To kick off the Week 7 Big 12 slate, UCF and Cincinnati dueled in a tightly contested matchup between former AAC foes. The Knights entered the matchup with a new quarterback under center after benching KJ Jefferson, while Cincinnati looked to continue their solid start under sophomore Brendan Sorsby. The matchup started slow, with turnovers from both teams, but after things settled down, the game’s excitement level picked up considerably.
Here are three thoughts on the game.
Sloppy Football
Anytime a game misses the total point score by 26.5 points, it’s safe to say there were a few mishaps and some good defense played. The first quarter alone featured three turnovers between the two teams and a turnover on downs in a sloppy first 15 minutes.
The first three drives of the game resulted in turnovers, with UCF running back Johnny Richardson fumbling twice and Brendan Sorsby tossing an errant interception. Later on, Sorsby threw a second interception, furthering the narrative of ball security woes. While the turnover battle finished at an even two per team and didn’t allow either team to get the upper hand, the spectacle made for a head-scratching day on the gridiron.
UCF’s Quarterback Concerns
With the Knights electing to bench veteran starter KJ Jefferson in favor of a true freshman quarterback, many UCF fans prepared their popcorn for the debut of EJ Colson. Unfortunately for Colson, his day was short-lived.
The Georgia native struggled to move the football on Cincinnati’s stingy defense, and with the first few drives stalling or resulting in turnovers, Gus Malzahn brought Miami transfer Jacurri Brown out of the bullpen. Brown answered the call admirably in his appearance, showing flashes through the air and in the rushing attack. The former Hurricane posted a stat line of 13 completions for 207 yards and a touchdown through the air while also adding 16 carries for 84 yards on the ground.
Will UCF stick with Brown going forward after the solid outing or come back to EJ Colson?
Cincinnati’s Path Forward
Don’t look now, but the Cincinnati Bearcats are on a roll. The team now has a 4-2 overall record and a 2-1 record in conference play. The win over UCF pushed Cincinnati back into the hunt for Arlington, but with a tricky schedule down the stretch, Scott Satterfield’s squad will have to continue to prove doubters wrong on the road to emerging as a dark-horse title contender.
In the final six weeks of the regular season, The team faces Arizona, Colorado, West Virginia, Iowa State, Kansas State, and TCU. The team does square off against Top 25 teams in back-to-back road games, which feels like the tipping point for Cincinnati’s season. If they can continue to take care of business and work toward an upset vs. No. 11 Iowa State or No. 18 Kansas State, Cincinnati will have the resume to compete for a Big 12 title this fall.
