Final Huddle: Cincinnati Bearcats Stifle Temple 23-3

Cincinnati had to call on Evan Prater to guide the victory after Ben Bryant went out with an injury.

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats (9-2, 6-1) easily handled the Temple Owls (3-8, 1-6) on the road 23-3.

The defense kept an easy hold of a hot Temple offense, and the Bearcats weathered a key injury at quarterback to set themselves up for another home AAC Championship game if they beat Tulane next weekend.

Cincinnati is now 10-13-1 all-time against Temple.

Ben Bryant (9-of-18, 130 yards, one TD) went out with a foot injury which may have triggered the Evan Prater era at UC. Here's the Three Down Look on a sparsely attended game.

Banged Up Bryant

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The Bearcats had to weather an injury to Bryant, but it was the ideal spot to insert Evan Prater (12-of-17, 127 yards) for his first extended action as a passer. Bryant went down late in the second quarter with Cincinnati leading 17-3.

“I talked to all the coaching staff and they said, 'We're going to need you at some point in time,' and these moments are showing up," Prater said. "I'm just trying to stay ready for them. That's one of the things I didn't want to waver. I always come in with a smile on my face, always upbeat, happy and preparing like I am the starting the quarterback.”

Prater was better in his snaps than Bryant was in the opening 20-plus minutes. The redshirt sophomore played sharp, especially on a long drive that stalled near the goal line early in the fourth quarter.

He ended up with a 133.3 passer rating to Bryant's 129 and showed all the wiggle Bearcats fans expected to see from the dual-threat QB. UC came into the game 87th nationally, allowing 2.5 sacks per game, and Temple doubled that against UC (five sacks). 

"I thought [Evan] did a really good job,” head coach Luke Fickell said. “I thought whatever we asked him to do, he did a really good job. He took care of the football and made some plays when he had to. As we got a little further along, we said now we need to see him play a little more, give him some of those opportunities. I thought he moved around the pocket really well and delivered some really good balls."

The Owls and UC are the top-sacking teams in the conference, prompting Prater to make plenty of plays out of structure. The coaches didn't ask him to make many huge throws downfield (5-of-11 o five-plus yard passes), but Prater stayed efficient and turned a few sacks into positive plays. That added rushing element is so infectious—and it helped UC's rushing attack stay afloat.

We do not know the severity of Bryant's foot injury as of this writing. According to Justin Williams, Bryant was on crutches and wearing a boot on the sideline.

"At first, they said, hey, we're going to tape him up. Maybe he'll be able to go back in," Fickell said. "And then they said, I don't know. Let's hold on this thing and see what it looks like at halftime. And then at halftime, we just felt like hey, this is an opportunity.”

Even if he is cleared to play, I didn't see anything from Prater that should keep his added versatility from starting next week.

Turnover Time

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Saturday was a dominant showing from the Blackcats defense. The entire unit played connected football and shut down the most prolific passing offense in the country this month (830 yards coming in).

Back-to-back years allowing just three points to Temple, the first time UC hasn't allowed a TD since the 52-3 win over the Owls last season. The Owls averaged 3.7 yards per play, which would rank 130th nationally over a full season.

A lot of the damage came by way of four turnovers, the third time UC’s forced three-plus turnovers in a game this season and they’re most in 2022. 

“Going into the game this morning, I said the number one thing was turnovers,” Fickell said. “The offense did a really good job of taking care of the football, being smart with the ball. We got four [turnovers] on defense. This is a team that’s tough to beat when there is a +4 in turnover margin.”

E.J. Warner (21-of-36, 167 yards, two INTS) tossed his first two picks of the month and never looked comfortable trying to stretch the ball on this defense. Jacob Dingle (one tackle, one INT) caught his first career pick in relief of Bryon Threats, and then Threats got a pick of his own. The great safety play was rounded out with a pass breakup from Ja'Von Hicks as well.

I noted in the preview how Temple sported one of the five-worst run blocking units in the country, and it showed. The Owls averaged just 2.1 YPC adjusted for sacks and their longest run was nine yards. Dominance from Dontay Corleone (three tackles, one forced fumble) and company.

Runnin Ryan

© Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Montgomery (14 carries, 58 yards, one TD) was the most effective UC skill player on the field against Temple. He ran hard and had a no-nonsense style. 

It's exactly what UC needs right now from the most inconsistent part of the team. Montgomery (4.1 YPC) and Kiner (eight carries, 36 yards) were the only UC ballcarriers to average over 2.7 YPC. He took advantage of bigger lanes when Prater came in and also got involved in the passing game.

He posted one catch for 13 yards but barely missed out on his second career receiving TD when he went out of play on a catch in the back of the end zone. 

"He said he didn't step out of bounds,” Prater said describing what Montgomery said after the whistle. “I told him I don't know if we can be friends anymore. I'm just kidding. It kind of sucks, but it is what it is."

All in all, Prater's presence did just enough for this rushing attack. 

His 24 yards were the most by a Bearcats QB this season and it's just the second time in 2022 that UC's had positive rushing from that position.

All eyes will be on Bryant's health over the next week as UC prepares for an AAC semifinal matchup at Nippert Stadium against Tulane.

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