TicketsCINCINNATI – Cincinnati held a 27-6 lead late in the third quarter, but Pittsburgh rallied with 22 straight points, including a 35-yard field goal by Ben Sauls with 17 seconds left for a 28-27 win on Saturday afternoon at Nippert Stadium.
Senior running back Corey Kiner totaled 149 yards on 20 carries, and redshirt sophomore quarterback Brendan Sorsby tallied 298 yards and three touchdowns through the air.
"I am very disappointed in the outcome of the game today," Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield said. "I thought for three and a half quarters, our guys played outstanding and did some really good things. We had a 20-point lead late in the third quarter, and then we didn't play well and didn't finish. It was in all three phases of the ball, and we can pinpoint some things.
"Corey [Kiner] ran his butt off today…I thought Mason [Fletcher] punted the ball good today and had another great day. I am very disappointed in this and upset as well. I told our guys in the locker room to learn from this and get ready for Miami this week."
Senior punter Mason Fletcher punted four times for a 48.2 average, including two inside the 20 and a 62-yarder.
The defense was led by redshirt junior nose tackle Dontay Corleone, who tallied six tackles and one sack in his return after missing more than three months after bloods clots were discovered this summer. The Cincinnati native and team captain had his first full practice of the fall on Tuesday.
Pittsburgh was led by running back Desmond Reid, who totaled 254 combined rushing and receiving yards, including a 56-yard touchdown catch.
Junior kicker Carter Brown's 26-yard field goal at 4:50 in the third marked UC's final points of the contest.
Pittsburgh fought back behind quarterback Eli Holstein, who was 10-of-11 for 189 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Holstein found Konata Mumpfield for back-to-back touchdowns – an 11-yarder with 46 seconds left in the third and a 38-yarder on fourth down with 10:41 left in the contest – to get back in the game.
Pitt went for 2 following the second Mumpfield touchdown, but Holstein's pass was long.
Sorsby was sacked by Pitt's Shadarian Harrison on 3rd-and-5 midway through the fourth quarter, forcing Cincinnati to punt. Fletcher unleashed a 62-yarder that was downed at the Pitt 6-yard-line.
The Panthers nearly tied the game, however. Holstein found running back Desmond Reid, who leaked out of the backfield, for a 56-yard catch-and-run, to bring Pitt within two points, 27-25.
Again, Cincinnati stuffed the two-point attempt. This time, defensive end Eric Phillips sacked Holstein. After the Bearcats' five-play, 27-yard drive ended with a punt that scraped past the goal line for a touchback, Pitt responded with a 63-yard drive that culminated in the deciding 35-yard field goal.
Sorsby was spectacular in the first half for the second straight week, staking Cincinnati to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter as he completed 6 of 9 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns in the game's first 15 minutes.
After the Bearcats were forced to punt after the opening drive, safety Josh Minkins secured an interception of Holstein in the end zone to stop Pitt's first drive as it was nearing the red zone.
A powerful 28-yard run by Kiner set up a picture perfect 52-yard dime from Sorsby to wide receiver Jamoi Mayes to score the first touchdown of the game and put the Bearcats in front 7-0 at the 7:47 mark in the first quarter.
Sorsby tossed a 5-yard touchdown to Tony Johnson for the FAU transfer's first catch as a Bearcat to give UC a 14-3 lead.
A 49-yard field goal by Brown extended the Cincinnati advantage to 17-3 in the second quarter, but Brown missed a 25-yarder that would've padded the lead right before halftime.
Sauls made the score 17-6 at halftime when he made a 53-yarder as the first half clock expired.
The Panthers got the ball coming out at halftime, but Cincinnati made fourth-down stop to get the ball back quickly, allowing Sorsby to find redshirt junior tight end Joe Royer for a 16-yard touchdown – the first of his career, which put UC in front 24-6 midway through the third quarter.
Brown followed shortly after with a 26-yard field goal to increase Cincinnati's lead to 27-6 with 4:40 left in the third quarter.
Up Next
Cincinnati hits the road for the first time next Saturday at 12 p.m. to take on Miami (Ohio).
Senior running back Corey Kiner totaled 149 yards on 20 carries, and redshirt sophomore quarterback Brendan Sorsby tallied 298 yards and three touchdowns through the air.
"I am very disappointed in the outcome of the game today," Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield said. "I thought for three and a half quarters, our guys played outstanding and did some really good things. We had a 20-point lead late in the third quarter, and then we didn't play well and didn't finish. It was in all three phases of the ball, and we can pinpoint some things.
"Corey [Kiner] ran his butt off today…I thought Mason [Fletcher] punted the ball good today and had another great day. I am very disappointed in this and upset as well. I told our guys in the locker room to learn from this and get ready for Miami this week."
Senior punter Mason Fletcher punted four times for a 48.2 average, including two inside the 20 and a 62-yarder.
The defense was led by redshirt junior nose tackle Dontay Corleone, who tallied six tackles and one sack in his return after missing more than three months after bloods clots were discovered this summer. The Cincinnati native and team captain had his first full practice of the fall on Tuesday.
Pittsburgh was led by running back Desmond Reid, who totaled 254 combined rushing and receiving yards, including a 56-yard touchdown catch.
Junior kicker Carter Brown's 26-yard field goal at 4:50 in the third marked UC's final points of the contest.
Pittsburgh fought back behind quarterback Eli Holstein, who was 10-of-11 for 189 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Holstein found Konata Mumpfield for back-to-back touchdowns – an 11-yarder with 46 seconds left in the third and a 38-yarder on fourth down with 10:41 left in the contest – to get back in the game.
Pitt went for 2 following the second Mumpfield touchdown, but Holstein's pass was long.
Sorsby was sacked by Pitt's Shadarian Harrison on 3rd-and-5 midway through the fourth quarter, forcing Cincinnati to punt. Fletcher unleashed a 62-yarder that was downed at the Pitt 6-yard-line.
The Panthers nearly tied the game, however. Holstein found running back Desmond Reid, who leaked out of the backfield, for a 56-yard catch-and-run, to bring Pitt within two points, 27-25.
Again, Cincinnati stuffed the two-point attempt. This time, defensive end Eric Phillips sacked Holstein. After the Bearcats' five-play, 27-yard drive ended with a punt that scraped past the goal line for a touchback, Pitt responded with a 63-yard drive that culminated in the deciding 35-yard field goal.
Sorsby was spectacular in the first half for the second straight week, staking Cincinnati to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter as he completed 6 of 9 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns in the game's first 15 minutes.
After the Bearcats were forced to punt after the opening drive, safety Josh Minkins secured an interception of Holstein in the end zone to stop Pitt's first drive as it was nearing the red zone.
A powerful 28-yard run by Kiner set up a picture perfect 52-yard dime from Sorsby to wide receiver Jamoi Mayes to score the first touchdown of the game and put the Bearcats in front 7-0 at the 7:47 mark in the first quarter.
Sorsby tossed a 5-yard touchdown to Tony Johnson for the FAU transfer's first catch as a Bearcat to give UC a 14-3 lead.
A 49-yard field goal by Brown extended the Cincinnati advantage to 17-3 in the second quarter, but Brown missed a 25-yarder that would've padded the lead right before halftime.
Sauls made the score 17-6 at halftime when he made a 53-yarder as the first half clock expired.
The Panthers got the ball coming out at halftime, but Cincinnati made fourth-down stop to get the ball back quickly, allowing Sorsby to find redshirt junior tight end Joe Royer for a 16-yard touchdown – the first of his career, which put UC in front 24-6 midway through the third quarter.
Brown followed shortly after with a 26-yard field goal to increase Cincinnati's lead to 27-6 with 4:40 left in the third quarter.
Up Next
Cincinnati hits the road for the first time next Saturday at 12 p.m. to take on Miami (Ohio).