The Battle for the Victory Bell was JC French's first game on natural grass since Sept. 8 of last year, when he threw a couple of touchdown passes against USC in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Unfortunately, he was also sacked three times, and his Georgia Southern team was drubbed by the Trojans 59-20.
Saturday, Sept. 19 at TQL Stadium, home of FC Cincinnati, he played in a thriller against another good quarterback and led his team from a 21-point deficit at halftime to win 35-31.
UC's JC French, Miami's David McComb put on show at TQL Stadium
It was French's first Battle for the Victory Bell vs. the Miami RedHawks. He responded with a UC career-high 309 passing yards with a pair of touchdown passes and a touchdown run. French was 31-for-43 and still hasn't thrown an interception in three games. He did
get sacked three times.
"I have so much faith in this offense," French said. "We just did what we were coached to do."
His counterpart Saturday was on the sidelines a year ago in Lawrence, Kansas, when the Bearcats had a come-from-behind victory over the Jayhawks. Redshirt freshman David McComb had a career-best 334-yard game going 17-for 28.
Helping UC pull out the win was a late interception by Kenny Worthy, McComb's first pick of the year. Like French, he was also sacked three times. The last was a strip-sack by Antwan Peek Jr. that resulted with defensive lineman Drew Logan landing on the ball to preserve the improbable win.
In Week 2 against Western Carolina, French was 21-for-24 for 245 yards, two touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 200.7. After a 59-14 loss at Pitt, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound McComb hit all 13 of his passes vs. Holy Cross in Week 2 for three touchdowns and a 327.4 quarterback rating.
The Victory Bell game at TQL Stadium in front of 21,045 was McComb's third college game. It was the 39th time French had taken the field. McComb finished with the higher quarterback rating of 165.6 and completed 61% of his throws. French's quarterback rating was slightly lower at 147.8, but he completed 72% of his passes. Most importantly, he returned to campus with the Victory Bell.
"Speaking of not panicking and playing with poise, that's JC French," UC head coach Scott Satterfield said. "He was very calm out there. We're down and he's just making the play. We asked a lot of him tonight. The fourth down, first down he got was incredible. He was stopped and he spun off and got a first down. I thought he played, really, really good."
UC Bearcats QB JC French vs. Miami RedHawks QB David McComb
The first quarter went to French individually as he went 8-for-10 for 78 yards, to McComb's 2-for-4 for 44. But thanks to Scoop Smith's game-opening kickoff return for a touchdown and a successful second drive by the RedHawks, the men of McComb led 14-7.
McComb made more strides in the second quarter, with several precise downfield throws and an eventual 6-yard run for a score, giving the RedHawks a 21-7 lead. A late touchdown pass before halftime gave Miami a comfortable 28-7 lead and led to enough boos from UC fans at TQL Stadium that you would have thought it was Halloween.
UC added a rushing touchdown from French and a scoring pass to Cole Tabb in the fourth quarter to narrow the gap to 28-21, then outscored Miami 14-3 in the final frame with 166 yards of total offense to 62 for the RedHawks. In the second half, French's Bearcats outgained McComb's RedHawks 280 -163.
Sacks, interceptions, who did better? UC's French or Miami's McComb?
French came into the game having not thrown an interception and being sacked just once. The RedHawks only allowed two sacks in their previous encounters.
Both quarterbacks were dropped three times, with both coughing up the ball. McComb's was mostly costly as it came with 36 seconds left.
"He competes his tail off," Miami coach Chuck Martin said. "He's so down on himself right now, that's why he's going to be great."
Miami hosts Connecticut Sept. 26 at Yager Stadium, while French will face another great quarterback when Avery Johnson and Kansas State come to Nippert Sept. 26 for a 7 p.m. kick on ESPN2.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How UC Bearcats QB JC French IV did in Victory Bell battle vs. Miami
