Cincinnati Bearcats fifth-year running back Ryan Montgomery totaled a season-best 113 rushing yards and one touchdown in his return from injury!
Despite coming up short again, Cincinnati continued to find success on the ground but it wasn’t enough to overcome multiple costly penalties and turnovers.
Montgomery nearly helped the Bearcats complete a double digit comeback before eventually coming up short during a loss to the UCF Knights yesterday.
There are plenty of questions that must be answered at practice in the coming weeks as the Bearcats gear up to face the Houston Cougars next weekend.
Ryan Montgomery reacted to his impressive return after missing more than a month with an injury. #Bearcatshttps://t.co/dK48pmGTaH pic.twitter.com/tLZlyYuiF9
— Cincy on the Prowl (@CincyOnTheProwl) November 5, 2023
Cincinnati Football: Ryan Montgomery returns from injury with impressive performance
Cincinnati had a chance to tie the game in the final minutes but a potential two-point conversion fell incomplete and UCF was able to run out the clock.
On the final drive of the game, Bearcats quarterback Emory Jones found wide receiver Braden Smith for a pivotal first down en route to scoring a touchdown.
Scott Satterfield’s team has lost seven consecutive games and remains winless in conference play with less than a month remaining in the regular season.
The Bearcats held an advantage in first downs, total yards and time of possession but a couple of crucial turnovers in the first half were too much to conquer.
Ryan Montgomery finds the end zone as the #Bearcats take a 17-14 lead over rival UCF in the third quarter!https://t.co/4u0ppRMuiPpic.twitter.com/ZTySgFt8uZ
— Cincy on the Prowl (@CincyOnTheProwl) November 4, 2023
Cincinnati Football: Bearcats ongoing quarterback battle continues in loss against UCF
In the final minutes of the first quarter, the Bearcats gave back up quarterback Brady Lichtenberg the go-ahead to replace starting signal caller Emory Jones.
Jones played much better after returning late in the first half, completing 16 out of 22 attempts for 217 passing yards and one touchdown in the narrow loss.
Lichtenberg played well during the first meaningful minutes in his young career, completing three out of five attempts for 50 passing yards in two drives.
Satterfield spoke on the quarterback situation in the postgame press conference as both players will see the field going forward per Cincinnati Athletics.