CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats scored 42 points Saturday afternoon against West Virginia. They scored six touchdowns, gained 622 yards, and held the lead six different times.
And somehow, they still lost.
West Virginia defeated Cincinnati 45-42 on a 35-yard field goal by Jack Cassidy as time expired, handing the Bearcats their second consecutive defeat and dropping them to 4-2 on the season.
There were some encouraging signs from an offense that looked completely lost against Arizona two weeks ago. Unfortunately, the game also showed that Cincinnati's defense is the biggest problem facing this football team.
The Good: The Passing Game
Well, at least the offense showed up this week.
After scoring just seven points in an ugly loss to Arizona, Cincinnati's passing game finally came alive against West Virginia. Quarterback JC French IV completed 22 of 30 passes for a career-high 389 yards and three touchdowns without throwing an interception.
French opened the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown pass to JV Gibson, capping a 13-play, 75-yard drive that gave Cincinnati an early advantage.
But it was the explosive plays that really stood out.
In the first quarter, French connected with Malachi Henry for a 69-yard gain that moved Cincinnati deep into West Virginia territory. The Bearcats ultimately failed to score on that possession, but the play showed a level of explosiveness that was entirely missing against Arizona.
French later found Isaiah Johnson for a 51-yard touchdown in the second quarter, giving Cincinnati a 14-7 lead. Johnson also hauled in a 24-yard pass during the Bearcats' next touchdown drive.
In the fourth quarter, French connected with Henry again, this time for 59 yards, setting up a 6-yard touchdown run by Cole Tabb. French also found Tabb for an 11-yard touchdown earlier in the quarter.
Tabb was outstanding, rushing for 118 yards and two touchdowns while adding 51 receiving yards and another score. Combined with French's passing performance, Cincinnati had more than enough offense to win.
The passing game wasn't perfect, but it was a welcome improvement. Cincinnati showed it could stretch the field, make explosive plays, and move the football against a Big 12 opponent, even though West Virginia has defensive issues of its own.
It would have been nice if those 42 points had actually been enough to win. UC scoring 42 points and still losing is the college football equivalent of the Bengals scoring 30 and still losing.
The Bad: Failing to Finish
There are tough losses, and then there are games you have absolutely no business losing.
Saturday's defeat belongs in the second category.
Cincinnati led West Virginia six different times. Six. And every single time, the Bearcats allowed the Mountaineers to come back.
The most frustrating part came in the final minutes. After Tabb scored from six yards out to give Cincinnati a 42-35 lead with 5:35 remaining, the Bearcats needed their defense to make one stop.
Instead, West Virginia marched down the field in just five plays, tying the game on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Michael Hawkins Jr. to Cam Cook.
Cincinnati got the ball back with 3:44 remaining and had an opportunity to put together a game-winning drive. The offense went nowhere, gaining just eight yards before punting.
At least Max Fletcher did his job.
His 66-yard punt pinned West Virginia at its own 1-yard line with 2:05 remaining. The Mountaineers had 99 yards between themselves and the end zone, with a quarterback leading an offense that had struggled throughout Big 12 play.
That should have been enough to at least force overtime.
But West Virginia drove 82 yards into field-goal range, and Cassidy drilled a 35-yarder as time expired.
This wasn't a loss to some conference powerhouse. West Virginia entered Saturday 3-3 overall and winless in Big 12 play. The Mountaineers had lost three straight games, and Cincinnati had two weeks to prepare after its own embarrassing loss at Arizona.
Yet the Bearcats found a way to lose again.
Good teams finish games. Cincinnati had more than enough opportunities to put West Virginia away Saturday and failed every time.
The Ugly: The Defense
Where do we even begin?
Cincinnati's defense was absolutely atrocious Saturday. Not mediocre. Not disappointing. Atrocious.
The Bearcats surrendered 45 points and 598 yards to a West Virginia team that entered the game with an 0-3 Big 12 record. That followed the 34 points Cincinnati allowed against Arizona, bringing the total to 79 points surrendered in two consecutive losses.
Seventy-nine points.
You can dress that up however you want, but there is no excuse for a defense playing this badly.
West Virginia quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. threw for 464 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He added 77 rushing yards and two more scores, accounting for five touchdowns against a defense that rarely seemed to have an answer for him.
Every time Cincinnati's offense did something positive, the defense seemed determined to give it right back.
The Bearcats led 7-0, 14-7, 21-14, 28-21, 35-28, and 42-35. Not once could the defense protect a lead long enough for Cincinnati to take control.
And the final drive might have been the most embarrassing part of the entire afternoon.
West Virginia started at its own 1-yard line with barely two minutes remaining. On third-and-nine from the 2, Hawkins connected with Prince Strachan for 41 yards. A few plays later, he found Strachan again for another 39 yards.
Two completions. Eighty yards. Game over. Atrocious.
How does a Big 12 defense allow that to happen with the game on the line?
The Bearcats had West Virginia backed up against its own goal line, knowing the Mountaineers needed to move the football quickly. The situation couldn't have been more obvious, and Cincinnati still couldn't stop them.
This isn't a case of one bad afternoon, either. The defense was terrible against Arizona, and after a bye week that should have given the coaching staff plenty of time to address the problems, it somehow managed to play even worse against West Virginia.
At some point, the coaching staff has to answer for this. Whatever Cincinnati is doing defensively isn't working, and the players aren't executing well enough to compensate.
Giving up 45 points to a struggling West Virginia team is embarrassing. Giving up 79 points in two games, both losses, is unacceptable.
Cincinnati's offense scored six touchdowns Saturday and still couldn't win. If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about the state of this defense, nothing will.
The Bearcats have to figure something out, and quickly. Otherwise, what started as a promising 4-0 season could turn into a long, miserable fall.
