Cincinnati Falls at Home to No. 6 Utah 49-25 - and Now the Bearcats Come to Houston on Saturday
A week after upsetting Texas Tech, Cincinnati gave up 534 yards and trailed 42-6 at halftime against unbeaten Utah. The Bearcats' next game is at No. 18 Houston, which spent Saturday on its bye at 6-2.
CINCINNATI - Houston's next opponent spent its Saturday getting a measuring stick applied to it. No. 6 Utah beat Cincinnati 49-25 at Nippert Stadium, rolling to a 42-6 halftime lead behind two defensive touchdowns - a fumble return and an interception return - and 534 total yards, as the Utes improved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big 12 with the nation's longest active winning streak, now 14 games.
Utah quarterback Devon Dampier threw for 260 yards as the Utes outgained the Bearcats 534-456 and led by 36 at the break, the largest halftime deficit Cincinnati had faced in a decade. The Bearcats (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) outscored Utah 19-7 in the second half, and Cole Tabb ran for 131 yards and a touchdown, but the game was decided before halftime - a sharp reversal from a week earlier, when Cincinnati upset previously unbeaten Texas Tech on the same field.
The result sets the table for Saturday at TDECU Stadium. Cincinnati visits No. 18 Houston (6-2, 3-2 Big 12), which was idle this weekend after its own trip to Utah - a 21-13 loss on October 24 in which the Cougars carried a lead into the fourth quarter. The shared opponent cuts both ways: Utah handled Cincinnati by 24 and Houston by 8, but the Bearcats have now shown they can beat a top-10 team at home and be overwhelmed by one a week later.
Houston sits fourth in the Big 12 standings coming out of the bye, with Cincinnati eleventh and needing a win to reach bowl eligibility for a second straight season. Kickoff time and the broadcast network for Saturday's game had not been announced in the reports read this cycle.
