Cincinnati has been playing football under the lights for more than a century, hosting the Midwest’s first intercollegiate night game in 1923. On Saturday night, K-State walked into a blacked-out Nippert Stadium for its first Big 12 road game of the season.
The Wildcats built a 10-0 lead before Cincinnati tied it in the second quarter. K-State regained the lead before halftime, but the Bearcats scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter and added another touchdown in the fourth to defeat K-State 31-26.
The Wildcats opened the scoring on its first possession. K-State drove 88 yards in 16 plays, but Cincinnati’s defense held at the goal line, forcing Luis Rodriguez to kick a 22-yard field goal with 8:01 remaining in the first quarter.
K-State extended its lead early in the second quarter when Rodney Fields Jr. broke through the middle for a 19-yard touchdown run. The five-play, 69-yard drive put the Wildcats ahead 10-0 with 9:09 left in the half.
The Bearcats answered on its next scoring drive. Quarterback JC French IV found Malachi Henry for a 39-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 10-7. Cincinnati then tied the game at 10 with a 45-yard field goal from Stephen Rusnak.
K-State responded before halftime, knowing they would still get the ball since they deferred the coin toss.
Avery Johnson connected with wide receiver Derrick Salley Jr. on a 4-yard touchdown with 16 seconds left in the second quarter. The 10-play, 65-yard drive gave the Wildcats a 17-10 lead heading into the locker room.
However, on the first play of the second half, K-State’s momentum disappeared almost as quickly as it had built.
Johnson connected with Salley for 34 yards, but Salley fumbled after the catch, and Cincinnati recovered at its 45-yard line. Five plays later, Cole Tabb ran 5 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 17.
“We have to be better, secure the football and put the brakes on in sudden change, and get the thing flipped,” head coach Collin Klein said.
The Wildcats went three-and-out on their next possession, and Cincinnati struck again.
Tabb broke through the middle for a 30-yard touchdown with 7:32 remaining in the third quarter, giving Cincinnati its first lead at 24-17.
The Bearcats threatened to extend their lead on their next possession when Samaj Jones connected with JV Gibson on a 64-yard pass, putting Cincinnati at the K-State 17-yard line. Two plays later, Zion Johnson fumbled at the Wildcats’ 16. Mekhi Mason forced the fumble, and Donovan McIntosh recovered the ball for K-State.
The Wildcats moved 65 yards in 17 plays and drained 7:49 off the clock before the drive stalled. Rodriguez connected on a 36-yard field goal with 9:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, cutting Cincinnati’s lead to 24-20.
The Bearcats answered again. Tabb scored his third touchdown of the game on a 14-yard run, finishing a 10-play, 75-yard drive and pushing Cincinnati’s lead back to 31-20 with 3:28 remaining.
K-State had one more answer, as Fields capped a nine-play, 79-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:15 left, cutting the deficit to 31-26. The Wildcats’ two-point attempt failed, and K-State tried an onside kick that Cincinnati recovered at the Wildcats’ 43-yard line.
The Bearcats went three-and-out, giving K-State one final chance with 51 seconds left. Johnson’s first pass sailed incomplete to Josh Manning along the sideline. Another pass intended for Salley also fell incomplete before Garrett Oakley moved the chains with a 10-yard catch. K-State kept moving the ball, but the clock kept working against the Wildcats. After an incompletion to Oakley and a holding penalty erased a 27-yard completion to Brandon White, Johnson found Salley for 11 yards on third-and-20. Salley lateraled to Manning, but the play ended at the K-State 31-yard line as time expired.
“I was proud of how we battled down the stretch,” Klein said. “We were inches away from giving ourselves a chance down the stretch. Credit their fight and spirit for that.”
The loss dropped K-State to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in Big 12 play, while Cincinnati improved to 4-0 and 1-0.
“We knew the battle of the line of scrimmage was going to be the story of the day, and third down, red zone, all of that stuff, was going to follow that right there,” Klein said. “We didn’t do a great job stopping the run, and that’s the story of the game, and we stalled twice on offense and kicked two field goals, and that’s not a recipe to win on the road.”
Cincinnati’s running game proved to be the difference. Tabb finished with 124 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries, while Gi’Bran Payne added 126 yards on 16 carries. The Bearcats finished with 271 rushing yards compared with K-State’s 155.
Johnson completed 30 of 50 passes for 292 yards and a touchdown, while Salley finished with seven catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. Fields added 50 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, and Joe Jackson rushed for 59 yards on 11 carries.
K-State finished with 447 total yards to Cincinnati’s 436 and converted 10 of 17 third downs. The Wildcats held the ball for 33:18, but Cincinnati’s 271 rushing yards ultimately separated the teams.
“I just told them there’s no excuses for losing; it feels horrible and it should, and if it does, it means you’re invested, and you care,” Klein said. “As we continue to build this thing and go where we’re supposed to, and where we want to go, there are lessons that come out of these ballgames and these situations that we have to be able to take with us moving forward.”
