TicketsMEMPHIS, Tenn. – Senior wide receiver Cyrus Allen tied the Cincinnati single-season record with his 13th touchdown reception, but the Bearcats fell to the No. 22-ranked Navy Midshipmen, 35-13, in the 67th AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Friday in a steady downpour inside Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
The Bearcats finished the season with a record of 7-6, while the Midshipmen improved to 11-2.
UC held Navy – nation’s No. 1 rushing offense (289.3 ypg entering Friday) – to 241 yards on the ground, but Navy quarterback Blake Horvath made several big plays to lead the Midshipmen to victory.
“I’m disappointed tonight that we did not get it done against a really good Navy team,” head coach Scott Satterfield said. “We came up short, and I’m obviously disappointed in that and how we finished.
“I'm proud of the guys that were here in the last four weeks on campus that stuck it out with us right here at the end to go compete in this bowl game… from Gavin Gerhardt to Ben Blevins, Jack Dingle, Brady Lichtenberg...Some of these guys have been in this program for a long time, and have such pride about our program, in our school, and every single day, show up and work their butts off.
“As we turn the page to the transfer portal, we're looking for guys like these guys right here: guys with character. They're going to show up, love football, love to compete. There’s one portal period, and we're going to get to work when we get back in town.”
Horvath rushed for a touchdown and passed for two more, while Navy running back Alex Tecza rushed for 80 yards and one touchdown
Cincinnati played two quarterbacks with redshirt senior Brady Lichtenberg making his second career start in his final game.
Lichtenberg finished the game 10-for-15 for 78 yards and a touchdown in the pouring rain. His TD pass went to senior wide receiver Cyrus Allen, his 13th touchdown catch of the year. That ties the single-season school record for most touchdown catches in a season, matching Marcus Barnett’s 2007 season when he caught 13 touchdowns.
Redshirt freshman QB Samaj Jones entered on the second series and totaled 57 rushing yards on 15 carries to go along with 19 passing yards on 2-of-5 attempts. He also ran for a touchdown.
Redshirt sophomore Manny Covey finished with 159 all-purpose yards. He had 78 rushing yards on 11 carries, 53 punt return yards and caught five passes for 28 yards, including an 18-yard reception on a 4th-and-10 play.
Redshirt junior safety Antwan Peek Jr. led the Bearcats with 11 tackles, tying his career high, and redshirt junior linebacker Jonathan Thompson added eight stops with a TFL and fumble recovery.
The Cincinnati defense opened the game by holding the Navy offense to 3-and-out on its first two drives, but the Midshipmen put together a seven-play, 63-yard touchdown drive that featured a 34-yard rush by running back Alex Tecza to set up a two-yard score by Horvath at 3:19 in the first frame.
The Bearcats’ offense was forced to punt on its first three drives, but Jones spearheaded the longest drive of the season to tie the game up midway through the second quarter.
The redshirt freshman quarterback capped a 17-play, 75-yard drive that ate up 8:32 on the clock with a six-yard scramble up the middle to turn a broken play into a touchdown, tying the game 7-7, at the 10-minute mark in the second quarter. Jones converted two fourth downs during the series, including an 18-yard catch-and-run by redshirt sophomore running back Manny Covey on 4th-and-10 that placed the Bearcats into the red zone.
Navy took the lead into halftime after Horvath found receiver Luke Hutchison for a 30-yard touchdown reception with 44 seconds remaining the second quarter.
The Midshipmen received the ball to open the second half and Horvath engineered an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive in which he zipped a 13-yard touchdown pass to snipe back/receiver Eli Heidenreich to give Navy a 21-7 lead at 10:15 in the third quarter.
Covey had a career-long rush of 36 yards on Cincinnati’s first play of the second half, but receiver Cyrus Allen’s pitch back to Lichtenberg was fumbled on a trick play that gave the ball back to Navy.
Two plays later Navy gave the ball right back to the Bearcats when redshirt sophomore linebacker Brian Simms III punched the ball loose on a Horvath run and Thompson recovered.
UC and Navy traded punts, and a dropped pass at midfield on fourth-and-6 ended Cincinnati’s final drive of the third quarter.
The final points of the night came courtesy of Coleman Cauley’s interception return for a touchdown with 2:54 remaining in the game. With UC pinned on its own 1-yard line, Cauley picked off Lichtenberg and ran it in from the five.