Cincinnati – The No. 4 Cincinnati Bearcats (13-0, 9-0) defeated the Houston Cougars (11-2, 8-1), 35-20, to win the American Athletic title and to secure their selection into the CFP to play No. 1 Alabama at the Cotton Bowl on December 31. The Bearcats achieved the “honor” of being the first of the Group of Five teams to ever earn a bid to be among the final four in the College Football Playoff. The Bearcats charged into the CFP defeating No. 21 Houston on MVP Gerard Ford’s spectacular performance of 18 rushes for 187 yards and two explosive touchdowns runs. Houston exchanged scores with Cincy early, but the Bearcat defense finally adapted and shut them down from the second period on.
Cougars compete
Houston scored on its first possession with Dalton Witherspoon’s 38-yard FG. Cincinnati advanced right down the field on their subsequent possession. The announced Nippert Stadium crowd of 37, 978 roared when Desmond Ridder connected with WR Tyler Scott for a 25-yard TD pass. U of H QB Clayton Tune (12 for 25, 250 yards, 2 TDS, 1 INT) led the Cougars right back finishing a 74-yard drive with a TD pass to Nathaniel Dell. On Cincy’s next play from scrimmage, Ford broke through the Houston defensive line and raced 79 yards for a 14-10 first quarter Cincinnati lead.
Houston WR Nathaniel Dell (1) sprints to Clayton Tune’s pass for Cougars’ first TD.
Houston reacted with a drive resulting in a Witherspoon 47-yard FG. The Bearcat defense held the Cougars to two field goals on three scoring drives to maintain the lead, 14-13. The next Cincy possession went for naught as a 23-yard FG failed. The Bearcat defense, however, started to stiffen thereafter. The next Houston possession advanced only 28 yards before punting. The next five Cougar series each ended in less than three plays each totaling -16 yards. A devastating turnover in the third period provided the Cats the momentum they needed for the victory.
Cincinnati defenders dropped Tune many times behind the line of scrimmage and held Houston to 86 rushing yards the entire game.
The “Bear” comes out of the Bearcats
Starting from the 25 on their first possession in the second half, Ridder (11 for 17, 190 yards, 3 TDs) rolled right on a run-pass option from the eight. He fired the ball to Leonard Taylor on a sprint out pattern to pad the Bearcats margin, 21-13. The CFP committee would be looking for Bearcat dominance in their post-season win to assure them a spot.
On the first play of Houston’s next series, Tune fired a pass over the middle snagged quickly out of the air by Cincy LB Joel Dublanko. He gave the home Bearcats a great field position at the U of H 23. Two plays later, Ridder tossed a 21-yard strike to TE Alec Pierce falling backwards in the end zone to extend the CU lead again, 28-13. Looking good for the CFP pollsters.
Bearcat Cheerleaders had much to smile about throughout their team’s CFP audition.
Putting the “C” in CFP
Next, the Bearcats forced a Cougar punt from the 18 after pushing them back 12 yards. The fired-up Cat defense sacked Tune eight times and made 12 tackles for losses by the end of the day. The offense went back to work quickly. Ford burst over right tackle, swerved to his left, and raced again untouched for a 42-yard TD run. Up 35-13, the defense held again. How could the CFP committee ignore this team? A subsequent UC drive resulted in a turnover on downs before heading into the final period.
After playing solid, heads-up defense for 30 minutes, the Bearcats relented slightly. Cougar WR Dell (9 catches, 152 yards, 1 TD) grabbed a pass for 53 yards to the CU seven. With 6:06 remaining, Tune connected with Jake Herslow for a scoring pass. After that, the Bearcats remained in control running out the clock on offense while the defense turned the ball over on downs on Houston’s one, remaining drive.
Cincy LB Darrian Beavers (0) signals Houston’ s final turnover on downs to to punctuate the Bearcat victory and to start the night-long celebration!
Resume submitted
As the game ended, the partisan Cincinnati crowd burst into celebration. The sense pervaded that the Cats’ win earned them the place to be invited into the CFP the next day. It happened. The CFP committee finally saw what they needed to. Oklahoma State lost earlier. Notre Dame’s only loss came at home to these Bearcats, the only remaining undefeated team in the country. And now still undefeated, American Athletic Conference champs! The margin of victory was what the CFP committee wanted to see.
The celebration went on for hours after the American Athletic Trophy award was presented by AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco. A CFP championship shot was the focus of this team since its Peach Bowl 24-21 loss to Georgia last season. Desmond Ridder and fellow seniors such as DB Coby Bryant, S Bryan Cook, OL Cody Lamb, DL Myjai Sanders, Pierce, Beavers, and Dublanko came back to get a national championship despite what media “experts” say. They definitely deserve to prove their worthiness to all of college football now.
Nippert Stadium erupts for post-game celebration of the American Athletic Conference title and the anticipated bid to play for the CFP championship!
Let’s go Bowling!
The Bearcats get their wish into the CFP 2021 and will face No. 1 seed Alabama (12-1, 8-1) at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on January 31. When the Bearcats win, the CFP championship prices will drop, and we will be there in Indy!
No. 21 Houston (11-2) heads to the Ticketsmarter Birmingham Bowl on December 28 to face the Auburn Tigers (6-6). Auburn lost their last four, and we saw them fall to PSU, 28-20. We plan to go to this bowl, too. Our move to Tennessee this past year put us in range of a lot of desirable bowl opportunities. We plan to do this as long as we still can.
Before Bowl season and the CFP begin, however, we have our final regular season game this Saturday at The Meadowlands. It’s the only FBS game of the day and rightfully so! All we have to say is, “Go Navy! Beat Army!”
-by Steve Koreivo, ed. Author of “Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who’s seen ’em all!” Click on the title to order your copy for Christmas from Amazon.com!
Sportsmanship – nice to see. Houston WR Nathaniel Dell awaits outside the Cincy post-game celebration and fans shake his hand for a well-played game.
