In honour of Halloween weekend, Oklahoma State wore orange and black uniforms, and they easily defeated Cincinnati. For the Bearcats, their late-night loss on Saturday night turned pretty scary. In the second half, the Cowboys outscored Cincy 35–6 and drove the Bearcats away. With this 45–13 defeat, the team’s losing run now stands at six games, the longest since 1998. This is a summary of Cincinnati’s defeat.
Explosion of Offence for Oklahoma StateOver the past two weeks, Cincinnati has suffered some difficult defeats despite outgaining the opposition in a few of those contests. Tonight, that was most definitely not the case. The Cowboys scored more than 600 yards of total offence, going nuclear. As was indicated in the preview, Cincinnati was well aware of Oklahoma State’s strength in the run game and in Ollie Gordon, but it made no difference. For two scores and 271 touchdowns, Gordan ran it 25 times. Two more touchdowns and forty-four yards were gained by other backs on the ground.
On Saturday night, the Cincinnati defense’s front seven looked different. In this instance, there were no sacks reported for the red and black. Alan Bowman of the Cowboys gained 286 yards and two touchdowns via the air. Bravo to Oklahoma State for a performance that is difficult to recall in a recent game—especially in terms of rushing—against the Bearcat defence.
The offence of Cincinnati is as stagnant as it has been all season.
The days of Emory Jones as the quarterback for Cincinnati may be drawing to an end. Against a defence that had allowed the most touchdowns through the air in the Big 12 thus far, he and the Cincinnati passing attack sought to get things going. The end zone escaped their notice. In the end, Jones’ stat line included six of sixteen completions, 117 yards, an interception, and a fumble. 53 of those yards came via one of Xzavier Henderson’s four catches on the evening. Out of Jones’ 117, he had 82. This team just does not have a passing attack.
Brady Lichtenberg, the backup quarterback, entered the game in the fourth quarter and completed five of nine passes for 48 yards. Towards the end of the game, he did manage to give Aaron Turner a nice touchdown pass in an attempt to keep the offence showing some signs of life. Cincinnati’s tight end Chamon Metayer, who is tied for the team-highest number of receiving touchdowns, was buried on the stat sheet during the defeat.
The Ground Game Is the Heavy LifterThis year, Cincinnati is and always has been a run-first team. There was a glimmer of hope that the offence would be exciting with the new faces at wide receiver and quarterback. But now more than ever, reliance is placed on the run game.
Due in part to their sheer volume, the Bearcats have one of the best rushing attacks in the nation. On Saturday night, they ran it fifty times, gaining 277 yards of ground time. Myles Montgomery’s 63-yard touchdown pass was essentially the only highlight of the contest.touchdown scamper. He finished with 90 yards to lead the team, with Corey Kiner close behind with 79 himself. Montgomery and Kiner both got a bit banged up in this one. Either of these two missing extended periods would spell even further disaster for this offense.
Moving Ahead
Cincinnati’s season looks to be at an all-time low right now. Leading the way in the Cats’ disastrous first Big 12 season has been Scott Satterfield. 2-6 overall and 0-5 in conference games; anticipate some adjustments. Jones’ quarterbacking hasn’t been up to par, to be honest. It wouldn’t be shocking if Lichtenburg started under centre as soon as possible. The group is reassembling. Fans in particular need to keep this in mind.
This season would be difficult due to a new coaching staff, a roster that was altered by the transfer portal, and the fact that it would be the first in a Power Five conference. Indeed, it has left me disappointed. Satterfield and this group must instill optimism and enthusiasm for the program’s future.
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