Cincy on the Prowl
Fansided

UC Bearcats Defense Bludgeons Its Way To 34-23 Win Over Miami Hurricanes

By Chris Bains

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The Cincinnati Bearcats, behind their defense of all sides of the ball, battered their way to a 34-23 win over the Miami Hurricanes, exacting some sweet, sweet revenge over a beat down on the road last year. Wasn’t that fun, folks? I’m going to do my best to some up last night’s events into something other than a garbled mess of inaudible sounds and twitching motions.

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It’s been a while since we’ve been able to sit back and truly enjoy a UC football game over a quality opponent. Sure, it was stressful at times last night, especially basically during the entirety of the third quarter when the Bearcats were clinging to a one touchdown lead, which you know can be erased in a hurry considering this defense. But they were outstanding against the Hurricanes.

The stats wouldn’t necessarily show it. They allowed 427 total yards to Miami, 30 more than their season average, and they didn’t record an interception for the second straight game.

But, well beyond the stats, they had an attitude about them we haven’t seen since oh.. I don’t know, 2008? Maybe 2012? It had to be the energy off a sold out, record setting, blacked out crowd at Nippert Stadium that was adding the fuel to their fire of being just 2-2 and huge liabilities thus far in 2015. I think this play by Leviticus Payne sums up their performance best.

Shades of Haruki Nakamura, isn’t it?

The defense finally lived up to the hype the coaches gave them all offseason; the linebackers were quick to cover ground from sideline to sideline, the defensive line was creating havoc up front, and the secondary was hanging on receiver like flies on a horse. Plus Steve Clinkscale’s play calls down the stretch, to bring more pressure and not sit in a cover-three and cover-four shell, basically won that game for the Bearcats. Sure he was ultra conservative for the first three quarters and it drove me bonkers but when it mattered the most he dialed up pressure, the Hurricanes struggled to adjust, and UC emerged victorious.

And how can you write a summary about the Bearcats nowadays and not mention redshirt freshman sensation Hayden Moore? He went 22-of-33 last night for 279 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Again, the stats don’t really tell the whole story. His last meaningful drives, one of which extended UC’s lead to two possessions and the other to seal it away, proved he’s mature and talented well beyond his years. This is a quarterback that guides this offense like a seasoned veteran and when Gunner Kiel gets healthy again, the coaches are going to have some sleepless nights deciding which one to go with on game week.

Finally, there’s the rushing attack, the sometimes forgotten cog that makes the Cincinnati offense click. I was critical of Tion Green and Hosey Williams coming into the game last night. They were averaging a paltry 4.8 yards per carry this season and coming off a performance against Memphis when they averaged just 3.7, a contest where UC was without Mike Boone. The Bearcats missed him again last night but Williams and Green picked up the slack in a big way, rushing for over 170 yards on just 26 carries (6.5 per) on the Canes. Their ability to move the chains, keep the offense on schedule, and make Miami shift their attention from the wide receivers to the line of scrimmage was as instrumental to Cincinnati winning as anything else. It was extremely relieving to see them break out like that against a quality opponent.

Going forward, it’s unclear what UC’s season holds. The Bearcats have two weeks off, which is well earned after a stressful September, and visiting BYU in Provo, Utah on October 16th. They’re sitting at 3-2 but 0-2 in the conference. UC’s clinging to theor Access Bowl and AAC Championship hope like many a tree on the edge of a cliff. It’s clear Cincinnati is playing its best football at the moment and if they can keep that train a-rollin’ who knows how the season could shake out.