CINCINNATI — It took two plays and less than a minute for Cincinnati to score the first points of the season – an 81-yard touchdown pass from Desmond Ridder to Tyler Scott.
The Bearcats went on to beat Miami (OH) 49-14.
The defense fell just minutes short of pitching a shutout; and that's the part that bothered head coach Luke Fickell.
With the game well in hand, Miami scored two touchdowns, both in the last four minutes.
Only the first score was allowed by the Bearcats' defense. The other was an interception return.
Fickell was visibly upset when Miami scored its first touchdown, capping off an offensive drive that lasted 8 minutes, 26 seconds.
After the game, Fickell said he had a conversation with Tressel after the game, in which he essentially apologized.
Fickell said he told Tressel:
"Don't let me get you down. I can get a little greedy there, late in the 4th quarter when they hold the ball for five or six minutes."
After recalling his words to DC Mike Tressel, Fickell went on to explain how pleased he was with the defense's performance.
Cincinnati held Miami's offense to a dismal 3-of-15 on third-down conversions and 3.7 yards/play – both among the worst in FBS football this past week.
The Bearcats' first real test may not come until Sept. 18 at Indiana, but the next game on the schedule is this Saturday – a 3:30 home game against Murray State.
Cincinnati moved up one spot in this week's AP football poll to No. 7 in the country.
The Bearcats jumped ahead of Iowa State after the Cyclones narrowly beat Northern Iowa this past weekend.
Iowa State dropped from No. 7 to No. 9.
Notre Dame also leaped ahead of Iowa State to No. 8, despite a close call against Florida State.
