overtime possession. UC pushed the Mustangs back from the 25-yard line to the 41. During that possession, SMU fumbled on a botched pitch, but the Bearcats were unable to recover. The Bearcats also had the Mustangs in a fourth-and-26 hole only to see Hicks scramble to his right and – just before going out of bounds – fire a 28-yard pass to Quinn for a first down at the UC 13. Several plays later Josh Williams kicked the 27-yard field goal that would eventually win the game.
"It was just one of those luck plays," said UC safety Carter Jacobs. "We were in a good coverage. We had them covered and the guy stood up and made a play. We lived with it and we stopped them on that third down and forced them to kick a field goal and we were ready to play more football."
The Bearcats had tied the game on a 75-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Moore to Devin Gray on fourth-and-3. Moore then passed to Gray for the 2-point conversion.
UC forced SMU to punt and the Bearcats took over at their own 22 with 53 seconds remaining in regulation. With the crowd booing its disapproval of the Bearcats' decision to run the clock out, UC called two running plays that gained a total of five yards as time expired.
"If we didn't get the first down or something right away, we were gonna take this thing into overtime," Fickell said. "We've got the momentum and I really felt like we were in the position we wanted to be in."
Overall, the Bearcats advanced the ball into the red zone seven times, but scored only three touchdowns. They also kicked two field goals and Jones missed one from 47 yards. One of those red-zone possessions late in the third quarter ended in a fumble at the SMU 18 that was recovered by the Mustangs.
Jones' missed field goal at the end of the half was especially grating because the Bearcats had driven to the SMU 14, thanks to Doaks' 45-yard run. But Moore was sacked on successive plays for 12 yard and 13 yards, causing Jones to kick from long distance.
"You can always get rid of the ball," Fickell said of Moore's sacks. "That's one of those areas that's gonna be glaring at us too. Right there at the end of the half and right there at the end of the game. When you've got an opportunity to get a turnover in overtime you've got to make it. They obviously did and that's the different in the ball game."
The Bearcats scored a touchdown on their first possession of the game, something they hadn't done all season. That gave them their first lead since the end of the Miami game on Sept. 16. From that point on, the lead went back and forth, with SMU clinging to a 21-20 halftime lead.
It stayed that way until midway through the fourth quarter when Courtland Sutton caught a 25-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-20. UC did what it had to do to send the game into overtime, only to walk off the field with another sobering loss.
"We've got to fight for these last four," said UC tight end Tyler Cogswell. "That's what we're looking at now. We've got this bye week now, which kind of stinks after a loss like this, but we've got four more games that we need to win. W felt like we got in a position to win. We just didn't execute at the end. That's really what it came down to."
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.
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – They fought and scrapped just like they have all season. They tied the game with 2:22 left in regulation and had SMU on the ropes on the Mustangs' only possession of overtime.
But still the University of Cincinnati Bearcats could not come up with the play they needed to avoid their fifth straight loss, a 31-28 overtime setback Saturday before 30,885 homecoming fans at Nippert Stadium.
The UC defense, which did yeoman's work the entire game against one of the most potent offenses in the American Athletic Conference, limited SMU to a 27-yard field goal on what turned out to be its only possession in overtime.
UC could have won the game with a touchdown or could have sent it to a second overtime with a field goal. But on third-and-4 at the SMU 19, quarterback Hayden Moore was pressured when he went back to pass. With Mustang defenders draped all over him, he tried to shovel the ball to running back Mike Boone only to have it picked off by linebacker Kyran Mitchell to end the game.
"It's a tough situation right there," said UC coach Luke Fickell. "I know he doesn't want to just give in, but there's times and places when you've just got to throw some things away and live to fight another down. Kicking a field goal's not a bad thing."
This was easily the most difficult loss of the season for the Bearcats to bear.
"This one really, really hurts and stings," Fickell said. "I feel bad for those guys in that locker room, specifically the seniors. We went into this thing as a one-game season, having a bye next week, to continue to build on the things that we've done. You saw it tonight that they leave everything out there.
"I kick myself to say, where can I find those inches? What's on me to take that next step and find a way to get them over that hump to find those inches that are out there? It's not from a lack of their effort. I'll lay awake on this one for quite a while, especially with the bye week and the effort that those guys gave."
UC (2-6 overall, 0-4 in the AAC) has now lost eight straight conference games. It has been almost a year to the day since the Bearcats beat East Carolina on Oct. 22, 2016 for their last conference win. SMU improved to 5-2, 2-1 in the league.
The Bearcats gained 438 yards to 435 to SMU and rushed for a season-high 249 yards, 91 by running back Gerrid Doaks. Moore completed 22 of 35 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. SMU quarterback Ben Hicks was 26-for-37 for 295 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Trey Quinn caught 17 passes for 186 yards.
UC, which has lost its last four overtime games, had plenty of the chances to win long before that fateful last play, but was unable to capitalize on any of them.
Take SMU's overtime possession. UC pushed the Mustangs back from the 25-yard line to the 41. During that possession, SMU fumbled on a botched pitch, but the Bearcats were unable to recover. The Bearcats also had the Mustangs in a fourth-and-26 hole only to see Hicks scramble to his right and – just before going out of bounds – fire a 28-yard pass to Quinn for a first down at the UC 13. Several plays later Josh Williams kicked the 27-yard field goal that would eventually win the game.
"It was just one of those luck plays," said UC safety Carter Jacobs. "We were in a good coverage. We had them covered and the guy stood up and made a play. We lived with it and we stopped them on that third down and forced them to kick a field goal and we were ready to play more football."
The Bearcats had tied the game on a 75-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Moore to Devin Gray on fourth-and-3. Moore then passed to Gray for the 2-point conversion.
UC forced SMU to punt and the Bearcats took over at their own 22 with 53 seconds remaining in regulation. With the crowd booing its disapproval of the Bearcats' decision to run the clock out, UC called two running plays that gained a total of five yards as time expired.
"If we didn't get the first down or something right away, we were gonna take this thing into overtime," Fickell said. "We've got the momentum and I really felt like we were in the position we wanted to be in."
Overall, the Bearcats advanced the ball into the red zone seven times, but scored only three touchdowns. They also kicked two field goals and Jones missed one from 47 yards. One of those red-zone possessions late in the third quarter ended in a fumble at the SMU 18 that was recovered by the Mustangs.
Jones' missed field goal at the end of the half was especially grating because the Bearcats had driven to the SMU 14, thanks to Doaks' 45-yard run. But Moore was sacked on successive plays for 12 yard and 13 yards, causing Jones to kick from long distance.
"You can always get rid of the ball," Fickell said of Moore's sacks. "That's one of those areas that's gonna be glaring at us too. Right there at the end of the half and right there at the end of the game. When you've got an opportunity to get a turnover in overtime you've got to make it. They obviously did and that's the different in the ball game."
The Bearcats scored a touchdown on their first possession of the game, something they hadn't done all season. That gave them their first lead since the end of the Miami game on Sept. 16. From that point on, the lead went back and forth, with SMU clinging to a 21-20 halftime lead.
It stayed that way until midway through the fourth quarter when Courtland Sutton caught a 25-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-20. UC did what it had to do to send the game into overtime, only to walk off the field with another sobering loss.
"We've got to fight for these last four," said UC tight end Tyler Cogswell. "That's what we're looking at now. We've got this bye week now, which kind of stinks after a loss like this, but we've got four more games that we need to win. W felt like we got in a position to win. We just didn't execute at the end. That's really what it came down to."
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.