SU's offense stalls in loss to Cincinnati

The Cincinnati Bearcats (6-2, 2-1 Big East) pulled away in the second half to defeat Syracuse (4-5, 3-2 Big East) 35-24 on Saturday.. Running back George Winn ran for three touchdowns for Cincinnati and threw for one in a back-and-forth game with offense.

SU got off to a rocky start right from the first whistle. Jeremiah Kobena fumbled the opening kick-off, which Cincinnati recovered at the Orange 28 yardline. Four plays later, Winn and the Bearcats scored the first touchdown of the game to take a 7-0 lead.

But the Orange closed out the first half strong, as quarterback Ryan Nassib ran in for a one-yard touchdown to even the score and Ross Krautman converted a 24-yard field goal, giving Syracuse a 10-0 lead.

In the second quarter, the two teams traded touchdowns. Cincinnati re-took the lead 7 minutes into the quarter with a little trickery. Winn took the hand-off on a 4^th-and-2, and then threw to a wide-open Travis Kelce for a 37-yard touchdown. Nassib and company responded with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Alec Lemon to give the Orange a 17-14 lead at halftime.

Winn scored his third touchdown of the day, this time on the ground, from the one-yard line after a controversial fumble by Bearcat quarterback Munchie Leguax rolled out of bounds inside the one-yard line. The Orange responded on the next drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown of its own from Jerome Smith.

After the touchdown, the game took a turn for the worse for Syracuse. On the next Cincinnati possession, SU cornerback Brandon Reddish had the chance to intercept Legaux’s pass in Bearcat territory. The Orange got the ball back, but three plays into the drive, Nassib fumbled the ball and the Bearcats recovered at the 15-yard line.

Quarterback Brandon Kay, who was among five players to attempt a pass for Cincinnati, helped the Bearcats take the lead for the last time. He threw a quick screen pass to Travis Kelce, who took the ball into the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown. 

Cincinnati scored the final points of the game one-minute into the fourth quarter on a Winn 2-yard run. The Orange missed a field goal on its next possession, and failed to create any offense for the remainder of the game. 

Next week, the Orange return to the Carrier Dome to play No. 10 Louisville in front of its home crowd.

All photos courtesy of The News Record