Charles McClelland ran for 179 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries and No. 24 Cincinnati sweated out a 28-24 victory over visiting South Florida on Saturday.
McClelland ran in his second touchdown from 35 yards out in the fourth quarter to make the difference.
Cincinnati (5-1, 2-0 AAC) trailed 17-14 at halftime but still pulled out its 30th straight win at home and its 18th straight win over a conference opponent.
Cincinnati quarterback Ben Bryant was 15-for-21 passing for 178 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions before leaving in the fourth quarter with an unspecified injury.
South Florida quarterback Gerry Bohanon completed 10 of 20 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns to Xavier Weaver. Bohanon added 117 rushing yards to lead the Bulls (1-5, 0-2 AAC).
The Bulls opened the game with an 11-play, 75-yard drive. Brian Battie gained 31 yards on five carries, culminating with a 22-yard touchdown scamper.
Bryant went deep on the Bearcats’ first play on offense, and Aamaris Brown came up with a leaping interception. That led to Spencer Shrader’s 21-yard field goal for a 10-0 South Florida lead.
The Bearcats answered with a quick 75-yard drive in just six plays and 2:31 of game time. Jadon Thompson made three tacklers miss on a 28-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown with 45 seconds left in the quarter.
Bryant hooked up with Nick Mardner for a 14-yard touchdown to give Cincinnati its first lead of the day with 10:27 left in the half. But the Bulls came back with another 75-yard drive, with Bohanon finding Weaver for a 9-yard score to give them a 17-14 lead that stood up at halftime.
Cincinnati started the second half with a 10-play, 75-yard drive and McClelland dove in from a yard out to put them back in front, 21-17.
The sides traded punts, and South Florida stuffed Cincinnati on a fourth-and-1 attempt at the Bulls’ 12-yard line. On the next play, Bohanon broke off a 52-yard run up the left sideline.
That set up his 16-yard touchdown pass to Weaver on the first play of the fourth quarter, giving the Bulls a 24-21 lead.
McClelland had a wide running lane for his 35-yard touchdown with 9:24 to play.
The Bearcats’ defense swallowed up Battie on a South Florida fourth-and-1 attempt, and Cincinnati managed to run down the rest of the clock.
The Bearcats were also without running back Corey Kiner, who was scratched due to a hand injury.
–Field Level Media