5 instant takeaways from Cincinnati Bearcats football win at Oklahoma State

STILLWATER, OK – The thunderclap of pins falling could be heard late Saturday night at Boone Pickens Stadium as the University of Cincinnati Bearcats football team is going bowling again.

By way of a 49-17 win over Oklahoma State, Scott Satterfield’s third Big 12 team is bowl eligible and 6-1 on the season. UC is undefeated in four tries in the Big 12, while Oklahoma State drops to 1-6 (0-4 Big 12).

Quarterback Brendan Sorsby was 20-for-29 for 270 yards and three touchdowns, plus a rushing score. Cyrus Allen had three touchdowns, all in the first half, two by air and one on the ground. Joe Royer had five catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.

The game was not without struggle and headaches. Oklahoma State closed the gap to 14-10 in the second quarter and 28-17 in the fourth, before the Bearcats capitalized on turnovers.

Oklahoma State borrowed a page from the UCF playbook and went run-heavy, frustrating the Bearcats. Rodney Fields Jr. had a big night and the Cowboys ran for more yards than any opponent had all year on UC with 228. Fields Jr. had 163 of those.

The Bearcats did outgain Oklahoma State 427-337, but were held to 157 rushing yards.

UC Bearcats pull away late

UC had a record 100-yard interception return by Matthew McDoom in the fourth quarter, then a fumble recovery by Logan Wilson set up a 9-yard Manny Covey score and the Bearcats blew up the scoreboard. Most of the 46,901 at Boone Pickens Stadium had hit the trail by game's end.

UC Bearcats should get on bus happy,

With a 1-6 record or not, a full house on Homecoming anywhere in the Big 12 could be an intimidating factor. Fortunately, UC forced a three-and-out on the Cowboys' first series, then quickly scored to go up 7-0 just a shade over three minutes into the game.

Though not pleasing to the eye at times, someone watching the score crawl on a TV wouldn't know otherwise.

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Cincinnati Bearcats, Oklahoma State in Big 12 standings

With Arizona State handing Texas Tech its first loss 26-22, the Bearcats had an opportunity for some separation in the Big 12.

At 4-0 now in the Big 12, they could be in sole possession of first-place, depending on the result of the BYU/Utah game late Saturday.

Cincinnati Bearcats in polls

Last Sunday, UC returned to the AP and US LBM polls at No. 24, their first ranking since Nov. 2022. Presumably, they should advance in both when voting is released Sunday, Oct. 19.

Cincinnati Bearcats bowl fodder

While their destination will be determined by the next five games, it’s UC’s first postseason opportunity since the 2022 season where they finished 9-3 and were invited to the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.Ironically, with Luke Fickell departing for Wisconsin, Scott Satterfield was hired at UC, but did not coach the Bearcats, nor their opponent, his former Louisville Cardinals.

5 takeaways from Cincinnati Bearcats at Oklahoma State Cowboys

1. Cincinnati Bearcats pick winner

UC's first interception of the year gave them a 42-17 lead as Matthew McDoom rambled for a record 100 yards (101 actually but college doesn't count the end zone yards). Oddly enough, that beat the previous UC interception record of 96 yards, which also happened in Stillwater when the Bearcats last beat the Cowboys in 1958.

The last pick six by a Cincinnati Bearcat came by Deshawn Pace against Tulsa before he transferred to UCF.

2. Cincinnati Bearcats must clean up run defense

UCF kept the Bearcats' offense off the field quite a bit on Oct. 11 with 90 plays to their 58. The Knights had drives that went 19 and 17 plays, respectively. Oklahoma State had a 14-play drive covering 7:40 that resulted in a field goal. Their late first-half 12-play drive covered 6:16 until Peek Jr.'s fourth-down tackle.

At the break, Oklahoma State had 158 rushing yards to UC's 98. On Oct. 11, UCF ran for 191 on the Bearcats. The Cowboys surpassed that mark with Rodney Field Jr. almost doing it singlehandedly. Fields ran for 163 yards on the night.

Is the key to beating the 3-3-5, a time-consuming run game?

3. Cincinnati Bearcats get Cyrus Allen back in stat sheet

UC's reception leader was held to one catch and a negative yard against UCF. By halftime at Boone Pickens Stadium, Allen had three visits to the Oklahoma State orange end zone. Both of his touchdown receptions of touchdown receptions were touchdowns and he added a 14-yard rushing score.

4. Cincinnati Bearcats 2nd quarter drive was longest of season, until 4th quarter drive

After a key 4th-and-1 stop of Sesi Vailahi on the 6-yard line, UC responded with a 94-yard drive, the longest of the season.

It was also a momentum swinger as a Cowboys score could have cut the lead to 21-17. Instead, after another scoring pass to Allen, the Bearcats went to the locker room up 18 points.

But, they went one better at the end of the third into the fourth quarter. After a punt to the 5-yard line, Sorsby directed an 11-play, 95-yard drive, ending it with a 1-yard score. The key play was a 3rd-and-16 strike for 38 yards to Jeff Caldwell.

5. Cincinnati Bearcats honor Jim Kelly

The Cincinnati Bearcats honored UC Hall of Famer Jim Kelly in this game with a No. 7 decal on their white helmets, along with a microphone image. Kelly passed from cancer Oct. 19. He was a standout receiver between 1972-1975 and was radio color commentator for 38 seasons.

Next up for Cincinnati Bearcats

UC returns to Nippert Stadium for its own Homecoming Saturday, Oct. 25 at 4 p.m. against the Baylor Bears. The two teams last met two years ago at Nippert as Dave Aranda's squad beat the first-year Satterfield Bearcats 32-29. The Bearcats cut the deficit to three with just over five minutes left and had the ball again late, but couldn't capitalize for the win.

Baylor lost in Fort Worth to TCU Saturday afternoon 42-36. The Bears are 4-3.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 5 takeaways from Cincinnati Bearcats football win at Oklahoma State