In their first two games, the Cincinnati Bearcatsaveraged 337 rushing yards, with a 100-yard-plus runner in each contest.
The much-heralded offensive line, directed by coach Nic Cardwell, plowed for 254 yards against Boston College, with Gi'Bran Payne gaining 108 of those. They followed by walloping Western Carolina with 420 yards on the ground, 102 more from Payne and seven rushing touchdowns.
Taking the pancake act to TQL Stadium's grass Sept. 19 against the Miami RedHawks, the Bearcats' run game was stopped in the skillet- until it wasn't.
Taking the ball
on their own 15-yard line with 3:46 to go, the Bearcats passed the ball six times. The last from JC French to Larenzo Fenner went nine yards to the UC 47-yard-line. On 3rd-and-1, the next play went to the belly of Cole Tabb, who broke away on a 53-yard run for a touchdown.
Though UC coach Scott Satterfield feared they scored too early, the touchdown trot held up and the Bearcats pulled off the wild comeback after trailing 28-7 at halftime to win 35-31.
It was the longest rush of the game and longest of the season for the Bearcats, who wound up outrushing the RedHawks 137-76. It was UC's lowest running total since gaining just 106 yards last season against Bowling Green, when they passed for 333.
But French had a UC-best 309 yards passing, so he credited his line nonetheless after the dramatic win.
"I'm just doing what we needed to do to win," French said. "Offensive line was great tonight and defense gave me those opportunities to push the ball downfield."
Will UC Bearcats run game rebound?
"Our backs and our O-line are elite," French said. "Miami on defense tries to add more to the box. They add one more guy. It called for a day of passing. We just have to play off each other and in the second half we did that well. The defense helped us out a lot. We just need to continue playing team football, especially going into Big 12 play."
Said UC head coach Scott Satterfield, "They stack the box. They do a great job stopping the run. I remember a game two years ago, Corey Kiner had to break several tackles to get some yards. They always have an extra guy down there. Coming into this game, we said, let's try to spread'em out a little bit more. We didn't get into a rhythm in the first half. Second half it opened up a lot more."
Sluggish start for UC offense
Miami seized momentum early with a 98-yard kickoff return by Scoop Smith.
UC's opening drive left much to be desired. French rushed for three yards, Tabb for two, then Gi'Bran Payne caught a pass for three yards. Max Fletcher punted for just 34 yards and UC came away with a paltry eight yards to start.
Less than four minutes into the game, Miami was driving again and Lazaro Rogers had a 12-yard touchdown. He would run for just two more yards the rest of the game.
Tabb's first of three touchdowns got UC on the board in the first quarter to cut the Miami lead to 14-7, but RedHawks quarterback David McComb ran for a score and threw for another for a commanding 28-7 halftime lead.
Different story for UC Bearcats in 2nd half
Poise was the motto in the UC locker room at halftime and French added a rushing touchdown and a scoring pass to Tabb to get the Bearcats within a touchdown at 28-21.
Miami added an early fourth-quarter field goal to go up 10, but it was French to JV Gibson for a third week in a row at 6:20, the Tabb's 53-yard dash for glory to give the Bearcats the improbable comeback.
Victory Bell sack stats for UC, Miami
French had only been sacked once in two games, but was the first to go down with 2:37 left in the first quarter, spoiling a drive. McComb, not known for his running, escaped several jams and was Miami's most effective rusher most of the game.
French would go down two more times, including a costly strip sack caused by St. Xavier's Grant Lyons who got by UC left tackle Joe Cotton.
"It's very unlike Joe Cotton," French said. "Joe Cotton's an absolute stud. It was a tough point in the game, but I think we responded very well. Especially that O-line group. Nothing makes them flinch and that carries through the whole team. It's really cool seeing how much we can bounce back."
UC nose tackle Thomas Hough returned the favor on McComb less than 30 seconds later for UC's first takedown of the redshirt freshman. Late in the game, Jonathan Thompson added a sack, then it was Antwan Peek Jr. with the sack and strip with 36 seconds to go with the ball landing in the paws of defensive lineman Drew Logan.
All three sacks for UC came in the final frame.
Though playing on the soccer pitch at TQL Stadium in front of 21,045, there was no extra time to be added. It was game, set, match with a band of Bearcats celebrating a harder-than-expected victory.
How does Cincinnati Bearcats run game stack up?
Nationally, before the Miami RedHawks meeting, UC was No. 4 in all of FBS in rushing, trailing only two service academies who typically don't throw much (Army and Navy) and South Carolina. They didn't have a 100-yard rusher, but sprung Tabb when it counted.
Miami fared better on third-down conversions, going 6-for-12 to UC's 6-for-14, but the Bearcats went 3-for-4 on fourth down and 4-for-4 in the red zone, though most of the visits came in the second half.
Kansas State's offensive line comes to Nippert Sept. 26
UC will face a Wildcats group that rushed for 201 yards in their 31-20 win over Tulane Sept. 19. Quarterback Avery Johnson was responsible for the bulk of that with 152 yards and two touchdowns.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How UC Bearcats much-hyped offensive line found way vs. Miami RedHawks
