NAVY MIDSHIPMEN   vs   CINCINNATI BEARCATS

                      0                                              42

Nippert Stadium           11/03/18            Cincinnati, OH.

Photos By: Toby Clark

In a rematch of last year's 42-32 loss to Navy's option offense, Cincinnati made sure that history did not repeat itself. The Bearcats added an extra linebacker to their defense, putting eight players up front, and overpowered Navy's running game, cruising to a 42-0 victory on Saturday. The previous year's loss was a source of motivation for the Bearcats all offseason, with Coach Luke Fickell starting preparations for the rematch during spring and fall practice. Fickell even ran the scout team himself during the week, which resulted in intense, fast, and physical practices that included four linebackers giving their all. Tackle Cortez Broughton, who had a career-high 10 tackles, noted that the drills were so rigorous that he thought someone would get hurt, but it was all necessary to take it to the next level.

Cincinnati dominated the game with their conference's stingiest defense, limiting Navy to just 57 first-half yards despite a quarterback change. Even the Midshipmen's quarterback, Zach Abey, who made his first start of the season, acknowledged that getting shut out was embarrassing. Desmond Ridder ran for a touchdown and handed off to Michael Warren II for two more before leaving the game with a twisted right leg in the first half. He returned for the start of the second half and threw a 55-yard TD pass on Cincinnati's opening drive before taking a seat for the rest of the game. Navy's blockers were unable to keep up with Cincinnati's 11th-ranked defense against the run, resulting in Abey being sacked all three times he attempted to throw in the first half.

Navy has its longest losing streak since also dropping six in a row in 2011, and they have lost ten consecutive road games since a 31-21 home win over Tulsa on Sept. 30, 2017. On the other hand, the Bearcats remain in the chase for the league title, with a favorable closing stretch that includes three of their last four games at home. They were ranked for two weeks before a 24-17 overtime loss at Temple knocked them out of the Top 25 two weeks ago.



Michael Warren II's touchdown runs of 8 and 1 yard gave him 14 for the season, three shy of the school record set by David Small in 1993. Cincinnati will host South Florida, which lost to Tulane 41-15 on Saturday, while Navy will play at No. 9 UCF next Saturday.

Review By: Todd Clark

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER

09:56CIN - Michael Warren II 8 yd run (Cole Smith kick), 6 plays, 60 yards

SECOND QUARTER

12:00CIN - Desmond Ridder 7 yd run (Cole Smith kick), 14 plays, 89 yards

04:12CIN - Michael Warren II 1 yd run (Cole Smith kick), 12 plays, 75 yards

00:32CIN - Josiah Deguara 11 yd pass from Hayden Moore (Cole Smith kick), 5 plays, 47 yards

THIRD QUARTER

12:28CIN - Rashad Medaris 55 yd pass from Desmond Ridder (Cole Smith kick), 6 plays, 76 yards

FOURTH QUARTER

10:02CIN - Charles McClelland 40 yd run (Cole Smith kick), 1 plays, 40 yards