TUCSON, AZ – The Cincinnati Bearcats were dealt their first defeat of the year by the Arizona Wildcats in a late-night blowout.
Playing in Mountain Standard Time in Arizona in front of 43,760 at Casino Del Sol Stadium, the Wildcats whacked the Bearcats in the cactus catfight, 34-7.
If not for a late touchdown when the game was already decided, UC was facing their first shutout since getting blistered in Columbus by Ohio State seven years ago. JC French IV scampered for a score just after the two-minute warning to save such embarrassment.
It did spoil Arizona's first shutout win since 2009, but the Wildcats should feel good about themselves as they beat the Bearcats at their own game.
The Bearcats had outrushed their opponents in the previous four
games by a sizeable margin and came in averaging 270 rushing yards per game. But Arizona's rush defense was No. 13 in the country for a reason, and they took away UC's ground game and much of the air game.
UC was outrushed by the Wildcats 238-74 and outgained overall 533-227. Antwan Roberts led all ball carriers with 87 yards and Quincy Craig had 77, both surpassing UC's team total.
It was torment in Tucson.
JC French led UC with just 29 yards on the ground while Gi'Bran Payne was held to 24 yards and Cole Tabb had 19.
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita was, as expected, throwing 37 times, completing 25 for 284 yards and two touchdowns. French finished 16-of-29 for 153 yards.
UC’s now lost to Arizona in consecutive seasons and drops to 4-1 (1-1 Big 12).
Arizona goes to 4-1 (1-1 Big 12) with their lone loss coming at BYU. UC makes another Mountain Time trip to Provo to face the BYU Cougars Nov. 28.
The Bearcats are now 0-4 in games in the time zone since entering the Big 12.
3 key factors in Cincinnati Bearcats at Arizona
- UC's efforts to combat the Mountain Time Zone were not enough to overcome the Wildcats at night.
UC came into the game averaging over 40 points per game. The Bearcats hadn't been shut out since Sept. 7, 2019, in Luke Fickell's third season when Ohio State did the honors.
2. Were the Bearcats able to contain the elusive Noah Fifita?
He was sacked, he was intercepted, but he was elusive enough to make the Bearcats miss.
3. UC's much-publicized offensive line got bushwhacked in the desert. Arizona was able to get to French, and Payne and Tabb were ineffective in the run game.
UC Bearcats failed to capitalize early
After MJ Cannon intercepted Fifita in the first quarter, the Bearcats had the ball at the Arizona 35-yard line. But after French was sacked, UC had to settle for a 53-yard Stephen Rusnak field goal attempt. It clanked off the crossbar.
In the second quarter, UC went on a 14-play, 86-yard drive covering nearly seven minutes. On 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line, French's pass to the end zone for tight end Gavin Grover was ruled incomplete. So there were possibly 10 points not score and UC trailed 10-0 at halftime.
However, they were equally inept offensively after halftime.
Looking ahead to Morgantown
The Bearcats have their only bye week after playing five straight weekends, while Arizona travels to Morgantown for West Virginia on Oct. 10. Just as UC had to play two time zones to the west, the Wildcats will go to the east, where next weekend's kickoff is at noon (Eastern), which equates to 9 a.m. in Tucson.
The following weekend, UC visits Morgantown to face the Mountaineers. UC's record against West Virginia is not favorable, as they trail 18-3-1 in the series. James P. Kelly UC Athletic Hall of Famer Tony Pike quarterbacked the Bearcats to the last two wins in 2008 and 2009 when the teams were in the Big East.
Current coach Rich Rodriguez only lost to UC once in his first go-round at WVU, a 15-13 decision in 2003, Rick Minter's final year with the Bearcats. West Virginia played at Iowa State Oct. 3, losing 45-42 despite outrushing the Cyclones 291-265.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats beaten, bruised up front in loss to Arizona
