Desmond Ridder went 14-of-22 passing for 243 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 7 Cincinnati to a 42-7 home win over FCS opponent Murray State on Saturday.
The game was tied 7-7 at halftime, but the Bearcats scored 35 unanswered points in the second half to improve to 2-0.
Jerome Ford rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries for Cincinnati.
Murray State quarterback Preston Rice went 17-of-29 passing for 149 yards and three interceptions in defeat for the Racers (1-1), who held the ball for 34:48.
But Murray State hurt itself with mistakes, committing five turnovers and 11 penalties for 60 yards.
After a scoreless first quarter, Murray State opened the scoring in the second, taking a 7-0 lead with 13:41 remaining until halftime on a 1-yard touchdown run by Rice.
Cincinnati answered, tying the game at 7-7 with 9:41 left in the second quarter on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Ridder to Noah Davis.
The Bearcats took a 14-7 lead on a 13-yard touchdown run by Ford with 10:05 remaining in the third quarter.
With 4:58 left in the third quarter, Ford scored on an 8-yard touchdown run to put the Bearcats ahead 21-7.
Following a fumble recovery at the Murray State 23-yard line, Cincinnati then took a 28-7 lead with 14:13 remaining in the game on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Ridder to Tyler Scott.
Ford scored his third touchdown of the game, a 3-yard run with 10:50 left to make it 35-7.
Cincinnati rounded out the scoring with 1:08 remaining on an 18-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Evan Prater to Payten Singletary.
The Bearcats amassed 391 yards of total offense and committed just one turnover.
–Field Level Media