The Bearcats' search for their first football win over West Virginia in over 15 years continues. Cincinnati blew a couple of leads on Saturday to lose a 45-42 shootout in Morgantown.
The defense couldn't find a way to get a game-sealing turnover, and the WVU defense came through just enough in a turnstile afternoon for each attack. Mountaineers passer Michael Hawkins Jr. posted 464 yards and three TDs in the air and another 77 yards, plus two scores on the ground.
Nate Woody's defense has allowed 105 points in three conference games as the injuries and bleeding middle of the unit start to get exposed.
Cincinnati is now 0-3 against WVU in the Big 12 and 4-2 on the season.
The program has four ranked opponents on the schedule in its final six games.
Top Storyline: Injuries and Offense
Cincinnati's defense had a seemingly never-ending run of injuries throughout the game to guys like Josh Hough (ankle) and more. Some returned, but others like Hough are on the mend, like Gi'Bran Payne. He left early from UC's offensive backfield in the first half.
The Mountaineers took advantage of that absence on the inside, and Cincinnati didn't miss a beat without Payne. They combined for over 1,200 yards of offense, including nearly 200 yards and three scores for Cole Tabb. Cincinnati had a continued issue with penalties, but they didn't come at terrible times this week. The defense just couldn't stop anything.
The whole offensive unit got clicking from kickoff and averaged an astounding 8.9 yards per play. It came against one of the worst defenses in the nation, but it was a strong way to get ready for homecoming next week.
The defense has major issues allowing 7.6 YPP on the other side and has no answers for one of the 10 best QBs in the country on the other side.
Offensive Player of the Game: JC French IV
Cincinnati's dual-threat option matched the play and exceeded Hawkins' showing at times on Saturday. No bigger play came through than a 59-yard third-down strike to Malachi Henry with less than seven minutes left.
French (389 passing yards, three TDs, 51 rushing yards, one score) continues to be one of just four FBS passers to not throw a pick this season (min. 120 throws) and brought veteran road poise to the table after things melted down in the desert a few weeks ago.
West Virginia couldn't shut down JV Gibson (seven catches, 75 yards, one score) as the Wildcats did, and the whole offense got rolling again. French did a great job finding a scrambling lane and hitting Gibson, plus the rest of the wideouts for big plays.
West Virginia entered the game allowing the most 20-plus yard plays in the country, and Cincinnati took full advantage of that problem. Cole Tabb (15 carries, 118 yards, two scores, four catches, 51 yards, one score) deserves a mention here as well after taking on his biggest role of the season. He finished every run hard and maximized all the great blocking, like he has almost every week this campaign.
Neither of these teams has a championship defense right now, UC especially.
Defensive Player of the Game: Jonathan Thompson
Cincinnati's defensive leader in the middle came through in some key moments to make sure WVU's great offense didn't ruin things on Saturday for the third time in a row during Big 12 play.
He notched a career-high 15 tackles against the Mountaineers and showed a road warrior spirit against the relentless athleticism of Hawkins. Thompson got a QB hit on the Big 12 star.
WVU entered the day top-five nationally with 295.8 rush yards per game, but they tallied less than 200 on Saturday. Hawkins got his during a great showing, but Thompson helped slow down that rushing attack in a big way. It wasn't enough, though.
Cincinnati now prepares for a homecoming matchup against No. 10 Texas Tech next Saturday. The kickoff time is being announced on Sunday.
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