It’s easy to get lost in a 62-10 blowout, but Cincinnati found the answer it wanted in a pair of throws right before halftime.
For most of the first half against Western Carolina, the passing game looked a lot like what the Bearcats showed against Boston College: short, safe throws, often to J.C. French’s first read, and not much in the way of real chunk production. Then, with Cincinnati leading just 21-10 and the Catamounts having just cut the margin to two scores, French delivered the kind of sequence that changes the temperature around a quarterback.
With 54 seconds left and the Bearcats starting from their own 30-yard line, French hit Malachi Henry for 14 yards on the right side. French said after the game that he read Cover 2 man and knew deep outs worked against that coverage.
One snap later, he recognized man coverage on J.V. Gibson and launched a deep ball down the left sideline that dropped right into the bucket for a 50-yard gain.
Two plays. 64 yards. 17 seconds.
That was the biggest question hanging over Cincinnati’s offense, and French answered it. Maybe not permanently, but enough to quiet the doubt for now. He later connected with Henry again on a 56-yard gain and finished with nine completions of more than 10 yards after having just three such passes in Week 1.
Those weren’t easy throws padded by busted coverage, either. French had to read it correctly, trust the look, and fit the ball into tight windows.
The completion to Henry came with three Western Carolina defenders around the play. The throw to Gibson came with barely any separation at all.
French finished 21 of 24 for 245 yards and two touchdowns, five yards shy of the 250 yards he needed to hit the mark I was looking for. Oh well, I’ll give him a pass.
I wasn’t lying when I tweeted that those two throws, back-to-back, were the best throws I had seen French make since spring practice in April.
The Bearcats’ offense also keeps leaning on a running back room that looks deeper by the week. There’s no shortage of options, and all four backs are flashing something.
Zylan Perry bounced back from a rough Week 1 with five carries for 76 yards and a 40-yard touchdown. Cole Tabb keeps looking like the most complete back in the group.
Gi’Bran Payne has now rushed for 100-plus yards in back-to-back games and picked up his first touchdown since the final game of the 2023 regular season. Zion Johnson, in my view, remains the most explosive and talented runner on the roster, the kind of back who is always one crease away from a huge play.
Tabb, who usually enters early in the second quarter, made a point after the game that fresh legs matter. The defense gets settled, then suddenly it has to deal with a speedy runner who can make people miss and run through tackles. He had a 19-yard run against Boston College and added a 36-yard burst against Western Carolina en route to 72 yards.
That kind of consistency matters. Having four rested backs available into November is going to be a weapon.
On the other side, Cincinnati didn’t exactly put together a stat-stuffing defensive performance, but the game script didn’t exactly hand them one. The Bearcats didn’t record a sack, and pressure on the quarterback was limited. Western Carolina quarterback and NC State transfer Lex Thomas was sharp early, helping stretch the field on the opening drive for a field goal and then working quickly enough to keep Cincinnati’s defensive front from building much momentum.
Thomas finished with 167 passing yards, including 64 in the first quarter. Still, defensive coordinator Nate Woody made the right adjustments as the game went on, and Western Carolina’s explosive plays dried up. The Catamounts also went 0-for-7 on their final seven third-down chances after opening 2-for-5.
Now Cincinnati moves into a stretch of 10 straight FBS opponents, starting with its final non-conference game against Miami (OH) at TQL Stadium in Over-the-Rhine on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The RedHawks are coming off a 45-7 win over Holy Cross for their first victory of the season.
In Other News...
Bearcats Just Sent A Message Before Next Weeks Rivalry Test
The Bearcats used Saturdays home game against Western Carolina to keep building momentum, and they did it in emphatic fashion. Cincinnati rolled to a 62-10 win on Sept. 12, piling up 690 total yards and overwhelming the Catamounts on the ground with 418 rushing yards in a performance that showed just how many ways this offense can hurt a defense.
Multiple Bearcats found the end zone as the game opened up early, but the more telling part came after halftime when Cincinnati kept Western Carolina off the board. The win leaves the Bearcats unbeaten in nonconference play and gives them a strong final tune-up before next weeks rivalry test, where the margin for error figures to be much smaller. [Read more 🡒]