To kick off the Week 8 Big 12 slate, Arizona State and Cincinnati clashed in an exciting battle between one-loss teams. Arizona State, fresh off of an upset win over then-ranked No. 16 Utah, entered the game with a new quarterback under center after the loss of Sam Leavitt. Cincinnati, led by one of the Big 12’s most underrated signal callers, Brendan Sorsby, outdueled the Sun Devils and took a major step forward in the race for Arlington.
Here are three thoughts on the game.
Leavitt-less Arizona State
With a serious injury to the Sun Devils starting quarterback Sam Leavitt, Kenny Dillingham’s squad turned to college football journeyman Jeff Sims to get the job done vs. Cincinnati. The former Nebraska quarterback was serviceable in his Big 12 debut, but unfortunately for Sun Devils fans, serviceable was not enough to get the job done.
Sims managed to complete the game with zero turnovers, something he’s struggled with in years past, but he wasn’t enough of a difference-maker for ASU. The Florida native posted a stat line of 12 completions for 155 yards, and 14 carries for 53 yards in the rushing attack.
Leavitt’s injury has been kept relatively under wraps, but with the freshman quarterback sidelined for likely the next three to four weeks, Sims will have a chance at redemption in Week 9.
2,000 Yard Club
One of the biggest storylines of Saturday’s game came down to the Cincinnati rushing attack facing off against a stout front seven for Arizona State.
That storyline began to fade quickly as Cincinnati dominated ASU’s defense on the ground. Led by veteran running back Corey Kiner, the Bearcats posted 193 rushing yards in the contest, which was capped off by a chunk of Cincinnati football history.
With his 104-yard day, senior running back Corey Kiner passed the 2,000-yard mark at Cincinnati, becoming the 15th player in program history to accomplish the feat. In addition to the prestigious honor for Kiner, his backfield mate Evan Pryor exploded for a big day in his limited touches, with four carries for 67 yards and a touchdown, including a 55-yard house call.
Kick the Game Away
There’s a reason football coaches mention special teams as a third of the game, and Arizona State found that out the hard way. On Saturday, Arizona State elected to send out the field goal unit twice at crucial moments in the game and came up empty. Sophomore kicker Ian Hershey struggled mightily vs. Cincinnati, going 0-2 on the day with kicks from 48 and 41 yards out.
Hershey’s first kick came with less than four minutes remaining, down ten points to Cincinnati. A field goal on the possession would have put the Sun Devils in position to tie on their next drive, which ended up getting near the Bearcats’ red zone. With 1:23 left in regulation, Dillingham elected to trot Hershey out again for a 41-yarder in hopes of making the kick and lining up for an onside kick. Hershey missed wide left yet again, and the game was finished.
