Jerome Ford rushed for 189 yards and scored four first-half touchdowns as No. 3 Cincinnati rolled past visiting UCF 56-21 in American Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon.
Ford, who rushed 20 times, had a 79-yard touchdown during his big half. Desmond Ritter completed 13 of 23 passes for 140 yards and one touchdown. Coby Bryant scored on an interception return for the Bearcats (6-0, 2-0 AAC) and Ryan Montgomery added 95 rushing yards on just eight carries.
Mikey Keene completed 16 of 27 passes for 139 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for the Knights (3-3, 1-2).
After UCF went three-and-out on its first possession and a partially blocked punt that traveled 8 yards, Cincinnati scored on its first drive. Ford finished it off from a yard out.
The Knights only gained one first down on their next possession and the Bearcats scored again the next time they had the ball. A 20-yard pass from Ridder to Tyler Scott gave Cincinnati a first-and-goal and Ford punched it in from the 1 to complete the 10-play, 66-yard drive.
Cincinnati scored its third touchdown midway through the second quarter. Ford had a 20-yard run and a 23-yard reception to set up Ridder’s 19-yard scoring pass to Alec Pierce.
Ford scored his third touchdown of the day with 5:33 left in the half, cutting through the middle toward the left sideline and scampering 79 yards.
The Bearcats were back in business after Keene had a pass picked off by Deshawn Pace. A 4-yard rush by Ford completed that scoring drive.
Late in the third quarter, Bryant picked off a Keene pass and returned it 74 yards to make it 42-7.
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The Knights scored in the final seconds of the quarter on Isaiah Bowser’s 4-yard run.
The Bearcats turned a UCF fumble into Ethan Wright’s 2-yard touchdown run with 10:44 remaining.
Cincinnati’s Evan Prater contributed a 6-yard scoring run later in the quarter, while UCF’s final touchdown came on Mark-Antony Richards’ 2-yard run.
–Field Level Media