The Cincinnati football team could not overcome three first-half touchdowns from Colorado senior quarterback Shedeur Sanders, dropping a Big 12 Conference road game to Colorado, 34-23, on Saturday night at Folsom Field.
The Bearcats fell to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the league, while the Buffaloes improved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12.
Cincinnati redshirt sophomore quarterback Brendan Sorsby finished 16-of-30 for 180 yards and two touchdowns passing and added 48 rushing yards on nine carries. Senior running back Corey Kiner finished with 94 yards on 17 carries.
Linebacker Jake Golday led UC with a season-high 10 tackles, and safety Derrick Canteen and linebacker Jonathan Thompson were close behind with seven stops apiece. Thompson also forced a fumble.
Sanders completed his first 15 passes, setting a Colorado record, and did not throw his first incompletion until the four-minute mark in the second quarter. He finished the night completing 25-of-30 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for a TD as well. Wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter was his most popular target, catching nine passes for 153 yards and two scores.
"First of all, you're disappointed in the loss," head coach Scott Satterfield said. "We did not play great early defensively, and offensively we didn't get things going. You have to give credit to them; they have some really good football players at wide receiver and Shedeur Sanders is a very accurate passer. Defensively, they do a good job in man coverage. We had problems early in the game getting loose, and with tight coverage it's hard to get the ball in there."
Hunter also scored the first touchdown of the game. After the Bearcats went 3-and-out on the first possession, Sanders completed a 53-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. that was called back when Horn was flagged for an unsportsmanlike penalty for celebrating before he entered the end zone. A few plays later, Sanders found Hunter for a 3-yard touchdown catch to make the score 7-0 at the 9:32 mark in the first quarter.
On Cincinnati's second possession, Sorsby got into a rhythm. He dumped off to Pryor for a 40-yard catch-and-run before a 17-yard pass to tight Joe Royer that gave Cincinnati first-and-goal from the 10. He found redshirt junior receiver Tony Johnson for 6-yard touchdown that tied the game 7-7 at 6:01 in the first quarter.
Colorado answered right back with another touchdown, coming on a 2-yard keeper by Sanders as time expired in the first quarter to cap a 12-play, 90-yard drive.
Sorsby kept Cincinnati's first drive of the second quarter alive with season-best 21-yard rush on 3rd-and-14, breaking several tackles en route to the first down.
The Bearcats kept pace for much of the first half. Running back Evan Pryor tied the game, 14-14, on a 13-yard touchdown run with 9:31 remaining in the second quarter.
After the Bearcats forced Sanders' first incompletion and held the Buffaloes to a 28-yard field goal, they trailed 17-14 and had the ball with three minutes remaining until halftime. However, Cincinnati did not convert a 4th-and-1 at midfield giving Colorado the ball back with 31 seconds remaining the first half.
Sanders led a quick drive right before the half and zipped a 34-yard touchdown pass to Hunter while being hit on the throw, giving Colorado a 24-14 lead at halftime.
Cincinnati forced Colorado to punt to open the second half, but the Bearcats were unable to take advantage and punted right back to the Buffaloes.
Colorado took advantage on its second possession of the third quarter, driving 62 yards in six plays as running back Isaiah Augustave rushed six yards for a touchdown to extend the Buffaloes' lead to 31-14 at 5:41 in the third quarter.
The Bearcats never gave up, tacking on a 32-yard field goal with 9:20 remaining, and engineering an 11-play 81-yard touchdown drive with 3:51 left in the game. After Kiner's 23-yard rush on third down, Sorsby found tight end Joe Royer for a six-yard touchdown to make the score 31-23. UC's ensuing two-point attempt failed.
Colorado added to its lead late in the fourth quarter on a 47-yard field goal by Alejandro Mata, making the score 34-23.
"I was real proud of our guys down 31-14 and not quitting and continuing to play," Satterfield said. "It was a one-possession game in the fourth quarter, and we have to get off the field at the end. They made a career-long 47-yard field goal, and that took away our chance to tie the game."
UP NEXT
Cincinnati has a bye weekend before hosting West Virginia on Nov. 9 at Historic Nippert Stadium. The Bearcats will honor the 100-year anniversary of the dedication of the stadium. Game time and TV network are yet to be announced.
