Ridder, No. 7 Cincinnati top Notre Dame, boost CFP case
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Desmond Ridder threw two touchdown passes and ran for score late in the fourth quarter as No. 7 Cincinnati capitalized on its big opportunity and beat No. 9 Notre Dame 24-13 Saturday in a game the Bearcats hope can be the centerpiece of College Football Playoff résumé.
Cincinnati (4-0) wanted to use its first top 10, regular-season matchup as a statement game, heading into its American Athletic Conference schedule. No team from outside the Power Five conferences has ever reached the playoff. None has ever come close.
To break that barrier, the Bearcats almost certainly need to go undefeated, and this trip to Notre Dame (4-1) stood as the toughest test on the schedule. Not to mention the biggest stage they’ll appear on this season.
The Bearcats were not quite dominant, but they were plenty good enough, in their first trip to South Bend since 1900, to snap Notre Dame’s 26-game home winning streak.
When told this week how loud the crowd can be at Notre Dame Stadium, Ridder quipped that it wouldn’t be loud for long.
The senior delivered, going 19-for-32 for 297 yards. He hooked up with Alec Pierce six times for 144 yards, and was at his best after Notre Dame cut the lead to 17-13 with 8:20 left in the fourth quarter.
Ridder went 3-for-3 on the ensuing drive, with a bullet down the middle for 36 yards to Leonard Taylore. He capped it off with a 6-yard TD run around left end that made it 24-13.
Cincinnati took advantage of three turnovers by Notre Dame in the first half to jump out to 17-0 lead. The miscues by the Fighting Irish were killers.
Jack Coan’s pass was intercepted in the red zone by Ahmad Gardner on illadvised throw under pressure that ended Notre Dame’s first and best drive of the half.
The Irish tried freshman Tyler Buchner at quarterback for a couple of series, hoping his mobility could spark the running game. But Buchner, while getting hit, had a pass picked off by DeShawn Pace to set up Cincinnati in the red zone.
Ridder flipped a 1-yard pass to Taylor to make it 7-0 early in the second quarter.
Ridder and the Bearcats put together their best drive late in the second quarter, going 80 yards for a touchdown. Ridder was 3-for-4 on the drive, each completion for more than 20 yards, including the 27yard touchdown pass to Tre Tucker that beat Irish All-America safety Kyle Hamilton.