When Desmond Ridder announced he was returning to the University of Cincinnati football team for the 2021 season, he said there was still unfinished business after losing to Georgia in the Peach Bowl.
Fast forward 11 months and he’s exactly where he hoped to be. The Bearcats will face top-ranked Alabama in a College Football Playoff semifinal next week, an achievement that seemed impossible for the program when Ridder became the school’s starting quarterback in 2018.
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Ridder, who is 44-5 in his collegiate career, hasn’t run as often as he did earlier in his career, but that’s an aspect of his game that has Alabama’s defense on alert.
“Their quarterback is really good,” said Alabama star linebacker Will Anderson Jr., who finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting. “He’s very long. He can run the ball. They have a great offensive line. They are all huge guys and they can move really well, so it’s going to be a great challenge for us up front just to contain the quarterback and make sure he’s in the pocket.”
Ridder, who finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting, has completed 66% of his passes this season for 3,190 yards and 30 touchdowns with eight interceptions. The Bearcats rank 53rd in the country in passing yards per game (248.7), but they’ve been efficient with deep passes (8.79 yards per attempt).
Senior receiver Alec Pierce has been Ridder’s top target with 50 catches for 867 yards and seven touchdowns. Five other players have at least 20 catches for more than 270 yards, including tight ends Josh Whyle (25 catches, 320 yards, six touchdowns) and sophomore receiver Tyler Scott (26 catches, 477 yards, five touchdowns).
“They have a really explosive offense,” Alabama linebacker Christian Harris said. “They have the ability to be able to sit there and pass in the pocket if they want to, extend plays, get out of the pocket. They also have a really great running back (Jerome Ford), so they have weapons all across the offense.”
Alabama has allowed 223.3 passing yards per game, which ranks 62nd in the country, permitting 7.02 yards per attempt. Those numbers are a little inflated because of the Tide’s success at stopping the run, and Alabama ranks third in the nation with 46 sacks (3.54 per game).
The Tide will likely be without starting cornerback Josh Jobe after he underwent foot surgery earlier this month, so it will be relying on junior Jalyn Armour-Davis and freshman Kool-Aid McKinstry. Armour-Davis, tied for the team lead with three interceptions, missed the past two games with a hip injury.
“They like to do a lot of bracket where they double some receivers, so they really take away a lot of throws,” Ridder said. “(Passes) have to be on time and have to be where the ball needs to be.”
Protecting Ridder in the pocket and giving him time to throw will be the challenge for UC’s offensive line. The Tide have tallied at least three sacks in each of their past seven games, highlighted by Anderson’s nation-leading 15 ½ sacks. Ridder was sacked three times in a game once this year (Tulane).
In Alabama’s lone loss this year, a 41-38 defeat to Texas A&M, it failed to record a sack. Texas A&M quarterback Zach Calzada completed 21 of his 31 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns.
“We all know about their skill,” Bearcats Head Coach Luke Fickell said of Alabama. “I think sometimes you don’t recognize what they’ve really got up front on both sides of the ball. To me, that’s where the big matchups have got to be.”
In the three games the Bearcats have garnered fewer than 120 rushing yards this season (Notre Dame, Navy and Tulsa), Ridder has thrown for 747 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions.
“They’re a very great team, very explosive,” Harris said. “I know they’ve beat some good teams this year and they put up a lot of points. As far as their passing game, they have a really great quarterback. Of course, their running back, I think he’s over 1,000 yards already. They are a very successful team and very dangerous. They’ve shown in the past they can compete with good teams, so it’s definitely a great challenge for us.”
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