TicketsCINCINNATI – The No. 22/25-ranked Cincinnati football team fell to Arizona, 30-24, on Saturday inside Nippert Stadium.
Cincinnati dropped to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the Big 12. Arizona improved to 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the Big 12.
“I think you have to be able to make plays when you get the chance,” head coach Scott Satterfield said. “We didn't make enough of them today in the passing game. We just didn't have the ball enough, didn't run enough plays, and that hurts as well.”
Redshirt junior quarterback Brendan Sorsby finished 15-of-28 for 154 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. He recorded 30 yards rushing on nine carries with one touchdown.
Redshirt senior Tawee Walker's 119 yards on 12 carries marked a season-high in his first as a Bearcat. Zion Johnson notched his first career touchdown and finished with 42 rushing yards on seven carries, also becoming the first Cincinnati true freshman with a rushing touchdown since Ryan Montgomery in the 2019 season's Birmingham Bowl.
Arizona redshirt junior quarterback Noah Fifita finished 23-of-31 for 294 yards and one touchdown.
Cincinnati welcomes No. 12 BYU to Historic Nippert Stadium for a sold-out Senior Day next Saturday. The game time and network have not been announced yet.
First Quarter
Sorsby threw an interception on the first play of the game and Arizona running back Ismail Mahdi rushed 27 yards for the first score two plays later.
The Bearcats settled in after that, totaling 149 yards on the next eight plays for two quick scoring drives that put UC in front 14-7 at the 6:34 mark in the first quarter.
On the first touchdown drive, Sorsby found senior tight end Joe Royer for a third down conversion to set up a Walker run of 39 yards and a Johnson dash of 21 yards. The quarterback then plunged into the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown and his 10th rushing score of the season.
After the Bearcats’ defense forced a 3-and-out, Walker zipped 54 yards down the sideline before Johnson rushed twice for 11 yards to set up Sorsby’s pinpoint 9-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Jeff Caldwell on a quick slant.
The Wildcats drove to the Cincinnati 20-yard line on their next possession, but Fifita was sacked by Bearcats senior defensive tackle Jalen Hunt on third down and kicker Michael Salgado-Medina’s 50-yard field goal attempt was wide left.
The Bearcats led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter
Arizona again drove into the red zone, but Salgado-Medina’s 34-yard field goal was blocked by Wilson.
The Bearcats converted a fourth-and-1 rush with a Sorsby sneak from their own 29-yard line on the next possession, but the drive stalled and Max Fletcher punted into the end zone for his first touchback of the season.
After missing its first two field goals, Arizona connected on a 24-yarder with four seconds left in the first half.
Third Quarter
The Wildcats scored 10 straight points to open the third quarter. Salgado-Medina kicked a 25-yard field goal and Arizona running back Kedrick Reescando capped a 99-yard drive with a 50-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 20-14 with 5:21 left in the third quarter.
Fletcher had pinned the Wildcats back on the 1-yard line after booting a season-long 66-yard punt.
Trailing by 6, Sorsby uncorked his best throw of the game, finding his favorite target, senior receiver Cyrus Allen, for a 37-yard gain on third-and-9. The Bearcats drove down to the Arizona 9-yard line, but were held to a field goal.
Senior kicker Stephen Rusnak’s 28-yard field goal capped the fourth quarter and Arizona took a 20-17 lead into the final frame.
Fourth Quarter
Fifita answered UC’s field goal by leading a 75-yard drive that culminated with 15-yard touchdown pass to Gio Richardson that put the Wildcats in front 27-17 with 10:53 left. The score gave Fifita sole possession of the Arizona career record for touchdown passes with 68.
Sorsby took just his third sack of the season and then immediately fired a 33-yard first down pass to Caldwell. A couple plays later Allen held on to a fourth-and-6 first down catch at midfield to keep the drive alive.
A couple plays later Sorsby found Johnson for 12-yard pass on fourth-and-2 and then the true freshman Covington, Ga., bulldozed his way into the endzone from 1-yard out for his first career score. The touchdown capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive brought UC within a field goal, 27-24, with 6:38 left.
Fifita connected with a receiver Luke Wysong for 13 yards on third-and-4 and followed that with a six-yard completion on third down with 2:27 on the clock. After a holding penalty backed up Arizona to the 37-yard line, the Wildcats settled for a 51-yard field goal to make it 30-24 with 1:34 on the clock.
A 12-yard offensive pass interference backed up the Bearcats to their own 13-yard line on the first play of the drive. The ensuing possessions fell to incompletions as Arizona eventually kneeled out the clock.