Final Huddle: UC Swallows Navy 20-10 at Nippert Stadium

The Bearcats are now 4-2 all-time against Navy.

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats (7-2, 4-1) got the passing game back on track in a 20-10 win over the Navy Midshipmen (3-6, 3-4).

Ben Bryant had to fight through some drops from his receivers but the aerial attack returned to Nippert Stadium in the teams 31st-straight win at home. Navy got down early and couldn't create enough explosive runs to keep up using their unique attack.

In the final triple-option test for the foreseeable future, Cincinnati passed it with flying colors. The win keeps them right in the thick of the AAC title race alongside UCF and Tulane.

“I'm proud of our guys because they’ve had their backs against the wall over this past week, taking a gut punch,” Fickell said postgame. “What we went through last week, which I think everybody goes through, we, fortunately, didn’t go through it as much, and you find out a lot more about who you are, what your seniors are like, and what your leadership's like, you have weeks like that. We'll find out what it's like again because we've got another one gunning for us, and it will be a quick turnaround.”

Here's the Final Huddle from Nippert.

Bryant, Back

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I dove into Bryant's striking splits from the first four games compared to the last four games. He looked like September Ben on Saturday afternoon. Navy entered the game with the 131st-ranked pass defense by EPA, and it showed. 

Bryant torched them for 299 yards on 25-of-35 passing and a hyper-efficient tally on short/intermediate throws (21-of-25 for 207 yards). A precise afternoon.

"When they weren't blitzing they were playing a lot of soft coverage," Bryant said after the game. "So Coach Gino (Guidugli) challenged me to throw at those RPOs a lot. The hitches, the slants, the speed-outs. So, when they give it to me I gotta take it, and that's what they were doing today."

The Midshipmen weren't shy with their plan to drop extra men in coverage with shifting post-snap looks. Bryant responded by reading his progressions cleanly and finding the open men underneath the coverage. It was a mix of quick game and attacking the edges that kept Navy in a bind.

“Ben (Bryant) did a phenomenal job," Fickell said about his QB. "They do a great job of chalking things up and really making it difficult to run the football. They make it difficult with their ability to all-out pressure you and challenge you, and he answered the bell with everything today. He made some really huge throws. He held on to that ball and then let things become open, then the fourth down touchdown to Tyler Scott was a gutsy throw. I'm not sure I would tell him to do that by any means, but he saw what he saw and made a heck of a play on that."

Tyler Scott (t-career-high 10 catches, 139 yards) caught another pair of long TDs and looked like his burst was back after a midseason ankle injury. It marked the second-best yards tally of his UC career.

“Last week, it was rough depending on what I was doing," Scott said about his ankle injury. "Couple of times where it was a little rough to move. It was definitely better this week than it was last week. Last week there was a lot of press coverage, I had to move more laterally and put more stress on my ankle. Other than that it felt pretty good.”

His chemistry with Bryant takes this offense to another level. Cincinnati can access so many more parts of the field with him healthy—there aren't many players that can handle his speed/route-running combination.

The rest of the receiving unit left some plays on the field (two drops). Jadon Thompson (career-high 81 yards on three catches) had one of those bumbles, but he continues to build on his four-star prowess this season with another strong game. The Bearcats got healthier this week, and it showed on both sides of the ball.

Damned Up Dive

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Navy barely missed a beat operationally with new QB Xavier Arline, but it didn't matter against the swallowing interior defense from Cincinnati. Dontay Corleone (career-high 11 tackles) lived up to his status as PFF's top-rated defensive player, and the rest of the defense complemented him. 

“It's always difficult," Fickell said about stopping the Navy rush attack. "I don't know how many yards they had on the dive play, but I know Dontay Corleone had like 11 tackles. [Jowon] Briggs and [Justin] Watley and Dontay [Corleone], that is such an unselfish position. I didn't know the guy's going get 11 tackles. So it's not as unselfish because he's getting some notoriety on that. It is a constant battle. That's what gives us a chance to do what to do especially against the run.”

Navy ran for 187 yards on just 3.6 yards per carry and only threw six times for 84 yards. An impressive showing from UC's defense that was reeling on the ground in the past few weeks (90th nationally in EPA/rush overall).

“When we prepare, we have a lot of respect for them," Corleone said about the defensive showing. "We work as hard as we can. We try to stay disciplined but sometimes we get loose. We had to play with a lot of discipline this week.”

The service academy found some success with their signature attack, but they had to be perfect as Cincinnati allowed just seven explosive plays. They milked the dive runs plenty, but the edge plays rarely burst open for big gains. Jabari Taylor (six tackles, one sack, one forced fumble) returned and his veteran presence helped calm things down on those outside tries.

The Blackcats' defense played with discipline on a day where they had to make a whopping 90 combined tackles. Bye, bye triple option.

Pesky Offensive Penalties

© Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Flags weren't a glaring issue for the Bearcats on Saturday, but some timely mistakes kept this game closer than it should've been. All of Cincinnati's six penalties came on offense, including two delay of game calls on the same drive to open the fourth quarter for a 45 yard total overall.

The cushion in coverage from Navy helped keep those mistakes from killing more than that drive, but it was still noticeable in a game where UC played about as strong as possible defensively. That side of the program played well-connected ball and allowed just one TD despite not turning Navy over like so many teams have this season (13 giveaways, t-75th nationally).

Self-inflicted mistakes hurt more against a team that limits positions. UC had eight drives in the game but stayed on schedule with zero three-and-outs. 

The rushing attack wasn't good (20 carries, 55 yards), but Bryant and the passing game avoided enough minor mistakes to win the game. Corey Kiner did get snaps, but they didn't come until the fourth quarter in clock-killing mode. 

UC shuffled the offensive line pregame, with Dylan O'Quinn replacing Jeremy Cooper at left guard and Lorenz Metz making his first start this season at right guard. Things took some gelling on the opening drive, but they settled in (two sacks allowed) to let the passing game start to cook a definitive bottom-10 passing defense nationally.

“He's helping," Fickell said about Mets returning. "It was maybe a week ago, he came in and was asking hey, when can I get another opportunity? He had been nursing and battling his ankle and a lot of other things. It's been difficult for him. So, we had the opportunity, this week, to maybe get him in there a little bit more. We were rolling those guys and I think he played most of the game. Jeremy Cooper was struggling a little bit, but I think just being able to stay in there with injuries and just the nagging stuff. So, it gave Metz an opportunity this week to fill in a little bit as Cooper was dinged up a little bit. I'm happy and proud of him. He had a look on his face in there and I told him I was going to punch him. I really wouldn't because he's 330 pounds. He said ‘I got a lot to clean up.’ I'm like, ‘I'm just so happy that you're out there and playing.’ So that could be a big deal for us too.”

Cincinnati has yet to play a complete game in all three phases this season (FCS game removed), but they are doing enough to stay in the hunt for a walk-off AAC Title and a return trip to the New Year's Six scene.

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