TAMPA, Fla. — USF’s 45-28 loss to No. 5 Cincinnati followed the Bulls’ season-long trend. They were competitive, this time against a College Football Playoff hopeful with a loaded roster. But they fell behind too much too early, dooming them Friday night at Raymond James Stadium.
The Bearcats (10-0, 6-0 AAC) made the earliest mistakes that kept them from earning any style points for their playoff push. Cincinnati gave USF (2-8, 1-5) a first down thanks to two offsides penalties. Then the Bearcats lost a fumble, and star quarterback Desmond Ridder threw an interception that Christian Williams returned to the 2. That set up a touchdown run by USF’s Jaren Mangham.
But Cincinnati eventually got going. After those early turnovers, the Bearcats scored on their next five drives. Ridder rushed for a touchdown and threw for two others. His 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Josh Whyle on the first drive of the second half was the 79th of his career, moving past Gino Guidugli for the most in Cincinnati history.
USF struggled to get anything going against the Bearcats’ highly touted defense. Quarterback Timmy McClain threw a first-half interception to Ahmad Gardner, Cincinnati’s All-American cornerback candidate. At halftime, USF had 39 yards of offense … and picked up 35 off Cincinnati penalties.
The Bulls did not go away and made things interesting in the second half. Mangham added another touchdown — his 15th of the season, tying him with Marlon Mack (2016) for the second-best single-season mark in Bulls history. McClain found Jimmy Horn for an 80-yard catch-and-run that cut the deficit to 31-21 late in the third quarter.
USF refused to allow Cincinnati to put the game away, even after the Bearcats added a touchdown run early in the fourth and USF fumbled the ensuing kickoff. The Bulls stopped Cincinnati four times inside the 5 and forced a fumble. McClain then led USF on a 98-yard touchdown drive (which he capped off with a 2-yard run) to trim the deficit to 10 with six minutes left.
It wasn’t enough. McClain threw a late interception, and Cincinnati’s Ryan Montgomery broke off a 55-yard touchdown run to ice the game.
Cincinnati was without starting running back Jerome Ford due to a leg injury.
USF travels to Tulane next week before facing UCF in its Nov. 26 regular-season finale.
