TicketsKANSAS CITY – Redshirt junior quarterback Brendan Sorsby rushed for two second-half scores, but Cincinnati fell to Nebraska on Thursday in the Battle Sports Kansas City Classic at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, 20-17.
Cincinnati trailed by just three heading into the fourth quarter, but Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola found receiver Dane Key for 2-yard touchdown on fourth down in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter to give the Huskers a 20-10 lead.
"Really proud of our guys," Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield said. "Our guys fought, they played hard, just looking at the sideline, and guys are flying around and playing physical. I was proud of them for that. I’m extremely proud of our defense. They had to defend 40 minutes worth of time of possession. Everybody’s talking about Dylan Raiola. He’s a really good player. He got 40 minutes worth of time of possession to go out and make plays and they held him to 20 points. Seven of those points was a turnover we had on short field. So, I'm extremely proud of our defense. Thought they played an outstanding game."
Senior running back Tawee Walker and Sorsby traded rushes to pull the Bearcats inside the 10 with eight minutes left, and a short pass to senior tight end Joe Royer gave UC second-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Sorsby capped the drive with his second rushing score to bring the Bearcats within three, 20-17, with 7:15 left.
Redshirt senior linebacker Jake Golday’s sack with 2:28 to play led to the Cornhuskers punting, giving the Bearcats the ball back with just over two minutes to go. Sorsby completed a 4th-and-7 to senior Cyrus Allen to bring the Bearcats near midfield, then took them all the way to the 33-yard line. However the drive ended with a Nebraska interception in the end zone with 34 seconds remaining.
The Bearcats forced two fumbles, but were unable to recover either. The Huskers won the turnover battle, 1-0, forcing a fumble in the second quarter that led to the game’s first touchdown.
Sorsby was held to just 69 yards passing, completing 13-of-25 pass attempts, but he led the Bearcats with 96 yards rushing and two touchdowns
Golday led Cincinnati with 12 tackles – the most he’s ever had as a Bearcat.
Dylan Raiola led Nebraska with 243 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while Huskers’ running back Emmett Johnson rushed for 108 yards.
Cincinnati used a fourth-down pass breakup by senior cornerback Logan Wilson to stop Nebraska on the opening drive of the third quarter. The Bearcats followed with a 10-play, 57-yard drive.
A 15-yard reverse from senior receiver Cyrus Allen gave UC first-and-goal from the seven midway through the third quarter, and Sorsby kept it on the next play for the touchdown to make the score 13-10 with 6:53 remaining in the third quarter.
After both teams punted to open the game, UC struck first with an eight-play, 38-yard drive that was capped by a 45-yard field goal from senior kicker Stephen Rusnak at the 4:13 mark in the first quarter.
The Huskers answered with a 52-yard field goal by Kyle Cunanan.
A 24-yard catch by Nziah Hunter was the spark on Nebraska’s second scoring drive, a 16-play, 80-yard drive where the Huskers marched all the way to the 1-yard line. However, the Bearcats’ defense held the Huskers out of the end zone and Cunanan’s second field goal put Nebraska in front, 6-3, at 7:51 in the second quarter.
Nebraska won the turnover battle, 1-0, in the first half, and led 13-3 at the break.
Cincinnati nearly forced a turnover late in the first half when junior linebacker Jonathan Thompson recorded a strip sack of Raiola, but the Huskers’ sophomore signal caller picked up his own fumble.
Minutes later, Cincinnati wide receiver Caleb Goodie caught a short pass and was tackled by Nebraska linebacker Vincent Shavers Jr. who popped the ball out giving Huskers the ball at Cincinnati 24-yard line. Raiola found Hunter for a 15-yard gain and then a 5-yard touchdown with 11 seconds before halftime.
###