CINCINNATI (AP) — Gerrid Doaks rushed for a career-high 184 yards and one touchdown, Desmond Ridder ran for three scores and threw for another, and No. 6 Cincinnati rolled past Houston 38-10 Saturday.
Doaks ran for the most yards by a Bearcats player since Mike Boone’s 212 in 2014 against South Florida. It was Doaks’ best total since he had 149 on Nov. 4, 2017, at Tulane.
Ridder rushed for 103 yards and threw for 162. He has accounted for 13 touchdowns (eight running, five passing) in the past three games.
The Bearcats (6-0, 4-0 American Athletic Conference) extended their school-record home winning streak to 18 games.
Doaks found a huge hole on a third-and-1 play in the first quarter and raced 72 yards, setting up his 2-yard touchdown run two plays later.
Doaks had 109 all-purpose yards in the first quarter. He had 11 carries for 166 yards by halftime.
Ridder capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 10-yard TD run to make it 14-0 in the second quarter.
Houston (2-3, 2-2) had 187 total yards in the first half, and 65 came on one drive. An acrobatic 34-yard catch by Bryson Smith led to Kyle Porter’s 3-yard TD run to cut the Cougars’ deficit to 14-7.
Cincinnati scored twice in the final two minutes of the first half for a 28-10 lead, starting with Ridder’s 32-yard touchdown run. A 48-yard run by Doaks led to a 4-yard TD pass from Ridder to tight end Josh Whyle, who made a leaping catch in the end zone.
Ridder added a 12-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter.
BIG PICTURE
Houston: Cougars head coach Dana Holgorsen spoke this week about the importance of establishing the running game, but it never really got going. Kyle Porter, the team’s leading rusher, had 69 yards on 16 carries. The rest of the team had 24 yards on the ground as the Cougars were outrushed 342-93.
Cincinnati: The Bearcats haven’t lost at home since Nov. 10, 2017, when they lost 35-24 to Temple. Cincinnati is one of four teams to go undefeated at home the past two seasons, along with Ohio State, Notre Dame and Clemson.
UP NEXT
Houston hosts South Florida on Saturday.
Cincinnati hosts East Carolina on Friday.
