How has the Cincinnati Bearcats' nocturnal success been at historic Nippert Stadium?
Good enough for two wins this season and a 4-0 start.
For a second straight week, the Cincinnati Bearcats came back from a halftime deficit to pull out a win, taking down the Kansas State Wildcats 31-26 in the Big 12 opener at Nippert Stadium.
The Bearcats scored 21 of their 31 points in the second half after trailing 17-10.
UC tied, then took the lead in the game in the third quarter on back-to-back drives ending with Cole Tabb rushing touchdowns. Tabb would finish the game with three rushing scores and 124 yards on the ground, while Gi'Bran Payne ran for 126. It was
Payne's third 100-yard effort in as many games as a Bearcat.
The performance gave UC a pair of 100-yard rushers for the first time since the Iowa State game in Ames in 2024 when Brendan Sorsby and Corey Kiner passed the century mark.
Kansas State got a late touchdown run from Rodney Fields Jr. to get within five points, but missed on the two-point conversion. The Bearcats then recovered the onside kick. Given the ball back, they did little on offense, returning the ball to the Wildcats. Fortunately, the UC defense held on to the much-needed Big 12 victory.
Quarterback JC French IV finished 8-for-13 passing for 165 yards and a score, while Kansas State QB Avery Johnson was as advertised, going 30-for-50 for 291 yards. The upside is he threw for just one touchdown and was held to 38 yards rushing after running for 152 last week vs. Tulane.
UC goes to 4-0 for the first time under Coach Scott Satterfield and for the seventh time since the turn of the century, the last being in 2021 under Luke Fickell when they advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinal vs. Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.
Kansas State falls to 3-1.
Night time is right time for Cincinnati Bearcats in 2026
Before the trouncing of FCS Western Carolina, the Bearcats under Scott Satterfield had no nighttime wins at home in kickoffs of 7 p.m. or later. Since 2006, UC was 40-16 when the event was labeled "Nipp at Night."
It was Kansas State's second night game of the season, the first coming in Manhattan in a 71-3 drubbing of Nicholls.
3 keys for UC
- UC's night vision opened up in the second half for the second straight week.
- UC was good enough in the trenches to pop Cole Tabb into the end zone three times and finish with two rushers over 100 yards.
- UC's defense struggled with Avery Johnson, but found a way.
Previous Big 12 'Nipp at Night' games
In Satterfield's first season, the Bearcats ended 2023 with a 49-16 loss to Kansas. In 2024, the season finale was again the only Big 12 night game at home with UC losing in the snow to TCU, 20-13.
Last season, they had a big opportunity vs. No. 11 BYU. Unfortunately, they were stopped on fourth down at the 3-yard line to prevent a score; Brendan Sorsby had a costly interception that gave BYU field position for a touchdown and UC had a fumble on the BYU 17-yard line. Add on three field goals, uncharacteristically missed, and the Bearcats quite possibly didn't convert on 23 points. The Cougars won the game 26-14.
Other night opportunities for Cincinnati Bearcats?
You can look no further than next weekend if you're a night owl and you don't mind an 11 p.m. start time. The Bearcats take on Arizona, which is on Mountain Time in the fall; it will be 8 p.m.
UC's last night road win was Oct. 18 last year, when they went to Oklahoma State as the No. 24 team in the nation and plowed the Cowboys 49-17to secure bowl eligibility. But two weeks later, after ESPN GameDay in Salt Lake City, the Bearcats got taken to the woodshed by Utah, 45-14.
As for any more potential home games under Nippert lights, those are all decided between the Big 12 and their TV partners. Two currently ranked teams that may warrant primetime are Texas Tech, who come here for Homecoming Oct. 24, and/or Utah, which comes to Cincinnati for Halloween on Oct. 31.
After that, the only remaining home game would be vs. Colorado on Nov. 21, when evenings can be brisk.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats get nighttime Big 12 win over Kansas State
