Kiel returns to lead Cincinnati past East Carolina, 31-19

Cincinnati returned their top rated quarterback and returned to the win column.

Gunner Kiel made his first start of the season and led Cincinnati to its first American Athletic Conference win, 31-19 over East Carolina on Saturday night. They won for the first time in three weeks.

"I'd like for (Kiel) to win the next 5, so everybody can point at me and say, `Why didn't we play him the first 6 games?'" Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville said.

Kiel completed 23 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns. He was third on the depth chart at the start of the season behind Hayden Moore and Ross Trail. The team had a seniors-only meeting on Sunday after a loss to UConn last Saturday.

"Zach Edwards spoke up at a senior team meeting and said, `Coach, we want Gunner to play" Tuberville said. "So do I... I'm not going to give anybody a starting spot. I told the seniors we'll give him his chance.

"I know everybody's going to say `I told you so.' I'll take that. I'm proud of Gunner."

Eastern Carolina felt they didn't do enough to stop Kiel.

"Defensively, we have some guys that aren't young guys any more, making 1st and 2nd week mistakes," ECU coach Scottie Montgomery said. "Kiel threw the ball ok but we didn't generate a pass rush. He could stand back there all day. We had guys in coverage too long."

Kiel was grateful for the second chance. He was a highly touted transfer from Notre Dame two years ago before losing his job.

"It's been a bumpy ride," Kiel said. "I've just been patient. Everything happens for a reason.

"It feels amazing. It feels so good just to be out there, just to be with my guys again...things were clicking. Great team win."

Cincinnati (4-3, 1-3) came up with two key defensive stops in the fourth quarter to snap a two-game skid. The Bearcats recovered a fumble by Anthony Scott on their 16 with 6:56 left, then stopped James Summers for no gain on a fourth-and-1 with 4:36 remaining.

"I'm very disappointed our program couldn't get half a yard. That is a program problem, not one guy. We have to be better than that," Montgomery said.

East Carolina (2-5, 0-3) scored first on a 26-yard field goal by Davis Plowman but Kiel threw his first touchdown pass since November 28, 2015, also against ECU, with a 14-yard strike to DJ Dowdy late in the first quarter. Kiel added an 18 yarder to Kahlil Lewis with 28 seconds left in the first half.

Philip Nelson completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Williams on the Pirates' first possession of the second half.

Nelson completed 28 of 43 passes for 283 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

After the teams traded field goals, Kiel and Lewis connected on two straight passes of 47 and 9 yards - the latter for a touchdown - late in the third quarter. They hooked up again on a 32-yard touchdown pass to cap the scoring. Lewis had a career-high 11 receptions for three touchdowns.

TAKEAWAYS

East Carolina - Pirates wide receiver Zay Jones had 11 catches. Jones has at least one catch in 42 straight games, tying Zach Pascal for the third longest streak among active receivers. The senior came into the game leading the FBS with 14 receptions per game.

Cincinnati -Shaq Washington, Cincinnati's career receptions leader, had his name added to the ring of honor. Washington had 240 career receptions.Kiel had the 10th 300-yard game of his career and ninth with three of more touchdowns.

UP NEXT

East Carolina - The Pirates host Connecticut on October 29. It will be the third meeting between them, all since becoming members of the American Athletic Conference. The Pirates won 31-21 last season.

Cincinnati - The Bearcats travel to Temple on October 29. Temple owns a 10-7-1 advantage over Cincinnati after ending a five-game, series losing streak with a 34-26 win.

UConn scores 20 unanswered points to beat Cincinnati 20-9

 Cincinnati got inside UConn's 20-yard line three times in the second quarter on Saturday, but was forced to settle for a field goal on each drive as the Huskies' defense stiffened.

UConn responded with 20 unanswered points to snap a two-game losing streak with a 20-9 win over the Bearcats, who never made it into the end zone.

Arkeel Newsome ran for 116 yards and Bryant Shirreffs threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns to lead UConn (3-3, 1-2 American).

Hayden Moore, coming back from an ankle injury, threw for 315 yards, but was picked off twice for the Bearcats (3-3, 0-3), who were held to just two rushing yards.

"We have a great defensive line," said UConn safety Obi Melifonwu, who had one of those interceptions. "We just ended up stopping them, stopping them in the run game."

The Huskies switched the game's momentum with a TD on their last drive before intermission and another on their first after halftime. Tyraiq Beals got the first, outjumping a defender and breaking a 59-yard catch and run, the longest of his career.

"That energized everybody," Beals said. "Everybody stood up. We got our heads back in the game and we went rolling from there."

They took the lead when Noel Thomas won a battle for the ball with Cincinnati's Grant Coleman and hauled in a 26-yard touchdown catch. Thomas made nine catches for 108 yards.

Newsome broke off a 67-yard run, the Huskies longest play from scrimmage this year, which set up a 30-yard field goal to give the Huskies a 17-9 lead. It was the first time the Huskies have led entering a fourth quarter since last November.

The Huskies used up more than 6 1/2 minutes of the fourth on a 16-play drive that ended with a 23-yard field goal from Bobby Puyol to make it a two-score ballgame.

"We took off a lot of time, I would say that's a big improvement over what we've done in the past," said Shirreffs, who also ran for 48 yards.

UConn's last win over Cincinnati came in November, 2010, the season the Huskies ended up in the Fiesta Bowl. Its only other win in the 13-game series came in 2008.

"When you go on the road and they give you an opportunity to score points early and you don't take advantange of it, it usually comes back to haunt you," Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville said.

TAKEAWAY

UConn: The Huskies revived their bowl hopes with their first conference win, but had to overcome another slow start. UConn's Puyol missed a 52-yard field goal late in the first quarter, leaving the Huskies without a first-quarter point this season. UConn has just 45 points in first halves.

Cincinnati: Cincinnati was hoping the return of Moore would help revive their offense, which had struggled with him on the sideline. But the Bearcats must find an answer to the running game. They came in averaging just under 150 yards a game on the ground. The Bearcats fall to 0-3 in conference for the first time since 1999 and have a lot of work to do to reach a bowl game for the sixth straight season.

SUSPENSION: Newsome ran 14 times, all in the final three quarters. He was held out of the first quarter, because of what head coach Bob Diaco referred to as a "late Friday."

UP NEXT

UConn: The Huskies head back on the road for a game next Saturday night against South Florida.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats have an off week before returning home to face East Carolina on Oct. 22.

Flowers, Mack help USF pull away, beat Cincinnati 45-20

Quentin Flowers and Marlon Mack ran for two touchdowns apiece and Mack became South Florida's career rushing leader as the Bulls scored the final 28 points to beat Cincinnati 45-20 on Saturday night.

Mack finished 118 yards on 20 carries, including a 49-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that moved him past Andre Hall into first on South Florida's career rushing list. Mack, a junior, has 2,755 yards rushing in 28 career games.

Flowers completed 16 of 26 passes for 196 yards and added 74 yards rushing.

Mack's first touchdown, a 4-yard run, gave USF (4-1, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) a 24-20 lead with 1:40 left in the first half.

Flowers scored on a 19-yard run with 4:29 to play in the third quarter and, fewer than 3 minutes later, Johnny Ward returned an interception 11 yards for a touchdown to make it 38-20.

Bearcats' freshman Ross Trail threw for one touchdown and ran for another but threw three interceptions before being replaced by Gunner Kiel after Ward's pick-six. Tion Greene had 98 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 carries for Cincinnati (3-2, 0-1).

THE TAKEAWAY

South Florida - The Bulls came into the game ranked 24th in the FBS with eight takeaways. They had four more against the Bearcats: three interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Cincinnati - Kiel, who threw 40 combined touchdown passes in 2014 and 2015, completed his first three passes before finishing 3-of-11 passing for 47 yards. Sophomore Hayden Moore started the first three games of the season, throwing for 785 yards with seven TDs and three interceptions, before injuring his ankle in a 40-16 loss to Houston on Sept. 15.

UP NEXT

South Florida - The Bulls host East Carolina in its second conference game October 8 at noon. USF edged East Carolina 22-17 in 2015.

Cincinnati - The Bearcats travel to Connecticut on October 8 for an 11:30 am game. Cincinnati was a 37-13 winner in their last meeting.

Cincinnati rallies for 27-20 win over Miami (Ohio)

 Tion Green ran for 83 yards and a late touchdown on Saturday, rallying Cincinnati to a 27-20 victory over Miami (Ohio), its 11th in a row over the regional rival.

The Bearcats (3-1) pulled it out with a field goal and Green's 2-yard run with 5:09 to go, overcoming the loss of starting quarterback Hayden Moore. Moore was hurt late in a 40-16 loss to Houston in the last game. Redshirt freshman Ross Trail got into that game late and threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

Cincinnati didn't reveal the quarterback change until right before kickoff. In his first start, Trail was 25 of 38 for 276 yards with two interceptions and an 11-yard touchdown run. He also fumbled on a sack.

Miami (0-4) hasn't won at Nippert Stadium since 2002, losing six in a row in Cincinnati.

Cincinnati also had a new kicker - Andrew Gantz is recovering from a leg injury. Josh Pasley was good from 28 and 23 yards, but missed badly on a 42-yard try in the closing seconds of the first half, which ended 10-10.

THE TAKEAWAY

Miami: RedHawks failed again for a signature win during their rebuilding. They're 5-35 over the last four seasons.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats have a week to get healthy for their next game against South Florida at Nippert Stadium. They'll need to get more out of their passing game, which had three turnovers and never got into a flow.

UP NEXT

Miami: Hosts Mid-American Conference rival Ohio, which has won nine of the last 10 in the series. The Bobcats won 34-3 in Athens last season.

Cincinnati: Hosts the Bulls on Saturday night. The Bearcats lost at South Florida 65-27 last season. The Bulls (3-1) lost to No. 13 Florida State 55-35 on Saturday.

Ward's TDs rally No. 6 Houston to 40-16 win over Cincinnati

Greg Ward Jr. threw an interception in the end zone. Cincinnati responded by going down the field, getting a touchdown and grabbing the lead and the momentum.

For the first time this season, No. 6 Houston was on the road and feeling the pressure. How would the Cougars respond?

Ward ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the Cougars' fabulous defense returned a couple of interceptions for touchdowns as they pulled away to a 40-16 victory over Cincinnati on Thursday night.

"The fourth quarter exemplified a veteran team that's played in big games," coach Tom Herman said. "They go down and score and we come back and take the lead."

Nobody was under the spotlight more than Ward, who sat out a 42-0 victory over Lamar on Saturday because of a sore shoulder. He came through pregame warmups without an issue, and got treatment on the sideline between series.

"They were keeping my shoulder warm on the sideline," Ward said. "It tends to get tight. I was thankful to be out there."

The Cougars (3-0, 1-0 American Athletic) trailed 16-12 early in the fourth quarter before Ward and the defense took over.

Ward dispelled any worries about his arm with a 39-yard touchdown pass on the Cougars' second series. He was 24 of 36 for 326 yards with two interceptions, and he ran 26 times for 73 yards.

"We put in a defense just for him, some guys that were faster," Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville said. "We did a good job in pass coverage and he'd just pull it down and run. That's hard to defend."

Houston's defense took away any semblance of a running game from Cincinnati (2-1, 0-1) and accounted for 16 points on its own - a safety and the two interception returns by Steven Taylor and Howard Wilson.

The Cougars haven't allowed any of their last five opponents to rush for 100 yards. Cincinnati managed only 30 yards rushing, putting too much pressure on redshirt sophomore Hayden Moore, whose two fourth-quarter interceptions allowed the Cougars to pull away.

Moore had never faced a defense so good. He made an impact early with a 61-yard touchdown pass , but the lack of a running game was tough to overcome. Moore finished 21 of 37 for 275 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and three sacks.

"You can't beat any good team if you can't run the football," Tuberville said. "They put all the pressure on our quarterback and receivers and they dictated the game to us."

THE TAKEAWAY

HOUSTON: Oh that defense. The Cougars didn't need to get a lot out of their offense - and Ward wasn't at his best - in order to win a tough league game on the road. That's another good sign in a season that opened with a 33-23 win over Oklahoma.

"It was ugly for a long time," Herman said. "I think we'll be OK if we can take care of the self-inflicted wounds."

CINCINNATI: The Bearcats have been overly reliant on a pass-heavy offense the last two years. The defense's showing on Thursday was encouraging - it simply wore down. The defense also looked solid during a 38-20 win at Purdue on Saturday, coming up with five interceptions.

"We got a little tired at the end," Tuberville said. "The defense was out there forever."

POLL IMPLICATIONS

HOUSTON: The Cougars have their highest ranking since they were No. 3 in 1990. Any chance to move up? The top three teams in the poll - Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State - all play road games against ranked teams this week, while Michigan and Clemson are at home.

CINCINNATI: The Bearcats got one vote in this week's poll, and did nothing to suggest they deserve more.

UP NEXT

HOUSTON: The Cougars will be looking for another easy time at Texas State on Sept. 24. Last year, Ward led them to a 59-14 win by throwing for four touchdowns and running for two more as Houston piled up 689 yards.

CINCINNATI: The Bearcats host Miami of Ohio on Sept. 24 for the Victory Bell. They've won 10 in a row over their local rival, although Moore had to overcome four fourth-quarter turnovers last year to pull out a 37-33 win in Oxford.

Moore leads Cincinnati over Purdue 38-20

Tommy Tuberville was a 3-year-old the last time Cincinnati won a road game against a Big Ten Conference opponent, defeating Indiana in 1957 in Bloomington.

Tuberville, who will celebrate his 62nd birthday on Sept. 18, got an early present Saturday when the Bearcats dominated Purdue, 38-20 in Ross-Ade Stadium.

Quarterback Hayden Moore passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more, and linebacker Mike Tyson intercepted Purdue's David Blough three times, laying the foundation for a relatively easy victory.

"With five turnovers, you're going to win most of your games," Tuberville said. "I don't care if you are playing on the moon. That was a good game for us. I thought we handled it well."

Purdue (1-1) was trying to start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2007, but Blough was intercepted five times, and J.D. Dellinger missed a 28-yard field goal. Three interceptions of Blough set up Cincinnati touchdowns.

"I was just doing my job," Tyson said of his three interceptions. "If it wasn't for our defensive front playing so well, I wouldn't have gotten any interceptions."

Blough threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Domonique Young and a 36-yarder to DeAngelo Yancey, and Richie Worshipran 4 yards for another Purdue score. Blough passed for 401 yards.

The Bearcats' ability to successfully convert on third down was at the core of their offensive dominance. Cincinnati converted 12 of its first 14 third-down situations.

Moore threw touchdown passes of 5 and 28 yards to Nate Cole and 20 yards to D.J. Dowdy and ran 9 and 23 yards for scores. His 23-yard TD run with 2:19 iced the outcome.

"We got a little conservative in the fourth quarter, but it was a big win for us," Tuberville said.

Moore completed 19 of 32 passes for 250 yards and ran eight times for 58 yards.

Cincinnati drove 85, 80, 75, 32 and 49 yards for touchdowns and had another 13-play, 79-yard drive that produced a 26-yard Andrew Gantz field goal in the third quarter that extended the lead to 24-7.

Safety Tyrell Gilbert's fourth-quarter interception of Blough set up the 28-yard touchdown pass to Cole, pushing the Cincinnati lead to 31-7 with 14:10 to play.

"When you can't get off the field on third down, and then you have too many turnovers, you're not going to win," said Purdue coach Darrell Hazell, now 7-31 in his fourth season with the Boilermakers with four victories against FCS opponents.

TAKEAWAYS:

CINCINNATI: Tyson intercepted Blough three times, once in the end zone, and Gilbert made a key pick to set up a score, allowing the Bearcats to win the turnover battle. In its season-opening victory against Tennessee-Martin, Cincinnati turned the ball over three times. Coupled with Moore's solid day, the Bearcats won each side of the ball.

PURDUE: The Boilermakers' defense allowed 7.6 yards each time Cincinnati snapped the ball in the first half, when the Bearcats were 9 of 11 on third-down conversions. Coupled with the five interceptions of Blough, Purdue mistakes denied the Boilermakers a chance of rallying from what was once a 24-point deficit.

KEY NUMBERS

Blough's five interceptions are the most by a Purdue quarterback since Ohio State intercepted Scott Hoffman five times in the Buckeyes' 1990 victory against the Boilermakers. Former Super Bowl winning quarterback Bob Griese was intercepted five times by Illinois in a 1966 game that Purdue actually rallied to win, 25-21.

INJURIES

PURDUE: The Boilermakers played without three starters - defensive end Austin Larkin (ankle), cornerback Da'Wan Hunte (ankle) and linebacker Jimmy Herman (hamstring) and then lost starting running back Markell Jones in the third quarter with a sprained shoulder.

UP NEXT:

CINCINNATI: The Bearcats return home to play No. 6 Houston on Thursday night, hoping to improve to 3-0 and spring a major upset.

"We were not looking ahead to Houston, but it's hard not to because we hear so much about them," Bearcats' running back Tion Green said.

PURDUE: The Boilermakers have a bye on Sept. 17 and will play Nevada on Sept. 24 in West Lafayette. It will be the first meeting between the schools.

Cincinnati scores 22 points in 2nd half, tops UT Martin 28-7

Hayden Moore threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns, Mike Boone ran for a score and Cincinnati beat UT Martin 28-7 on Thursday night.

Cincinnati scored on a 3-yard pass from Moore to Nate Cole with 19 seconds left in the first half to pull to 7-6. Josh Pasley, who missed a 24-yard field goal earlier, missed the extra point.

Kahlil Lewis added a 3-yard TD catch late in the third and a successful two-point conversion made it 14-7. Boone's TD capped an 11-play drive and Tyrell Gilbert intercepted Gunnar Holcombe and returned it 58 yards to cap the scoring.

Tion Green ran for 97 yards for Cincinnati (1-0).

Jaimiee Bowe rushed for 102 yards for UT Martin (0-1). Holcombe threw for 146 yards but was intercepted twice.

Holcombe, a transfer from Marshall, led UT Martin on a 14-play, 75-yard season-opening drive. It ended in a 7-yard TD catch by Caylon Weathers for a 7-0 lead.

The Skyhawks are 1-21 all-time against FBS teams. The lone win was a 20-17 victory over Memphis on September 1, 2012.

Cincinnati Bearcats Season Preview

STORYLINES 

Cincinnati has won at least nine games seven times in the last eight years. The Bearcats won their last seven regularseason games to close the 2014 season before falling to Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl. The Bearcats return to Nippert Stadium in 2015 after the venerable stadium underwent an $86 million renovation. Cincinnati played its 2014 home games at Paul Brown Stadium. 

OFFENSE 

QB Gunner Kiel battled through injuries to start all 13 games last year. Kiel led the American Athletic Conference with 31 touchdown passes and a 149.4 efficiency rating. The Bearcats return their top seven receivers from last season — players who caught a combined 33 touchdown passes in 2014. WR Chris Moore averaged a conference-leading 22.4 yards per catch and had eight TDs last season. Cincinnati saw a number of running backs go down with injuries last season before RB Mike Boone picked up the slack as a true freshman. Boone led the team with 650 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. OG Parker Ehinger earned all-conference firstteam honors last season and is the anchor of the Bearcats’ veteran offensive line. That unit has 76 career starts to its credit. 

DEFENSE 

Cincinnati has five starters back from a defense that made marked improvement in the second half of last season. The Bearcats ranked ninth in The American in total defense last year. The Bearcats lose two players who registered 100 tackles last season (LB Jeff Luc, LB Nick Temple). The top returning tackler from last year is S Zach Edwards, who made 121 stops with two interceptions and six pass breakups. CB Adrian Witty was granted a sixth year of eligibility and returns to his starting spot in the secondary. 

SPECIAL TEAMS 

K Andrew Gantz earned all-conference second team honors as a freshman after he ranked second in The American in kicker scoring. Gantz hit 16 of 20 field goal attempts in 2014. P Sam Geraci averaged 39.4 yards per punt and ranked seventh in The American. WR Johnny Holton averaged 20.6 yards on kickoff returns, which ranked third among American Athletic Conference players.