TicketsCINCINNATI – Star redshirt junior quarterback Brendan Sorsby tossed a pair of first-half touchdowns to senior receiver Jeff Caldwell and the Bearcats defense did the rest as the Cincinnati football team defeated UCF, 20-11, on Saturday at Historic Nippert Stadium.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield said. “The bottom line is we’re sitting here at 5-1 and we just won our third conference game in a row. We have a lot of things we can get fixed. That’s a good thing to happen. We’re excited about this opportunity we have coming next week.”
Cincinnati will travel to Oklahoma State next week with an opportunity to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2022.
Led by safeties Tre Gola-Callard (game-high nine tackles) and Christian Harrison (three pass breakups), the Cincinnati defense was dominant. The Knights held a 39:44-20:16 advantage in time of possession but averaged just 4.6 yards per play.
Sorsby passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers. He has 19 total touchdowns this season and has not committed a turnover since the season opener.
Caldwell, a transfer from Lindenwood, caught three passes for 58 yards and two scores.
He sprinted past UCF’s defensive backs for his first touchdown – a 40-yard pinpoint pass from Sorsby - in the first quarter, and caught a 9-yard score in the second frame.
Senior kicker Stephen Rusnak did the rest, nailing two field goals to improve to 9-for-9 on the season and 20-for-20 the last two seasons – the nation’s only kicker perfect on field goals in 2024 and 2025.
Redshirt junior punter Max Fletcher punted five times for a 41.2 average, putting four punts inside the 15 in a game where flipping the field was paramount.
“The margins are so small here in the Big 12, and you have to find ways to gain an advantage,” Satterfield said. “We were not, the last couple of years, gaining any advantage in the special teams. So far this year, we punted the ball really, really well. (Stephen Rusnak) has knocked field goals down. Our guys have covered and are taking pride in covering. n Coach (Luke) Paschall really fits in well with our staff, very smart coach. It's awesome to have a guy who just really focuses on special teams. Tim Conner has been with me as well, and Tim works great with Luke as well. They have done a great job.”
The Bearcats improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12. Cincinnati’s five-game win streak is its longest since 2022 and the 3-0 start continues to keep the Bearcats tied for first in the Big 12 standings midway through the regular season. UCF dropped to 3-3 and 0-3 in the league. Cincinnati now holds a 6-5 record all-time versus UCF.
First Quarter
Cincinnati took a 7-0 lead when Sorsby found Caldwell, who flew past the secondary untouched, for a 40-yard touchdown with 8:23 remaining in the first quarter.
Redshirt sophomore linebacker Brian Simms forced a fumble and sophomore safety Jiquan Sanks recovered the loose ball on UCF’s next possession, but the Bearcats could not capitalize and were forced to punt.
Cincinnati became the first opponent to score in the first quarter on UCF’s stifling defense this season.
Second Quarter
Sorsby found Caldwell for the score again early in the second quarter, completing a nine-yard touchdown pass to cap a nine-play, 83-yard drive. Cincinnati led 14-0 with 12 minutes left in the first half.
The Bearcats improved the score to 17-0 on Stephen Rusnak’s 32-yard field goal at the 4:13 mark in the first quarter.
UCF tacked on a field goal at the end of the first half, as kicker Noe Ruelas connected on a 45-yard field goal 24 seconds before the break.
Third Quarter
The Knights ate up most of the clock in the third quarter, holding a 11:54 to 3:06 edge in time of possession. The Bearcats ran only eight plays in the third quarter, but that included a 67-yard catch-and-run from senior tight end Joe Royer that set up Cincinnati inside the 10-yard line heading in the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Cincinnati drove the ball to the UCF 1-yard line at the start of the final frame, but Sorsby tripped on a third-and-1 handoff and UC settled for a 24-yard chip-shot field goal by Rusnak to hold a 20-3 advantage with 13:39 left in the contest.
A sack by UC defensive tackle Isaiah Rogers on third down forced a fourth-and-12 for UCF with just over five minutes left. On the next play, UCF quarterback Cam Fancher avoided several tackles and threw a pass that ricocheted off a UCF receiver and into the hands of Dylan Wade for a miraculous 30-yard catch to keep the Knights’ drive alive.
Later in the drive, the Bearcats had the Knights in a fourth-and-15, but a pass interference penalty extended the drive once again before Fancher scampered in for a three-yard touchdown run. UCF converted the two-point conversion on a Chris Domercant reception but the Bearcats recovered the ensuing onside kick.
UC went three and out on the following drive, but Fletcher was able to pin the Knights inside the 20 for the fourth time as the Bearcats down the ball at the 2-yard line. Pushed deep in its own territory, UCF was only able to advance the ball just shy of midfield as the Bearcats came away with the win.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati travels to Stillwater, Okla., looking to become bowl eligible at Oklahoma State on Saturday at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.