The Kansas Jayhawks hosted the Cincinnati Bearcats in a Big 12 showdown on Saturday in Lawrence. And the back-and-forth game resulted in the Bearcats pulling out the 37-34 win on the road. With the win, Cincinnati moves to 3-1 on the season (1-0 Big 12), while the loss drops the Jayhawks to 3-2, including 1-1 in Big 12 play. And with that, here are the top three takeaways from the game in Lawrence.
No Godfather, No Problem
Cincinnati’s star defensive tackle Dontay Corleone was ruled out from this game early on Saturday, which seemed like a huge blow to Cincinnati’s chances of pulling off the upset. And while Cinci’s defense wasn’t great, it was good enough in key spots to win a tough road game. Now Cincinnati needs him back as soon as possible, because their defense can’t give up 600+ total yards each week and expect to win much in the Big 12. But for one Saturday, they were able to get past a tough team on the road without their best player. No matter how you spin it, that’s a great win.
Scott Satterfield’s Biggest Big 12 Win
Scott Satterfield has had a couple of mediocre seasons in the Big 12. They started off 3-1 in the Big 12 last season before losing five in a row to end the season. Cincinnati has spent two years basically beating the teams they were favored against, while losing those they are underdogs versus. And on Saturday, they went to Lawrence as a 4-6 point underdog, depending on when you were looking at the line. So for Satterfield to go on the road and get a Big 12 win as an underdog is a huge sigh of relief for a program that needs some good mojo moving forward.
Brendan Sorsby Leadership
Sorsby has put up some big numbers before, and he did it again on Saturday. The Cincinnati quarterback finished 29/43 for 388 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 52 yards. But it was his leadership on the game-winning drive that was most impressive on Saturday afternoon. With Cincinnati trailing 34-30 with under two minutes to play, Sorsby led a 10-play drive for 75 yards in 1 minute and 16 seconds to put the Bearcats on top for good and help seal the 37-34 victory for the Bearcats. Every time KU put pressure on Cinci, and the Bearcats could have folded, it was Sorsby stepping up to lead his team down the field with a response.
