Final Huddle: UC Escapes South Florida Rushing Barrage 28-24

Cincinnati closed a two-decade chapter against USF, but it wasn't easy.

CINCINNATI — A wild homecoming battle ended up with the Cincinnati Bearcats (5-1, 2-0) coming out on top 28-24 against longtime conference foe South Florida (1-5, 0-2).

Redshirt senior running back Charles McClelland had a monster day at the perfect time for Cincinnati, amassing a career-high 179 rushing yards and two scores on 21 carries. 

The Bearcats' offense had to weather multiple key injuries to playmakers, including Ben Bryant and Tyler Scott.

"There are some things we’ve got to do better but we’ve got a bye week. I think it starts with health," UC head coach Luke Fickell said after the game. "You’re never going to get completely healthy in a bye week or throughout a season. We've got to make sure we know who we have and how we can continue to grow and move forward.

"This is a large mountain to climb; these guys understand that. They've been here the last couple of years and know what it's like when everybody's swinging at you. When you don't play your best and you don't have your best, it's going to be very difficult."

Here's the Final Huddle from UC's 30th-straight win at Nippert Stadium.

Injury Impact

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The Bearcats' offense executed relatively well (52% success rate) on Saturday, but made some impactful mistakes to keep USF in the game. Add in injuries to Scott, Bryant, plus, Corey Kiner and you get an upset recipe.

Luckily McClelland and Evan Prater (1-of-2, 15 passing yards, four carries, 15 yards) kept the ship steady to lead a fourth-quarter comeback.

Other wide receivers in Chris Scott and Jadon Thompson were also hobbled in the game.

"We always have got to be ready for that," Fickell said about the injuries. "We’ve had a lot of these things this year that we've been very fortunate to not have had that the last two years. We've almost gone unscathed, and a little bit in the last two years and this year. There's been a lot more of those situations whether it's in the Jake Renfro’s of the world, but it is what it is. That just shows you what your team is made of. 

"Other guys have to step up. Chris (Scott) went down and obviously was able to come back. Jadon (Thompson) went down and was able to come back in. So, I don't know if the bye week ever comes at a really good time, but right now after a win, it's going to come at a really good time.”

Depth has been a giant calling card for this team all season and it came through once again. It takes the strength of an entire program to win 30-straight home games and we saw it on Saturday. The game could've flipped at the start of the fourth quarter when UC turned it over on downs at the USF 12 and the Bulls answered with a score.

It wasn't to be. The defense buckled in when needed over the final 15 minutes as Bryant got clipped in the head on a slide three plays into the quarter. 

“I thought he did a great job," Fickell said about Prater. "There are things we’ll go over but, there was not a doubt in his mind. ... He's never batted an eye. He’s never changed his attitude since Ben (Bryant) was named the starter. When it comes down to it, he's going to win some ballgames for us.”

The young QB has prepared for moments like this and it showed. The Bearcats moved the ball with a dynamic rushing attack to retake the lead with a 35-yard McClelland rushing TD and eventually seal the game late. Prater's rushing threat had a lot to do with it.

"It's just an opportunity to showcase what you can do," Prater said. "The coaches told me ever since camp that these moments would show up, and they said this was one of those moments today. I just try to come in with a positive attitude that even if I'm not a starter, I can be in a position to help us win games today. Just having that mentality every day in practice helps."

McClelland Magic

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The Bearcats got a well-timed monster day from a guy who's busted through multiple major knee injuries to get here. McClelland ran with reckless abandon on Saturday, hitting holes hard and getting skinny through gaps when he had to for his career-high rushing total.

He posted seven of UC's eight big plays (10-plus yards) on the ground to average a robust 8.5 yards per carry. Overall, UC needed the ground game (37 carries, 221 yards) to combat a rough passing day for Bryant (193 yards, two TDs, two picks). His 50.6 QBR was his worst since posting a 44.7 mark against Arkansas.

"Charles hasn't been maybe 100% either," Fickell said about the outing. "But he showed today that he is a gamer. We were a little thinner. Ryan Montgomery being back is a great help for us, and I don't think Myles Montgomery was in there much today, but when you get a hot hand and Charles’ kind of feeling the way he is, you keep riding with it.”

The Bearcats needed the veteran to perform after Kiner was ruled out before the game. Fickell noted that Kiner should be fine, and he thought he might be able to suit up for the game.

"Go out there and do what I do," McClelland said about being tabbed with a bigger role. "Regardless if Corey (Kiner) plays. We got more running backs. He’s a great player, but we also got great players behind me. So, if something were to happen to me, we got others who can step up. Just have to bring something every day because if you don’t, you’ll get passed up.”

The running back room is sharp and getting sharper each week as this new-ish offensive line continues to build chemistry.

“Personally, staying on my aim points and staying on my reads," McClelland noted as to why he had so much success. "The o-line was putting in work, so it was easy running for me.”

The rushing total moved him next to Jerome Ford last season, who posted two games with 175-plus rushing yards in 2021.

Bohanon Bruises

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Underdogs usually need to control the clock, force turnovers, and run the football well to come out on top and USF did all of that besides win this weekend.

The Bulls ran for 224 yards on 43 carries to match Arkansas' total against UC in Week 1. USF QB Gerry Bohanon posted 117 yards rushing on 8.4 yards per carry. Cincinnati struggled to bring him down at the second level, as the Bulls used a nice game plan against QB-killer Ivan Pace Jr. (seven tackles, one solo).

“Yeah, that was the team right there that played against Florida earlier in the year," Fickell said about the rushing attack. "The quarterbacks are carrying the ball 15 to 20 times, to make sure that the game is going to be in his head and on his shoulders. We had an idea that that could be the game plan. They did a great job of executing it and, we have to do a better job, but it is what it is. You have to find a way to win.”

Bohanon played with physicality and brought the pain on every run. The yardage total is a career-high for the junior and just the third time in his career he's rushed for 100-plus yards. 

A big factor in limiting the day a little bit was junior linebacker, Ty Van Fossen. The stoic stopper had a career-high 16 tackles (seven solo) and one tackle for loss.

"I’m just playing my role and doing what I’ve been trying to do all season," Van Fossen said about the performance. "Just be there when I need to be there, and today I made a few more tackles so that was nice. ... It’s something you don’t see every week, and having someone that is mobile like that and can run makes it a lot harder on defense. They pick up an extra blocker, so we have to change the math and make plays.”

Van Fossen is another example of UC's depth in a week where they barely held onto that home win streak. Now they have a much-needed off period to get healthy before arguably the toughest two-game stretch of the season with road battles against SMU and UCF. 

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