CINCINNATI — A week after delivering one of their biggest victories of the season, the Cincinnati Bearcats found themselves on the wrong end of a blowout. Saturday's 49-25 loss to sixth-ranked Utah was an ugly reminder of how quickly things can go wrong against a talented opponent, but it shouldn't erase what Cincinnati accomplished just seven days earlier.
The Bearcats' 37-24 victory over then-No. 8 Texas Tech was no fluke. Cincinnati rushed for 255 yards and held the Red Raiders to just six first-half points while building a 24-6 halftime lead. It was the kind of performance that showed how far the program has come and what it is capable of doing against quality competition.
Saturday was an entirely different story. Utah scored 28 points in the second quarter alone, building a 42-6 halftime lead that effectively ended the contest before the third quarter began. The Utes returned both a fumble and an interception for touchdowns, taking advantage of Cincinnati mistakes while repeatedly finding success against the Bearcats' defense.
The defensive continues to be worrisome, however. Utah finished with 534 yards of offense, including 268 rushing yards, and converted seven of 11 third-down opportunities. Cincinnati struggled to get stops, and the Utes consistently found room to operate both on the ground and through the air.
Those problems cannot simply be dismissed because Utah entered the game undefeated. The Bearcats need to tackle better, limit explosive plays, and avoid the turnovers that turned Saturday's game into a rout. As I said in my recap, yesterday's defense was more like what we saw against West Virginia, not Texas Tech.
Still, there were encouraging signs even in defeat. Cole Tabb rushed for 131 yards on just 14 carries, including a 48-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Cincinnati finished with 193 rushing yards and 456 yards of total offense, showing that the Bearcats were capable of moving the football despite the lopsided score.
Cincinnati also outscored Utah 19-7 in the second half, with Jacob Finley's 79-yard interception return providing one of the highlights. Although the outcome had largely been decided by halftime, the Bearcats continued competing rather giving up and quitting on each other.
At 5-3 overall and 2-3 in Big 12 play, Cincinnati still has an opportunity to finish the season strongly. The victory over Texas Tech showed what this team can accomplish when it executes well, while the Utah loss exposed what happens when turnovers and defensive breakdowns pile up.
The challenge now is establishing which performance more accurately reflects the Bearcats. They have already proven they can beat a nationally ranked opponent, and Saturday's defeat doesn't change that. But Cincinnati must find a way to produce that level of play more consistently rather than allowing mistakes to determine the outcome of an entire game.
The Bearcats have four regular-season games remaining to show that the progress they've made is real. One rough afternoon against an undefeated Utah team shouldn't define their season, but how they respond to it certainly will.
