Final Huddle: Cincinnati Hammers Houston 34-0 To Start 2024 Big 12 Campaign

The Bearcats tied the all-time series record.

Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2) throws a pass in the second quarter of the College Football game against the Houston Cougars at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — A statement to start conference play. 

Cincinnati handled Houston from start to finish on Saturday en route to a 34-0 win in their 2024 Big 12 opener. All three phases of the game played clean football, and QB Brendan Sorsby (12-15 188 passing yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush TD) was sharp the whole game this week to keep UC humming.

The Bearcats took advantage of a sloppy day from Houston (three turnovers) to tie the all-time series 15-15 and move to 9-6 against the Cougars at Nippert Stadium. It was the best performance of the Scott Satterfield era, marking their biggest win by margin under his watch against an FBS opponent.

It also marked UC's first shutout win since beating Navy 42-0 in 2018.

Hungry Defense

The Cougars were stymied from Jump Street in this one, with Cincinnati forcing an opposing turnover on the opening drive for the third consecutive game. UC scored on the ensuing possession and never looked back.

Houston's offense was abysmal entering this game and it found largely zero life outside of a 52-yard pass from Donovan Smith (11-16 for 73 yards, 1 INT). Cincinnati made his day a living hell, with multiple pressures on what felt like every drive. He rarely had time to look downfield.

Eric Phillips (two tackles, half TFL, forced an uncredited sack) was a menace once again in this one while Cincinnati anchors its pass rush around the wily veteran. UC did exactly what you should do against a run-heavy, lowly attack: Keep things in front of you and wait for mistakes to happen.

Houston averaged less than five yards per play and couldn't find much space against UC's body-heavy secondary. Add in the fact that UC gave up just six big plays and you get a really hard unit to score against with those factors.

Henderson High Points

Xzavier Henderson (2 catches for 34 yards and 2 TDs) is proving to be one of the Big 12's best outside wide receivers following his second multi-TD game at UC. Both scores came on similar routes as Sorsby showed wonderful touch all afternoon.

It's really hard to pick your poison from this balanced offense if the fade balls are working like they did Saturday. Cincinnati only had to throw it 19 times, with Henderson's strikes crucial in the controlled game flow.

Pass protection was key to those developing plays as Cincinnati missed Dartanyan Tinsley due to injury but had strong pass-protector Phillip Wilder back in the fold at right tackle for the first time this season and it led to just one sack allowed.

Henderson was strong, TE Joe Royer (3 catches for 41 yards) continued playing like a top-10 tight end nationally, plus, UC got 16 carries for 87 yards and 1 catch for 13 yards from Corey Kiner out of the backfield. Pick your poison, indeed.

Springboard Win?

Cincinnati got the FBS-home-win monkey off its back in stellar fashion and avenged the Miami (OH) loss from last season. Mix in the strong, strong team vibes I've felt from this group since the spring and the Bearcats could be in store to make some Big 12 noise.

This is easily the best they've played down-to-down over a two-game stretch and it comes with reliable QB play compared to last year's opening two wins of the season. Up next, is a slate of four games that ESPN's Matchup Predictor has Cincinnati a light to moderate underdog in across every matchup (less than 35% chance to win in three of the four games).

The second third of the schedule has a ton of opportunity for Cincinnati to prove people wrong, and they've shown they can take advantage of it when the wonky mistakes are flushed out.

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