Final Huddle: UC Topples Tulsa 31-21 on Back of Hungry Defense

Cincinnati outlasted Tulsa in a physical affair.

CINCINNATI — UC brought the pain to Tulsa on Saturday night in a SCORE win during their first road date against the Golden Hurricane since 2016.

The Bearcats flipped back to old-fashioned Luke Fickell football with punishing defense and a strong running game to handle Tulsa better than they have at any time across this four-game winning streak in the series.

The win got stamped by 11 UC sacks and 12 QB hits, the most sacks in a game by this program since 2007 and new AAC record.

"They picked this to be a night game, knowing how (the matchup) has been in recent years," head coach Luke Fickell said. "It was a battle, and it did not disappoint. That's what it's like in conference play. When you go on the road, you better be at your best. We were pretty good at playing all three phases of the game."

Here's the Final Huddle on a chippy night where the defense took center stage.

Sack Session

© Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

The Blackcats' defense fought fire with fire on Saturday night by quelching the fourth-ranked passing offense in the country with a season-high 11 sacks. The Golden Hurricane lost a crushing 76 sack yards in the loss.

The pressure started early by aiding Deshawn Pace's (five tackles, one sack, one INT) pick-six on the game's opening possession and it never really let up. The Pace Brothers each posted sacks while Jabari Taylor (four tackles, 2.5 sacks) ate up as well.

Pace's score was Cincinnati's nation-leading fourth defensive touchdown this season, highlighting the deep ability on that side of the ball.

Deshawn Pace with a pick six on Tulsa’s opening drive! Bearcats lead 7-0! pic.twitter.com/rkr6cD5TSW

— Barstool Cincinnati (@UCBarstool) October 1, 2022

"It was tough preparing for the game a little bit not knowing exactly who was going to be at quarterback," Fickell said to The Equirer. "So you're kind of feeling things out. But early on, to get that big pick and obviously take it back for a touchdown. That was so long ago I completely forgot about it. But (it was) obviously a big play in the game and a great way to start."

UC did give up nine big plays but held Tulsa to an impressive 3.4 yards per play overall on an efficient team effort. The Bearcats entered the game ranked eighth nationally in opponent completion percentage and the stingy defense continued. 

They are doing a great job of pairing pressure with great closing plays on the football, sporting six PBUs against a top-five passing offense in 2022. Mike Tressel's crew posted arguably their best performance this season on Saturday night in a relentless effort.

Run Game Revitalized

© Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

Cincinnati had less than 50 yards rushing last week, its lowest total of the Fickell era, but they got back to it against Tulsa. The team rushed for 198 yards on 32 carries.

Corey Kiner (12 carries, 106 yards, one score) highlighted the effort with some great power runs that turned into huge gains, including a 52-yarder, his longest as a Bearcat. He matched the streak set by Michael Warren II in 2018 by scoring a TD in his fifth-straight game.

"The key is the O-line and the receivers blocking for me, the quarterback giving me the ball, coaches calling the plays. It's the people around me," Kiner told The Enquirer. "Those are the keys."

Charles McClelland (13 carries, 87 yards) was solid as well adding a 60-yard rush that was a part of a season-high five explosive run plays. Explosive was the right adjective for this phase on a day where the coaching staff surely felt good knowing they can tap into that aspect of the game.

Ben Bryant (15-of-27, 166 yards, two TDs, one INT) was a little off on throws here and there, posting a season-low  56% completion rate. Yet, the rushing attack picked him up when needed. 

Third Down Woes

© Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

The money downs were a big problem for the UC offense on Saturday night. Cincinnati finished 2-of-14 on third down after coming into the game ranked 37th nationally through four games (46.3%).

Whether it was protection breakdowns, power rushing issues (1-4 converting inside two yards), or great stops by Tulsa, UC shot themselves in the foot a few too many times. The problem extended to penalties where they are seemingly cemented as a high-penalty team under Fickell.

"It's been like that since the first time we played them," Taylor told The Enquirer. "It's kind of just become a thing. And I'm not going to lie to you, the refs kind of just let us play ball for real. It was really like a backyard fight. It's hard to try to keep composure and really play the game right and do what we need to do to get out with a dub (victory)."

They had 109 penalty yards on 11 flags and nearly half of those issues came on third downs where Tulsa stayed alive because of UC's mistakes. The chippy atmosphere played a role as safety Bryon Threats got tossed for targeting. UC had five personal foul or roughing the passer penalties on defense.

"There were some really critical (penalties) and some dumb ones," Fickell said. "We can't do that and continue to beat teams, especially on the road, as we continue to get into conference play. I'd like to sit here and tell you that I've got an answer for it."

The argument can be made these aren't the worst things though. Aggression is a huge part of the UC defensive identity and tat astounding sack total doesn't come with passivity. Bottling it a bit more might be needed to end the AAC tenure on a 20-plus game-winning streak.

Cincinnati returns home next week for its homecoming game against the South Florida Bulls at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Make sure you bookmark All Bearcats for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more.

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