TicketsCINCINNATI – No. 21 Cincinnati jumped out to a 24-0 lead, and the defense did the rest by holding the nation’s leading passer to a season-low 137 yards in a 41-20 victory over Baylor on Saturday at Historic Nippert Stadium on Homecoming.
The victory propelled the Bearcats to 7-1 and 5-0 in the Big 12. Cincinnati’s seven-game win streak is its first since the 2021 College Football Playoff season and the Bearcats remain tied for first in the Big 12 with the BYU Cougars (both 5-0 in the league).
Cincinnati star redshirt junior quarterback Brendan Sorsby had 196 total yards and three touchdowns, throwing for two and rushing for one. His final two touchdowns of the game came with less than seven minutes to go, turning a one-score battle into a 21-point triumph.
Sorsby and running backs Evan Pryor and Tawee Walker all rushed for TDs. The Bearcats' 265 rushing yards were also a season-high.
The Bearcats' defense was terrific, holding Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson to just 137 yards passing. The Bears were the nation's top passing offense in the country entering the weekend, averaging 334.3 yards per game coming into Saturday. The all-red Homecoming crowd, the stout defensive performance, and the season-best game from the rushing attack had head coach Scott Satterfield pleased with his Bearcats after the game.
“What an awesome atmosphere,” Satterfield said. “I’m really proud of our defense, Coach [Tyson] Veidt and the whole defensive staff put together a game plan to contain the nation's top passing offense, and what they did tonight was incredible, holding them to 137 yards passing. I can't say enough about what those guys did, and how well our players executed the plan all week long in practice. I thought he did an outstanding job with that. And then to have our offense to go out there and rush for 266 yards and to control the game that way. We haven't really won games this year like this, where we won the time possession by 10 minutes. We were controlling the game, running the football, and I thought it was a good game plan to come in and be able to do that, keep their offense off the field.”
Cincinnati scored on its first two drives of the game with Sorsby leading a pair of 10+ play drives and senior running backs Evan Pryor and Tawee Walker both scoring touchdowns.
Senior kicker Stephen Rusnak made field goals from 46 and 36 yards to remain perfect (11 of 11) on the season. He has made 22 straight field goals dating back to the 2024 season at Charlotte.
Robertson kept Baylor in the game, engineering three touchdown drives in between the end of the first half and the start of the fourth quarter.
Baylor’s furious comeback attempt was effectively ended with a fourth-and-one conversion by Tawee Walker from the Baylor 25-yard line with Cincinnati in front 27-20 with 7:05 left in the game.
Two plays later, Sorsby provided the icing on the win when he kept the ball on an option play, juked a Baylor defender, and sprinted 23 yards to the endzone to put the Bearcats ahead 34-20 with 6:13 left.
The Bearcats put a bow on it when Tayden Barnes' forced fumble on the ensuing kickoff was recovered by Jiquan Sanks, leading to another Sorsby passing touchdown to Isaiah Johnson three plays later.
First Quarter
Cincinnati had two methodical touchdown drive on its first two drives of the game, while the defense forced a pair of punts and allowed Baylor to tally just 13 total yards.
The Bearcats opened the game with an 11-play, 81-yard drive that culminated with a 1-yard Tawee Walker touchdown.
On UC’s next drive, Sorsby rushed for 33 yards and found Royer for a 12-yard gain before senior running back Evan Pryor had back-to-back rushes, including a five-yard touchdown to make the score 14-0 with 1:22 left in the first quarter.
Second Quarter
After Robertson’s 4th-and-3 pass was incomplete for Baylor, Sorsby led another long drive for UC, this one a nine-play, 27-yard drive that set up a 46-yard field goal by senior Stephen Rusnak.
On the very next play, Robertson completed a four-yard pass to receiver Ashtyn Hawkins, who was hit by Cincinnati senior cornerback Logan Wilson and fumbled. Wilson recovered the fumble and gave Sorsby and the offense the ball at the Baylor 25-yard line.
Five plays later, Sorsby zipped a 12-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Cyrus Allen to put the Bearcats in front 24-0 with 2:34 remaining the half.
Baylor got on the board in the final seconds of the first half, as Robertson found Baylor’s star tight end Michael Trigg for a 6-yard touchdown with 16 seconds left in the half. The Bearcats stuffed the two-point conversion attempt and took a 27-6 lead into the break.
Third Quarter
Baylor received the ball coming out of halftime and had Robertson lead a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a nine-yard touchdown catch from receiver Josh Cameron. Baylor again failed to convert the two-point conversion and UC led 24-12 at 10:36 in the third quarter.
Cincinnati responded with a 36-yard field goal from Rusnak to extend its lead to 27-12 at the 5:15 mark in the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Baylor strung together another long scoring drive into the fourth quarter with Robertson’s one-yard keeper capping a 13-play stretch. Baylor running back Michael Turner’s run gave the Bears the two-point conversion, but Cincinnati still led 27-20 with 13:34 left in the game.
Baylor’s furious comeback attempt was effectively ended with a fourth-and-one conversion by Tawee Walker from the Baylor 25-yard line with Cincinnati in front 27-20 with 7:05 left in the game.
Two plays later, Sorsby provided the icing on the win when he kept the ball on an option play, juked a Baylor defender, and sprinted 23 yards to the endzone to put the Bearcats ahead 34-20 with 6:13 left. Following a Baylor turnover, Sorsby added yet another touchdown with an 8-yard toss to Isaiah Johnson to make it 41-20.
Up Next
Cincinnati visits Utah this upcoming Saturday, Nov. 1. The game time and television designation will be announced on Sunday.