The Cincinnati Bearcats might be back.
Saturday was a moment four years in the making at Nippert Stadium. Last time the Bearcats generated a ranked victory, it concluded in a celebratory field storm and a secured spot in the College Football Playoff — knocking off No. 16 Houston to win the 2021 American Conference Championship Game.
Much has changed since. A new conference. A new head coach. And no bowl appearances for two years. The Bearcat patiently waited for the program to restore its winning ways,
and Saturday was a massive step in the right direction. Cincinnati flew past No. 14 Iowa State 38-30 in wire-to-wire fashion, jumping to a 31-7 first half lead to set the tone. The Cyclones represented the highest-ranked opponent the Bearcats defeated since No. 9 Notre Dame in 2021, and a field storm once again enveloped the grass at Nippert Stadium.
Here are five takeaways from perhaps the most significant home win of the Scott Satterfield era:
Tawee Walker is a truck
Cincinnati currently ranks top 10 in yards per play in the FBS. Last Saturday against Kansas, it was Brendan Sorsby and the passing game which stole the show. But Saturday at Nippert Stadium, the Bearcats dominated the first half largely due to an unshakeable run game. Cincinnati totaled 260 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 7.6 yards per carry, led by the duo of Evan Pryor and Tawee Walker.
Pryor produced 111 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 attempts, breaking free for 10+ yards on half his carries. Walker added 89 yards on 14 rushes, and while the Wisconsin transfer never appeared in the end zone, he certainly made his way into the highlight reel. The 5’8”, 218 pound tailback showcased his toughness on almost every run. He Mack Truck’d his way through several defenders, most notably decleating an Iowa State defender in the first quarter.
Sorsby throws one of the best deep balls
Brendan Sorsby dominated the stat sheet in Week 5 at Kansas with 388 passing yards and two touchdowns, leading a go-ahead drive in the waning seconds for the road win. While Sorsby’s stats took a step back in Week 6 with 214 yards and two touchdowns on a 13-of-25 showing, the quarterback still delivered crucial throws to prove he’s one of the best in the country.
Sorsby’s deep ball placement was incredible Saturday. When Iowa State posed a threat of a comeback in the middle of the fourth quarter, the second-year Bearcat starter dusted off this skill to seal the contest, hitting Caleb Goodie in stride for an 82-yard touchdown. The verticality Sorsby brings to the offense shows in the stat sheet as he averages 9.5 yards per attempt to rank 11th among FBS quarterbacks with 100 passes. Other than one blunder in the Week 1 Nebraska game, Sorsby has also done a stand-up job at avoiding high safeties on these throws. He has 12 touchdowns to one interception this year, and perhaps his best deep throw vs. Iowa State wasn’t even a touchdown. He sustained a scoring drive in the first half with a perfect 36-yard sideline delivery to Noah Jennings on 3rd and 10 to show the extent of his abilities.
Penalties remain a problem
Penalties were nearly the difference between a signature win and a loss in Week 5 at Kansas. Cincinnati saw not one, not two, not three, but four touchdowns wiped off the board due to yellow flags — and three of those drives wound up in field goals instead for a 12-point difference on the scoreboard. The penalty problem persisted in the Bearcats’ second Big 12 matchup of the season. They were flagged 13 times for 128 yards and countless big plays were wiped off the board due to these calls.
Cincinnati committed six personal foul/targeting penalties, and that doesn’t even double-count one second quarter play that featured both a facemask and a targeting. The final seconds of the first half also saw a critical, albeit controversial pass interference on Matthew McDoom — whose interception was overturned by the flag, ultimately resulting in eight Iowa State points on the final play of the second quarter.
But the fourth quarter was particularly alarming as Cincinnati drew nine flags for 73 yards. One offensive drive that resulted in a punt featured four penalties — personal foul negating a 19-yard run, ineligible man downfield negating a 26-yard completion, ineligible man downfield negating a 52-yard completion, and an illegal formation on the punt. There was even a rare “illegal batting” penalty on a punt prior to Iowa State’s final possession. Anyway, the Bearcats’ talent was undeniable, but this must be cleaned up. For the second-straight week, penalties made a contest much closer than it needed to be.
What an odd ending that was
The aforementioned penalty barrage played a part in it, but this was an incredibly strange ending. Iowa State extended this game until the final play, thanks to converting 4-of-5 fourth downs in the fourth quarter to keep Cincinnati from sealing it — fueling a 23-7 Cyclone run to end the game.
Iowa State sliced the deficit to 38-30 with 1:56 remaining after a 4th and goal touchdown pass from Rocco Becht to Chase Sowell and a successful two-point conversion. Cincinnati then recovered the onside kick but punted after a three-and-out. The punt was reviewed for a long time and the referees ultimately flagged Bearcats’ Jake Golday for the rare “illegal batting” penalty for smacking the punted ball backward off a bounce. That gave Iowa State two tries from its own 35-yard line for a miracle.
However, Iowa State’s end-of-game lateral play was just odd. In what Scott Van Pelt calls “pitchy pitchy woo woo,” the Cyclones didn’t seem interested in moving upfield. There were two consecutive pitches that seemed unnecessary, voluntarily moving backward with no Cincinnati defender in the area. Then tight end Benjamin Brahmer took the final pitch and willingly gave ran out of bounds at the Iowa State 49-yard line. Despite entering as favorites, a field storm ensued at Nippert Stadium for the first time in four years immediately after the odd lateral play subsided.
Arlington is open for business
Let’s talk Big 12 Championship picture. Yes, every team still has six or seven games looming, but Cincinnati showed it has the mettle to crash the contender’s circle this year after consecutive wins over 4-2 Kansas and 5-1 Iowa State. Also, the schedule shapes up favorably for the Bearcats which have remaining home games vs. UCF (3-2), Baylor (4-2), Arizona (4-1), and BYU (5-0), as well as road games at Oklahoma State (1-4), Utah (4-1), and TCU (4-1).
Key teams avoided include a current AP Top 10 Texas Tech squad and reigning champion Arizona State. If the Bearcats can collect key tiebreakers over the BYUs, Utahs, or TCUs of the conference, they could find themselves in the Big 12 Championship Game conversation come November — after two years of completely avoiding it. It’s no mystery Texas Tech is one overwhelming favorite to qualify for Arlington right now considering the Red Raiders haven’t trailed for a single second, won all five matchups by 24+ points, and handled 4-1 Utah and 4-1 Houston on the road while also leaving tons of points on the table.
But that second spot appears wide open right now, and if Cincinnati’s offense sustains its dominance, maybe the Bearcats can become this year’s Arizona State.
