Cincinnati Football: Bearcats score nine touchdowns in home opener

After being forced to punt on the opening drive, the Bearcats’ offense found a rhythm and scored three consecutive touchdowns to take a commanding lead over Kennesaw State en route to a 63-10 win.

To get the scoring started midway through the first quarter, Ben Bryant connected with Josh Whyle for a 17-yard score. A few minutes later, the senior signal caller hit Leonard Taylor for another touchdown.

Bryant continued to spread the ball around on the following drive, finding Tyler Scott wide open for a touchdown to take a 21-0 lead. During the postgame press conference, Luke Fickell broke down the offensive performance per Cincinnati Athletics.

"“First offensive possession that blows up on a sack to start with but for us to still move it out to a position to punt the ball well, made me feel better about what we were doing. Then for them to come back the next three possessions and really take charge. I thought offensively in the first half, we were moving and it felt good.”"

Cincinnati Football: Bearcats score nine touchdowns in home opener

Even though the game was already out of reach, the Bearcats made sure to stay aggressive and focused. Mike Tressel’s defense took over in the third quarter as Jabari Taylor and Ja’Von Hicks turned a couple of turnovers into touchdowns to blow the game open.

In between the two defensive touchdowns, Charles McClelland slipped right through Kennesaw State’s defense for a score of his own. Corey Kiner reached the end zone as well with a 12-yard run early in the fourth quarter to give the Bearcats a 49-3 lead.

Myles Montgomery capped the night with a 76-yard touchdown to cement the 63-10 win. Fickell later explained why it’s important to have three running backs in the rotation via Cincinnati Athletics.

"“We want to figure out who those two running backs are and then you have a third guy. It’s a position where you’re going to see three guys for the majority of the time. As we continue to go forward, we’ll see what roles they figure out but Chuck (McClelland) is kind of the leader of the pack and there’s a lot he can do for us.”"