Cincinnati Bearcats eke out win over ECU, stay in hunt for 3rd straight AAC title

The University of Cincinnati football team seems to flip a switch in November under head coach Luke Fickell. On Friday night, the Bearcats found a way to keep that switch up and the power on as they continue their march toward a third straight American Athletic Conference championship.

Ben Bryant struggled with his accuracy but threw two touchdowns, Tyler Scott caught one of them and had 140 yards receiving and Cincinnati eked out a 27-25 win over East Carolina at Nippert Stadium.

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"Well, it doesn't get any closer than that," said a noticeably relieved Fickell, who improved to 5-1 against ECU (6-4, 3-3), including wins in each of the last five meetings.

With the victory, the Bearcats (8-2, 5-1 AAC) extended their program-record home winning streak to 32 games and improved to 18-4 in November under Fickell. They also kept their hopes of winning a third straight AAC title alive with two games remaining.

"November's for champions," Fickell said. "November is for championship teams. You want to be playing for something in November. What you do in January, what do you in the offseason is really meant for November. ... It's kind of the way I was brought up. Coach Tress (former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel) instilled and pounded that into my head for 10 years about what it means to play in November and what you have to do. I try to continue to pound it here about that's a big philosophy of how we do things and what we want to do."

Cincinnati's first primetime home game of the season got off to a turbulent start. With his predecessor, Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder, watching from the sideline, Bryant took a sack for a 10-yard loss on third-and-5 to halt the Bearcats' first drive. The senior quarterback was sacked again on Cincinnati's next possession. This time Bryant went down in the end zone, resulting in a safety.

"They were in the perfect coverage," Bryant said. "... I should've tried to throw it away or step up and I just kind of locked up."

The Pirates pushed their lead to 5-0 on a 47-yard field goal with 3:47 to play in the first quarter.

After Cincinnati and ECU played to a baseball score in the opening minutes, the Bearcats finally made it a football game on the ensuing kickoff. Jadon Thompson, who seemingly snatched the ball from fellow returner Tre Tucker, returned the kick 100 yards for a score.

"I kind of stole it on accident," Thompson said. "All week we were preparing because we knew they were going to kick it to me because obviously Tre's a very dynamic returner. They kicked it in between our boundaries, and I heard him last minute say it's him. Then I looked at him and I just had (the ball) in my hands, and the rest of it was a blur. I'm not sure what happened, but it happened, and I'm grateful for it."

Following a missed 45-yard field-goal attempt by the Pirates, Bryant missed Scott on a deep pass down the Cincinnati sideline. But he avenged the errant throw on the very next play.

Bryant found Tucker on a quick screen pass and the senior wideout and team captain raced 55 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-5 with 11:34 remaining in the first half.

Bryant got another opportunity to link up with Scott before halftime. Bryant hit Scott on a quick slant and Scott raced past ECU cornerback Juan Powell for a 72-yard touchdown to give the Bearcats a 21-5 lead.

The Pirates finally crossed the goal line on a 76-yard connection between quarterback Holton Ahlers and receiver C.J. Johnson to pull within 21-12 with 6:03 to go in first half.

Bryant missed on another deep pass on the next drive, this time to Thompson down the East Carolina sideline. The Bearcats were forced to settle for a 37-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Coe and took a 24-12 lead into the locker room.

"I definitely wasn't the sharpest today," said Bryant, who completed 14 of 30 passes for 244 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. "I recognize that. I'm my own hardest critic. I'm definitely not happy about that. But you can't turn a win into a loss. I'm happy we won. I'm happy we fought it out. But yeah, there's definitely some things to improve on for next week."

ECU found the end zone on its first drive of the second half. The Pirates took advantage of an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty by Cincinnati defensive lineman Justin Wodtly. The sophomore pushed Johnson, who then appeared to exaggerate the altercation by falling to the turf and drawing the flag. The penalty happened on fourth-and-1. The Pirates seized the extra downs and scored on a 4-yard run by sophomore running back Keaton Mitchell.

The touchdown made it a 24-19 game at the 10:06 mark in the third and capped a nine-play, 79-yard drive by the Pirates.

Bryant and the Cincinnati offense opened the second half with two straight 3-and-outs. Five of their six second-half drives resulted in a punt, causing the crowd to get restless and voice their displeasure.

"Sometimes I hear it, and sometimes I'm totally zoned out," Bryant said of the crowd. "But I don't care. I don't care. I'm just there to play and win and just be there with my team."

The CIncinnati defense committed another costly penalty toward the end of he third. Sophomore safety Bryon Threats was ejected for targeting following a hit on Mitchell, who exited the game and never returned. Mitchell, the AAC's leading rusher, finished with 100 yards rushing (112 yards on 16 carries and a score) for the fourth straight game.

The ejection was Threats' second of the season. The 15-yard penalty led to a 15-yard touchdown reception by Johnson from Ahlers that put the PIrates ahead 25-24 entering into the final frame.

Bryant appeared to find freshman receiver Will Pauling on a go-ahead, 24-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone with 11:03 left, but Pauling couldn't make a diving grab. The Bearcats settled for a 21-yard field goal by Coe that gave Cincinnati a 27-25 advantage with 9:42 to play.

Cincinnati's defense was able to get a stop on third-and-9, but it was negated by an illegal-substitution call. The Bearcats had 12 players on the field. They got another stop on third-and-4 and forced the Pirates to punt with 7:01 remaining.

But Bryant and the offense failed to do anything with it and stalled after only taking 49 seconds off the clock.

ECU worked its way to a fourth-and-2, went for it and picked up the first down. But a holding penalty negated the play. Ahlers, who was being tackled to the ground, then found Johnson for a 13-yard gain for a first down on fourth-and-12.

But even with a fresh set of downs, the Pirates couldn't score. The UC defense made two stops down the stretch, including forcing a fourth-and-8 incompletion with under two minutes left. ECU stalled at the Cincinnati 25-yard line.

"A win's a win," said Cincinnati senior linebacker Ty Van Fossen, who had seven tackles. "It may not have been pretty ... but it's just a great team win all around."

Ahlers, who fell to 0-5 against the Bearcats, completed 26 of 46 passes for 280 yards and two scores. The Pirates haven't defeated Cincinnati since Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Gardner Minshew was the starter at East Carolina (Nov. 18, 2017).

The Bearcats struggled again on the ground, managing just 66 yards on 26 carries. UC will look to get the running game going next week at Temple. Cincinnati will take on the Owls on Nov. 19, followed by a clash against No. 17 Tulane on Nov. 25 for senior night.

ECU's Johnson was taken off on a stretcher after suffering an injury on the final play of the game. He was awake and talking as he was being ushered off the field. Johnson was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further evaluation.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC Bearcats beat East Carolina Pirates 27-25 in Nipp at Night matchup