No. 5 Cincinnati keeps rolling with rout of Temple
The previous three matchups between Temple and Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell’s Bearcats were close. The latest installment in the series was not.
Desmond Ridder had three passing touchdowns, Jerome Ford added two scores on the ground and the Bearcats defense was suffocating as No. 5 Cincinnati coasted to a 52-3 victory over the Owls in front of a sold-out crowd Friday night at Nippert Stadium.
“The crowd was unbelievable,” Fickell said. “That’s the best I’ve seen. It was really awesome to come back home. It’s been three weeks since we’ve had an opportunity to be back in Nipp. To be at night and have the student section, the crowd and everything as electric as it was, that was awesome.”
The victory marked the 23rd straight win at home for the Bearcats (5-0), who opened American Athletic Conference play in the win column with 37,978 fans in attendance.
Ridder completed 22 of 30 passes for 259 yards, eclipsing the 8,000-yard mark for his career. The fifth-year senior has 8,209 passing yards, trailing only UC passing game coordinator, quarterbacks coach and UC Athletics Hall of Famer Gino Guidugli’s 11,453 yards.
Cincinnati’s defense had six sacks, eight tackles for loss, an interception by cornerback Coby Bryant and held the Owls (3-3, 1-1 AAC) to 226 yards of total offense, including 76 rushing yards.
“It makes my life a lot easier to know that we have a great 11 guys out there – to 20 guys who can rotate in and out – that’s going to lock things down.,” Ridder said of the defense. “It’s just fun when I do get to watch to really just see them wreak havoc.”
Alec Pierce finished with six catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Over the past three games, Pierce has 16 catches for 323 yards and two touchdowns.
“Those guys have got a pretty good rapport right now and a pretty unique connection,” Fickell said of Ridder and Pierce.
Ford finished with 149 yards on 15 carries.
Cincinnati will be at home again Saturday to face UCF. Kickoff is scheduled tor noon on ABC.