TicketsHOUSTON — Houston running back Re’Shaun Sanford’s 51-yard touchdown with 5:10 left broke a 24-24 tie and proved to be the winning score as Cincinnati fell 31-24 on Saturday at TDECU Stadium.
Cincinnati running back Zylan Perry dropped a swing pass that was later ruled a fumble on the Bearcats’ ensuing possession. The Cougars received the ball back with just over two minutes left and were able to bleed the clock.
“We got off to a tough start, and they jumped up on us, but our guys are going to continue to fight, which they did,” Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield said. “We got back in this game. I thought we played a really good second half and tied it up on an unbelievable drive. I think we started at the minus six-yard-line and had a 16-play drive to tie the game up. That was an incredible effort. We didn’t score enough points tonight.
“I told our guys on Friday night that it is going to come down to who plays the cleanest. If you look at the stats, we had the turnover and they didn’t have any. I think that’s the difference in the game.”
Houston quarterback Conner Weigman finished with two passing touchdowns and a rushing score, while Sanford totaled 126 yards on the ground.
Cincinnati was led by quarterback JC French who accounted for all three Cincinnati scores (two passing and one rushing). Running back Gi’Bran Payne had 71 yards rushing in the second half.
The Bearcats dropped to 5-4 overall and 2-4 in the Big 12. The Cougars improved to 7-2 and 4-2 in the league.
Houston jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but a 13-play, seven-minute drive capped by a Cole Tabb touchdown catch and a 4th-and-1 stop from the defense that led to a field goal brought UC within 14-10.
After the Cougars took a 21-10 lead at the break, Cincinnati received the ball to open the second half and promptly marched down the field on a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive to make the score 21-17 following junior tight end Gavin Grover’s first career touchdown – a 34-yard catch.
Tabb finished with 60 rushing yards on 12 carries and 34 receiving yards and a score on three receptions, but Cincinnati’s star running back was knocked out of the game with an injury on the first drive of the third quarter.
After holding Houston to a field goal to make the score 24-17, both teams traded punts and Cincinnati entered the fourth quarter with the ball and down by a touchdown.
The Bearcats took over at their own 4-yard line and put together their longest drive of the season.
Wide receiver JV Gibson suffered a head injury while making a play for a catch in the end zone at the end of the drive. He exited the game midway through the fourth quarter. Gibson was stabilized, placed on a stretcher and transported to Memorial-Hermann Texas Medical Center for further evaluation. He was alert and moving all extremities prior to transport.
Houston defensive back Jordan Allen was kicked out of the game for targeting and French’s QB keeper on 2nd-and-goal from the 2-yard line evened the game 24-24 and capped a resilient 16-play, 96-yard drive.
Sanford’s score put Houston in front 31-24.