TicketsCINCINNATI – Redshirt junior quarterback Brendan Sorsby tossed five touchdown passes in the first quarter to lead the Cincinnati football team to a 70-0 win over Northwestern State on Saturday at Historic Nippert Stadium.
Sorsby finished 15 of 15 for 253 yards and five scores and added a 23-yard rushing touchdown.
The Bearcats improved to 2-1 heading into a bye week, while the Demons dropped to 1-2. Cincinnati’s 10 touchdowns tied a modern record and the 70 points are the second-most in the modern era (72 versus Austin Peay, 2011).
The Denton, Texas, native became the first Bearcat to throw five touchdowns in a quarter or a half and zipped two scoring passes to redshirt senior tight end Joe Royer, a 55-yard bomb to junior receiver Caleb Goodie and each to redshirt senior running back Tawee Walker and sophomore receiver Isaiah Johnson in the game’s first 15 minutes.
His five first-quarter touchdown passes set a record for a quarter or a half by a Bearcat, and he is just the fifth quarterback over the last 30 years to finish perfect on 15 or more pass attempts. Cincinnati even has two of the five, with Gunner Kiel also completing all 15 of his pass attempts against UCF in 2015.
With the Bearcats leading 56-0 at the break, both head coaches and the referees agreed to 10-minute quarters in the second half.
"All of our guys came out and did exactly what we needed to do, from our standard of practice throughout the week and then our standard of play once we get out on the field," head coach Scott Satterfield said. "I thought they did that. They did a really good job of focusing, going out and executing the game plan and guys making plays."
The offensive line extended its streak of games without allowing a sack to three, while the defense allowed just 102 total yards. The shutout marked the second of the Scott Satterfield era (34-0 versus Houston in 2024).
Sixth-year senior linebacker Ben Blevins, a former walk-on who received a scholarship from Jason Kelce and Walk-Ons restaurant at the New Heights Live in 2024, had a career-high four tackles, one off the team lead.
Redshirt junior safety Antwan Peek Jr. caused the first turnover of the season for UC, forcing a fumble in the first quarter. He led UC with four forced fumbles a year ago and his five career forced fumbles are tied for the sixth-most in a career in school history.
Redshirt senior quarterback Brady Lichtenberg saw his first action of the season and finished 4-of-6 for 56 yards and tossed a 29-yard touchdown to senior Cyrus Allen.
First Quarter
Sorbsy found redshirt senior tight end Joe Royer wide open for a 21-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the game to put Cincinnati in front 7-0.
On their next possession, the Bearcats found paydirt on the first play with Sorsby zipping a 55-yard pass to Goodie for his first touchdown as a Bearcat.
Sorsby connected with Walker on a 10-yard touchdown pass to make the score 21-0 to cap a lightning quick four-play, 43-yard drive with 7:07 left in the first quarter.
After a 44-yard pass to Goodie put the Bearcats at the goal line, Sorsby tossed his fourth touchdown of the first quarter, and second to Royer, to make the score, 28-0, at the 4:11 mark in the first quarter.
His fifth touchdown pass was an 8-yard completion to sophomore receiver Isaiah Johnson to make the score 35-0.
Second Quarter
Sorsby scored on a 23-yard rush to cap an eight-play, 80-yard drive to open the second quarter.
Walker added his second touchdown of the day on a 15-yard rush to extend the Bearcats’ lead to 49-0 with a little more than five minutes remaining in the first half.
The Bearcats held the Demons to just 41 total yards, 1.6 yards per play and only three first downs in the first half.
Sixteen seconds before halftime, Lichtenberg found senior receiver Cyrus Allen for a 23-yard touchdown to give Cincinnati a 56-0 lead at the break.
Third Quarter
Junior running back Chance Williams had a 3-yard touchdown rush to extend the lead to 63-0.
Fourth Quarter
Northwestern State had a 4th-and-1 opportunity stuffed by Cincinnati freshman Kamron Neal and redshirt junior linebacker Cincear Lewis.
Redshirt freshman Samaj Jones threw a 42-yard touchdown to Johnson – his second score – with five minutes left to finish the scoring.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati has a bye weekend before traveling to Lawrence, Kan., to face the Jayhawks on Sept. 27 at the new David Booth Memorial Stadium.