Lack of Offensive Aggression Dooms Bearcats in Kansas City
BY KEEGAN NICKOSON | @knickoson42
KANSAS CITY, Mo. In a game that lacked offensive aggression and saw few shots downfield, it was ironically a deep pass that sealed the game for the Bearcats. Brendan Sorsby’s errant throw intended for Caleb Goodie was picked off by Malcolm Hartzog Jr. in the end zone, giving the Cornhuskers a 20-17 win to open the season.
Up until the final drive, Cincinnati’s passing game was nonexistent. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Bearcats had totaled 24 passing yards, mainly relying on the running game of Tawee Walker and Sorsby to generate any offense.
Despite the additions from the portal that brought speed and explosiveness to the receiver room, the Bearcats were again limited to short passes near the line of scrimmage, which the Huskers effectively kept in check throughout the game.
“They were mixing up a lot of coverages,” Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield said postgame. “Anytime you’re playing in the first game, it’s tough to get a beat on what they’re trying to do in the back end. They did a really good job of basically playing about five different coverages and mixing them up.”
“They did a good job of keeping everything in front of them,” Sorsby said. “Early on in the first half, especially, we didn’t do a good enough job of extending drives. We had too many three-and-outs. You can’t get into any rhythm that way. You’re not going to produce anything offensively that way.”
That lack of rhythm was, in large part, due to multiple false starts that killed drives for the Bearcats. After winning the toss and electing to receive, UC got its offense rolling. Faced with a third-and-two, left guard Evan Tengesdahl jumped offsides, pushing the Bearcats back. After a failed third down, Cincinnati punted.
The Bearcats went to a silent count early, trying to manage the raucous atmosphere created by Nebraska fans. Taran Tyo stared back at Sorsby, waiting for a nod, then signaled Gavin Gerhardt to snap the ball. With three new starters and a lack of experience in atmospheres like Thursday’s, UC hurt itself multiple times.
Other drives consisted of an unsuccessful short run on first down, an incompletion on an attempt at the line of scrimmage on second down, and then a third-and-long, which three times led to a punt. The playcalling felt stale and lacked any adjustments to what Nebraska was doing or what had been working for UC.
“I just want to move the football. I don’t care how we move it if we run it or throw it,” Satterfield said. “There were a couple of times when we did run it early in the game. We missed the blocking assignments on it, and then that knocks you off the sticks. You couple that with some of the false starts, and now it’s long-yard situations that are really unfair to the quarterback when you put them in a situation where it’s long yardage like that.
“So we have to do a better job of staying on the sticks, obviously. But we need to find ways to get in that rhythm. I think once we get in rhythm, we’re hard to stop.”
Cincinnati’s last drive did show promise. Sorsby had success when given the chance to stand in the pocket and spread the ball among his receivers,
Jeff Caldwell and Goodie only caught one pass each, while Joe Royer pulled down three catches, all targets at the line of scrimmage.
“I didn’t lose any confidence in the receivers after tonight,” Sorsby said. “I made some bad throws. I made some bad reads. There’s definitely still opportunities there, but we have to figure it out really quick, especially before we get to conference play.
“We have to lock in on these next two nonconference games and then find our way into conference play and be at our best. Because at the end of the day, this is a tough loss, and we wanted to win it, but it doesn’t have anything to do with us getting to Dallas.
“Our goal is still Dallas. Our goal is still to go 1-0 each week. Didn’t happen this week, but we can bounce back next week with a win.”
The Bearcats can write home about their defense, which held a talented Nebraska offense to just 20 points despite the Huskers racking up 40 minutes in time of possession. Defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt showed his group may have taken a step forward in year two.
Jake Golday made plays throughout the night, including a key second-down sack to force a third-and-19, eventually giving the ball back to the Bearcats with a chance to win the game. Dontay Corleone, who seemingly played fewer snaps than expected, wreaked havoc on multiple occasions, including getting a hand in Dylan Raiola’s face on a fourth-and-two fresh out of the halftime locker room.
“I think the defense had a pretty good game, but ultimately it just came down to the turnover battle,” Golday said. “We didn’t win the turnover battle. So there’s improvement still to be made.”
Montay Weedon missed on a potential fumble recovery at the end of the first half. Trying to scoop and score, Weedon bobbled the ball, allowing Raiola to snatch it back after a strip sack. Logan Wilson just missed an interception early in the second half that likely would have been a pick-six. Similar to past seasons, the Bearcats continue to avoid good fortune defensively when it comes to turnovers.
Cincinnati faces Bowling Green next Saturday at Nippert Stadium, looking for its first win of the 2025 season.