Cincinnati 38 Boston College 6: Bearcats Push Around Overmatched Eagles

Easy win for the Bearcats

The rain delayed the game for over an hour, but it didn't take long for the #21 Cincinnati Bearcats to out muscle Boston College 38-6 in the 2019 Birmingham Bowl.  Led by quarterback Desmond Ridder who used his legs for three touchdowns and threw for another, Cincinnati dominated Boston College on both sides of the ball on their way to an eleventh win. 

The game started with both teams trading punts in the rain before a crack of thunder caused a delay. While teams and fans went for cover, it was unclear if the game would even happen as the delay was extended to an hour. At 4:55 ET the game resumed and it was all Bearcats after that. Ridder started the scoring with a thirteen yard run, which showed early that his speed and escapability was going to be a major problem for the Eagles defense. On the ensuing drive Boston College had a 40 yard field goal blocked. However on the replay it looked clear that the Bearcats were offsides, but there was no flag thrown on the play and BC was kept off the scoreboard.

Cincinnati immediately put up more points on a long sustained drive that included a pair of third down conversions. It looked like the Bearcats were about to punch it in but freshman Mike Ciaffoni sacked Ridder and held Cincinnati to a field goal.

Boston College's implosion continued when three plays later Dennis Grosel was hit by former Boston College linebacker Ethan Tucky causing the ball to pop out. David Bailey had an opportunity to jump on it but didn't continue with the play, and Cincinnati recovered. Refs reviewed the play and reversed their call of an incomplete pass, giving the UC offense excellent field position. On the next play Desmond Ridder scampered into the end zone to make it 17-0. 

The second half was more of the same as Luke Fickell's squad continued to pour it on with a twelve play six minute long drive that ended with another Ridder touchdown, this time on a beautiful catch by Malick Mbodj in the end zone. Later in the third the Bearcats finished off the Eagles with yet another touchdown by Ridder, ending his night with four total touchdowns. 

The Bearcats were dominant on the defensive side of the ball all night, as David Bailey couldn't get anything going and Dennis Grosel was pressured all night long. The Eagles, playing without AJ Dillon and offensive lineman John Phillips, only managed 164 yards all night. Their lone score came from a blocked punt by Mike Palmer that was returned by cornerback Brandon Sebastian for six points.  

With this loss the Eagles drop to 6-7, and have lost five of their last six bowl games. With the season now over, the Jeff Hafley era can officially begin for the Eagles. And even with a bad loss, BC fans can still feel excited about that.

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