Halloween at Nippert Stadium started with all the right ingredients - a full house, costumes everywhere, and a Bearcats team coming off a big upset of then-No. 8 Texas Tech.
By the end of the night, though, No. 6 Utah had turned the place upside down and handed Cincinnati a 49-25 loss that laid bare a few problems the previous week’s win had covered up.
The damage was done early. Utah poured in 42 first-half points and delivered two defensive touchdowns to seize control before Cincinnati could settle in. A 51-yard fumble return and a 39-yard interception return for scores made the gap even wider, and by halftime the Bearcats were staring at a 36-point deficit, their largest of the season.
Cincinnati had chances to make the game more manageable, but the red zone issues showed up again at the worst possible time. In the second quarter, fifth-year quarterback JC French IV hit fourth-year receiver Malachi Henry for a 63-yard gain all the way to the Utah 7-yard line. Instead of cashing in, the Bearcats were pushed backward by consecutive penalties and a sack, then missed a 35-yard field goal and came away empty.
That wasn’t the only first-half mistake that hurt. Cincinnati also lost a fumble that Utah turned into a touchdown, and the pick-six late in the half only deepened the hole. Against an undefeated Utah team, those errors were too costly to survive.
Still, the Bearcats found a few bright spots once the game got away from them. Third-year running back Cole Tabb kept giving the offense life, finishing with 131 yards on 14 carries and a 48-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. It was his third straight 100-yard rushing game and his fourth of the season, another sign that Cincinnati can still lean on the ground game against one of the Big 12’s top teams.
Defensively, veteran cornerback Jacob Finley delivered the kind of play that can swing a night. With Utah threatening to add to its lead in the third quarter, Finley jumped a pass from fourth-year quarterback Devon Dampier and raced 79 yards for a touchdown. He finished with a season-high 10 tackles, and Cincinnati outscored Utah 19-7 in the second half.
The Bearcats never fully erased the damage from the opening 30 minutes, but they did keep swinging. Tabb’s touchdown, Finley’s interception return, and French’s 2-yard rushing score in the fourth quarter helped Cincinnati force two Utah turnovers after halftime and make the final stretch more respectable. The comeback effort came too late, though, and the early collapse decided the night.
Next up, Cincinnati heads to face No. 18 Houston with the Halloween nightmare still fresh.
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Cincinnatis November Slide Is Turning Up The Pressure On Scott Satterfield
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The schedule does not offer much breathing room, either, with Iowa State, Colorado, Houston and BYU still waiting ahead. For a team trying to steady itself in conference play, the pressure is no longer just about salvaging a month, but about showing the program can handle the kind of late-season grind that has too often exposed its flaws. [Read more 🡒]