Cover Image via WCPO Cincinnati
Cincinnati had no trouble against Eastern Kentucky Saturday afternoon, defeating the Colonels by a score of 66-13. The Bearcats were led by the strong offensive debut of transfer quarterback Emory Jones.
The scoring came early and often for Cincinnati. After losing the coin toss and receiving the first half kick, the Bearcats would be faced with a fourth down and five from the EKU 49-yard line. Jones would find a wide-open Henderson for the opening touchdown, after taking just about 4 minutes off the clock for the first quarter. That was just the beginning for the Bearcats, as Jones would connect with 9 different receivers on the day, 5 of which would score. Emory Jones’ day would end in the third quarter, going 19-23 for 345 yards and 5 touchdowns through the air, as well as two more touchdowns on the ground and 26 rushing yards to top it all of. Corey Kiner would finish as the leading rusher on the day, with 105 yards on 13 attempts, and Xzavier Henderson would tally 149 yards on 7 receptions and a touchdown.
The defense for Cincinnati held strong for much of the contest, forcing two interceptions and one fumble that would be recovered by the defense. The Bearcats also held Eastern Kentucky to 3-11 on third down conversions, as well as held the Colonels to under 50 rushing yards for much of the first half, and a rushing average of 3.9 yards per carry.
Cincinnati would convert on all but two of their drives, one resulting in a fumble recovered by EKU, and the other a three-and-out resulting in a punt. The Bearcats would score 42 points in the first half, (21 in the first and second quarters respectively) 10 points in the third and 14 points in the fourth.
A record 38,193 fans were in attendance for the game, setting a record as the 11th largest crowd in Nippert Stadium history.
The Bearcats will head on the road to Pittsburgh to take on the Pitt Panthers in the River City Rivalry, next Saturday September 9th. Kick-off is at 6:30pm EST on the CW, and on Cincinnati’s 102.7 WEBN.
STAT LEADERS:
Passing: Emory Jones: 19-23 | 345 YDS | 5 TD | 280.3 RTG
Rushing: Corey Kiner: 13 ATT | 105 YDS | 8.1 AVG
Receiving: Xzavier Henderson: 7 REC | 149 YDS | 21.3 AVG | 1 TD
Defense: Daniel Grzesiak: 7 TOT | 1 SACK | 2 TFL | 1 FF
Big Twelve Conference Standings (via ESPN):
- BYU Cougars 1-0
- Cincinnati Bearcats 1-0
- Houston Cougars 1-0
- Iowa State Cyclones 1-0
- Kansas Jayhawks 1-0
- #16 Kansas State Wildcats 1-0
- #20 Oklahoma Sooners 1-0
- Oklahoma State Cowboys 1-0
- #11 Texas Longhorns 1-0
- UCF Knights 1-0
- Baylor Bears 0-1
- #17 TCU Horned Frogs 0-1
- Texas Tech Red Raiders 0-1
- West Virginia Mountaineers 0-1