The Bearcats were at home for the second week in a row and were again looking for their first conference win as a member of the Big 12. The trial will continue next week. Cincinnati fell to Baylor by a score of 32-29. They came storming back in the second half after being down 29-14 late in the third, but it was too little too late for Cincinnati. The once 2-0 season has completely fallen off the wayside as the Bearcats now sit at a glooming 2-5.
How It Happened
Cincinnati started the game with the ball and had it almost the whole first quarter. Baylor ran just seven plays of offense in the first. Cincy’s opening drive went 10 plays but ended with a fumbled exchange on fourth and one on Baylor’s 20. The lone points of the first quarter were on a Baylor field goal following a 41-yard punt return for the Bears. Another long Cincinnati drive followed and ended with a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. Xzavier Henderson got in for six, a sight for sore eyes for Cincinnati fans.
Things then went south for Cincinnati. Baylor got in the end zone on a keeper by quarterback Blake Shapen, then the ensuing kickoff was fumbled by Cincinnati’s Braden Smith and returned for a touchdown by Baylor. Cincinnati’s 7-3 lead turned into a 17-7 deficit in the blink of an eye. The first half concluded with a Myles Montgomery touchdown, and Cincinnati trailed 20-14 at the break.
The Second Half
In the third quarter, Baylor posted back-to-back scoring drives and found themselves ahead 29-14. The air seemed completely out of UC’s tires, but they did string together a 12-play touchdown drive capped off by another Montgomery touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter. Baylor responded with a field goal, then Cincy made it 32-27 with another great catch by Henderson with five to go in the game. The two-point play was interesting yet successful, as wide receiver Evan Prater both snapped the ball and caught the conversion, 32-29 Baylor leads.
With just over two minutes to go, quarterback Emory Jones and his offense were down three and had the ball. They had the chance to go and get a huge win and change the outlook on the season with a big comeback at home. A fourth and 11 pass near midfield fell incomplete and Cincinnati dropped its fifth straight.
The Ground Game Dominated
One of the keys to the game for Cincinnati was to run the ball on the lackluster Baylor rushing defense. They did just that to the tune of 288 total yards on the ground. This was done by just three guys, too. Corey Kiner went for 129. Montgomery ran for 103 and the two scores. And then Emory Jones ran it a team-high 18 times with 56 yards gained. It was an impressive performance by the offensive line and this backfield. Cincinnati continues to be toward the top of the country with its rushing attack.
Xzavier Henderson is The Guy
After not catching a pass a week ago in the loss against Iowa St, Cincinnati had to get Henderson the ball this week. The coaching staff made a note to scheme up some plays for Henderson, and it mightily helped this offense. He ended up with over half of Jones’ passing yards, with 82 of them. He had eight catches and found the end zone twice. Henderson has shown that he’s one of the better receivers in the Big 12. The passing attack goes entirely through him.
Lack of Execution
This seems to be the story of Cincinnati’s season. A couple of stalled drives on fourth down, failures deep in Baylor territory, and a crucial fumble on special teams resulting in a Baylor touchdown were the difference in this one. This was another game in which the Cats out-gained their opponent. Baylor held the ball more, and Cincinnati still out-gained them by over 50 yards.
This Bearcats team just can’t get all three phases to put a game together. The offense posted almost 30 points with zero turnovers in this one, but the defense wasn’t fully itself. It did record three sacks and 10 TFLs, but the secondary questions continued as Baylor threw for 316 yards in the air.
Going Forward
Without a doubt, there’s frustration in and around this program. The first thing head coach Scott Satterfield said after the game was that this is not Cincinnati Football and it’s not what they expect. It’s been rough since week three, to say the least, but these players and coaches have to get the train back on track and find a way to win one, no matter how pretty.
With a bowl game nearly out of sight, unless a remarkable five-game win streak ends the season, Cincinnati will look to simply build each week. Satterfield is in the midst of building his own culture with this team, and it will take time. Putting together something to show the team and its fans that there should be a reason to have hope is crucial to this program and Satterfield’s reign.
Even after a five-game skid, Cincinnati has a very winnable game next week. In a battle of the bottom of the Big 12, the Cats travel to Florida to face their biggest former AAC rival, the UCF Golden Knights. Both teams come into the game without a conference win, but after next Saturday, the loser will sit by itself in last place.
