Ben Bryant rolled onto the field Friday on a scooter with his right foot in a walking boot. The hometown crowd cheered as the University of Cincinnati quarterback was honored on senior day.
Bryant, sidelined with a season-ending foot injury he suffered last week at Temple, could only watch as the Bearcats’ hopes of winning a third straight American Athletic Conference championship came crashing to the turf.
Cincinnati lost to Tulane, 27-24. The defeat snapped a program-record 32-game winning streak for the Bearcats at Nippert Stadium. It was their first home loss since Nov. 10, 2017 (35-24 against Temple).
Had the No. 24 (College Football Playoff rankings) Bearcats (9-3, 6-2) won Friday, they would’ve hosted the AAC championship game on Dec. 3. Instead, they now need a lot to happen in order to play for a third straight conference crown.
"That's a tough one to swallow," UC coach Luke Fickell said. "More so than anything for the seniors. ... Everybody in that locker room wanted to send those guys out the right way, and we didn't get it done today. It was not from a lack of effort. It wasn't from a lack of preparation. We knew it was going to be a battle. We knew it was going to come down to the fourth quarter. What we had to do was we had to make plays in the fourth quarter. We fought and fought and fought back and forth and we got ourselves into a situation where we could win the game in the fourth quarter and we didn't get it done."
"Everybody's hurt, but nobody more than those seniors. They've meant more than anything to me and to this program."
A South Florida (1-10, 0-7) win at home against No. 22 Central Florida (8-3, 5-2) on Saturday coupled with a Tulsa (4-7, 2-5) win at Houston (7-4, 5-2) would create a rematch in the AAC championship game between No. 19 Tulane (10-2, 7-1) and Cincinnati next week in New Orleans.
Wins by South Florida and Houston would send the higher-ranked of Cincinnati and Houston in average of Sunday's computer rankings to the AAC title game. Cincinnati’s average rank entering this week was 26.75, while Houston’s was 47.25.
"This is huge motivation, just fuel to just keep getting better," said Prater, who completed 10 of 26 passes for 102 yards and an interception and rushed for 83 yards on 18 carries. "Even though we might not be playing for a championship, we're keeping our mindset like we are. We've got a lot of places to improve, and it's got to start right now going into this bowl game and going into next year."
With Bryant injured, sophomore backup quarterback Evan Prater made his first career start. After Tulane won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half, the former Wyoming High School 2019 Ohio Mr. Football award winner received a roaring ovation from the sold-out crowd as he led the Cincinnati offense onto the field.
"The Nipp is always rocking," Prater said. "We feed off that energy for sure. But coming out, it took us a while to get in a rhythm."
Prater and the Bearcats went three-and-out on their first two possessions. The game remained scoreless until Tulane booted a 34-yard field goal with 5:17 to play in the opening quarter.
Prater and the offense countered with a 13-play drive that ended with a 28-yard field goal by junior kicker Ryan Coe to start the second period. It was the 10th straight made field goal by Coe, the reigning AAC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Prater completed five of his eight passes in the first quarter for 47 yards, including a 20-yarder to freshman wide receiver Will Pauling. Prater also rushed four times for 14 yards in the opening frame.
Tulane grabbed a 10-3 lead on an 11-yard rushing touchdown by running back Tyjae Spears with 4:58 remaining before halftime. The score capped a 15-play, 71-yard drive and ate up 8:25 of game clock. It was the longest drive of the season for the Green Wave.
With Cincinnati freshman standout defensive lineman Dontay Corleone sidelined with a lower-body injury, Spears gashed the UC defense for 103 yards on 18 carries in the first half. It was the junior’s sixth straight 100-yard game and the 13th of his career. Spears finished with 181 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries.
"He's a good back," Fickell said. "He's good. We knew that going in. But we've had a little bit of an issue with some of those really good guys, especially those who can bounce and get the edge on us. It's another area where we've given up some big plays."
Two minutes after Spears’ score, Cincinnati running back Charles McClelland countered with a touchdown run of his own. The senior raced 35 yards through the goal line to tie the game at 10 apiece. It was McClelland’s seventh rushing score of the season and the 12th of his career.
Tulane added a 47-yard field goal just before the halftime whistle to take 13-10 advantage into the locker room.
Prater threw an interception on UC’s first drive of the second half. Prater’s pass was intended for junior wide receiver Jadon Thompson but was deflected and ultimately picked. The turnover set up the Green Wave at the Cincinnati 40-yard line.
Tulane marched its way to a fourth-and-3 at the 6. Bearcats sophomore safety Bryon Threats was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, giving the Green Wave a fresh set of downs. The penalty resulted in Spears’ second score of the day.
The 2-yard touchdown put Tulane ahead 20-10 with 6:59 to play in the third.
Senior running back Ryan Montgomery, who rushed for 95 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns, hurdled a would-be tackler on a 17-yard gash on Cincinnati’s ensuing possession. The run was the highlight of a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard score by Montgomery that cut the Green Wave’s lead to 20-17 entering the fourth.
It was the longest touchdown drive of the season for the Bearcats.
The Cincinnati defense stepped up for a stop on fourth-and-2 on its own 38-yard line on the next drive. Senior linebacker Ty Van Fossen and sophomore linebacker Jaheim Thomas (Princeton High School), who had 11 total tackles, combined for the tackle on Tulane junior quarterback Michael Pratt and forced the turnover on downs with 11:14 left.
Prater answered by tossing a 21-yard pass down the sideline to Pauling on third-and-9. The pass was ruled incomplete. But Fickell challenged the call, and the review revealed Pauling got his toes down in bounds before his momentum carried him out of play.
"To be honest with you, I thought it was out of bounds," Fickell said. "And then somebody upstairs said, 'I think he might've caught that thing.' So I took a chance."
The completion set up first-and-10 at the Tulane 29. The Bearcats then took a 24-20 lead on another rushing touchdown by Montgomery with 6:27 to play. This Montgomery score was from 15 yards out and capped a 13-play, 63-yard march by Prater and the offense.
But Tulane wasn’t done. The Green Wave countered by going 75 yards in 1:17 and going back up 27-24 on a 30-yard connection between Pratt and wide receiver Duece Watts, who beat UC senior cornerback Arquon Bush on the score.
Prater and the Cincinnati offense couldn't answer and failed to gain a single yard in three plays. Mason Fletcher punted the ball to Tulane with 4:04 left on the clock.
The Bearcats held defensively and were able to get the offense back on the field with 1:36 left.
Prater threw a pass to junior wide receiver Tyler Scott that bounced off Scott's chest on fourth-and-15 on their final drive and Tulane was able to take a knee as time expired.
