Cincinnati not satisfied after ugly win over UCF
BY KEEGAN NICKOSON | Bearcat Journal
There haven’t been many times at Cincinnati over the past three years when a nine-point win yielded a disappointed attitude during postgame press conferences. The Bearcats have set their standard, and Saturday’s 20-11 victory over their rival, UCF, didn’t live up to it.
“We thought coming in that their defense was very solid and had a lot of speed,” Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield said. “Probably the fastest defense we’ve played. We did not execute on offense. You guys know how we’ve been offensively the last four weeks, and today was not it.”
Cincinnati totaled 306 yards, and 107 of those came on two plays: a 40-yard score by Jeff Caldwell one drive later and a 67-yard gasher by Joe Royer up the UCF sideline.
The disappointing offensive performance was mainly due to a lack of rhythm, which Satterfield fully admitted. The Bearcats’ offense is a “rhythm” offense, signaling that without that flow, they might not be as effective.
You saw the same thing last week against Iowa State. The Cyclones scored just before the end of the half, then took the ball to open the second 40 minutes and scored again. In real time, UC’s offense spent over an hour sitting both on the bench and in the locker room waiting to get back on the field. After scoring 31 points in the first half, the Cyclones only allowed seven points in the second.
“You just gotta try to find a way to move the chains, try to get in rhythm,” Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby told reporters following Saturday’s win over UCF. “It’s really tough. We had a lot of mistakes, little mistakes here and there that throw off the whole play.
“We definitely gotta get that stuff corrected, but found a way to win, and we will take that.”
Cincinnati’s run game was nonexistent, with neither Evan Pryor nor Tawee Walker able to crack 50 yards on the day. One of UC’s most extended plays from scrimmage was a 15-yard rush by Pryor. Without being able to establish any run threat, which is Satterfield’s goal week in and week out, the rest of the offense struggled. In addition, UC missed out on 11 more points by just a couple of inches. Sorsby just barely overthrew Caleb Goodie, who could only reach out with one hand to attempt a catch that would have led to a score. Also, Sorsby tripped over Evan Tengesdahl, who was pulling behind the O-line on a power run play at the two-yard line. The Bearcats were forced to kick a field goal on the next play.
Furthermore, a phantom pass interference led to another touchdown for the opponent for the second consecutive week. Those three plays were the difference between an underwhelming 20-11 win and a dominant 31-3 victory.
“Our offense is not going to be complacent after this one,” Satterfield said. “I can promise you that. We did not play well. The guys know it. It wasn’t one person. It was everybody. We’ll rip everybody come tomorrow. It’s not good enough.”
Despite the offense’s struggles, Tyson Veidt’s group put together an impressive showing against UCF’s offense. It became abundantly clear that the only way the Knights were going to move the ball consistently was on Cam Fancher’s legs, as he gained 108 yards on 20 attempts. The Bearcats were good in coverage and applied a good amount of pressure on Fancher to force him out of the pocket.
Also, Cincinnati’s tackling effort was superb, and the Knights were unable to break many tackles, which led to explosive plays and momentum. Despite running 90 plays and dominating time of possession, UC put UCF in third down 18 times, only allowing seven conversions.
“I thought we did a really good job in pass defense, and that’s why he had to run so much,” Satterfield said. “[Fancher] had 20 carries today. Most of those, maybe other than three or four of them, were him just having to scramble and get some yards.
“In the second half, I thought we did a better job. Golday got a couple of good hits on him. When he sprinted out, he started to feel it a little bit more in that fourth quarter. He was getting tired.”
“We defended a lot of snaps today, but only gave up 11 points. You’ll take that.”
“It just shows a lot of improvement throughout the week,” Cincinnati linebacker Jack Dingle said. “We knew what they were gonna do. Especially the front six, just stopping the runs was our key emphasis, just fighting out through the week and improving.”
Cincinnati is 5-1 and a single win away from clinching bowl eligibility for the first time in the Scott Satterfield era. But this team’s goals go beyond a bowl. The Bearcats are aiming for an appearance in the conference championship game in Dallas, Texas, at AT&T Stadium.
Next week at Oklahoma State is another step toward that goal.
“We know that with each game we keep winning. Each game gets more and more important,” Cincinnati wide receiver Jeff Caldwell said. “I don’t think the offense had the day we were expecting, but we got out with a win.
“It’s hard to win in the Big 12. I think we’re just gonna go in tomorrow, watch film, get better, and get ready for Oklahoma State.”