NCAAF Game Recap - Tulane at Cincinnati
Sat Oct 6, 2018 12:00 PM EDT

Bama
65
Ark
31
F
Vand
13
UGA
41
F
Ind
26
OSU
49
F
Clem
63
Wake
3
F
LSU
19
Fla
27
F
ND
45
VaTec
23
F
Tex
48
Okla
45
F
Aub
9
MissSt
23
F
Kans
22
WVU
38
F
Wash
31
UCLA
24
F
SMU
20
UCF
48
F
KY
14
TxAM
20
F OT
Utah
40
Stan
21
F
MD
21
Mich
42
F
Neb
24
Wisc
41
F
FlaSt
27
MiaFL
28
F
NW
29
MSU
19
F
AzSt
21
Colo
28
F
BC
23
NCSt
28
F
IASt
48
OkSt
42
F
GASt
20
Troy
37
F
Tuls
26
Hou
41
F
GATec
66
Lou
31
F
MidTN
34
Marsh
24
F
UtSt
45
BYU
20
F
E Mi
24
WestMI
27
F
ECU
6
Temp
49
F
MIZ
35
SCar
37
F
Ill
38
Rut
17
F
Tul
21
Cin
37
F
Buff
34
C Mi
24
F
Syr
37
Pitt
44
F OT
Elon
27
JMU
24
F
SFA
21
SamHu
54
F
NIU
24
Ball
16
F
SDSU
19
Boise
13
F
SoAl
13
GaSo
48
F
Navy
7
AF
35
F
Iowa
48
MIN
31
F
K St
34
Bayl
37
F
BGSU
36
Toled
52
F
SoFL
58
UMass
42
F
Ohio
27
Kent
26
F
MiaOH
41
Akr
17
F
NM
50
UNLV
14
F
ULMon
21
Miss
70
F
JacSt
56
E Ky
7
F
OD
33
FlAtl
52
F
ULLaf
42
TxSt
27
F
UTSA
20
Rice
3
F
UConn
14
Mem
55
F
UAB
28
LT
7
F
NorTx
27
UTEP
24
F
Lib
41
NMS
49
F
WaSt
56
OreSt
37
F
Cal
17
Ariz
24
F
ColSt
42
SJSU
30
F
Fres
21
NEV
3
F
Wyo
13
Hawaii
17
F
App
35
ArkSt
9
F

Oct 6, 2018, 12:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Tulane (2-4)

7

7

0

7

21

Cincinnati (6-0)

3

21

6

7

37

Cincinnati wins sixth straight in 37-21 victory over Tulane
Sat Oct 6, 2018 5:38 PM

CINCINNATI (AP) Michael Warren II's career-long 81-yard touchdown helped spur Cincinnati to a 37-21 win over Tulane on Saturday for the Bearcats' first 6-0 start since 2012.

Warren broke through the left side of the Tulane line and dove into the end zone for a 10-7 second-quarter lead and Cincinnati (6-0, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) pulled away from there. Warren gained 123 yards on 18 carries for his third straight 100-plus-yard rushing performance and fourth of the season.

Warren's run �- the third longest run from scrimmage in Bearcat history - negated a 17-yard touchdown pass from Justin McMillan to Darnel Mooney for Tulane (2-4, 1-1) and Cincinnati led 24-14 at halftime after the teams traded touchdown runs.

"I just saw a cut, made another cut and got vertical," said Warren, who sparked the offense that had struggled until then. "It takes one play to get us clicking. It was the play to get the team riled up and get the momentum."

Tulane's Darius Bradwell scored from 19-yards out after a 64-yard kickoff return by Ryan Jones with 2:51 left in the first half.

Desmond Ridder, 15 of 25 passes for 174 yards with a touchdown and an interception, ran up the middle for a 28-yard score with 41 seconds to go until halftime

"It was a pass play. I came off my first read and saw a hole in the pocket," Ridder said.

Cincinnati's Ethan Tucky blocked Zachary Block's punt, setting up Ridder's 14-yard touchdown pass to Kahill Lewis, but Cole Smith missed the point-after attempt to keep the game within two scores.

"All week the special team coordinator (Brian Mason) talked about effort in a sense with all 11 guys straining," Tucky said. "It was like surreal. You dream about it when you're a kid making a play like that in a stadium with the student section cheering. When it actually happens it's like crazy it's any amazing feeling."

The Bearcats put the game away with nine-play, 87-yard touchdown drive culminating in Tavion Thomas' 25-yard scoring run.

"We were able to put that thing away so we could relax the seven or eight minutes but It was a battle. It was a fight," Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell said. "That second quarter and even later in the third quarter, the defense was on the field a long time."

The second-year coach has his team bowl eligible after a 4-8 season. Cincinnati has not played in a bowl game since 2015.

"I didn't even bring it up to the guys in there," Fickell said. "It is something that's in the back of your mind. We don't want anything to slow us down."

Cincinnati's defense forced Tulane off the field by holding them to 3-for-15 on third down and 0-for-4 on fourth down.

"Their defense did a great job," third-year Green Wave coach Willie Fritz said. "They whipped us up front and did a good job tackling and pressing us. It was hard for our receivers to get open."

McMillan, a transfer from LSU, took over for starter Jonathan Banks. He completed 11 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns, including a 14-yard pass to Terren Encalade with 4:25 left to play.

It was McMillan's bid to win the starting job.

"He did some good things," Fritz said. "We'll evaluate it."

Green Wave leading rusher Bradwell followed a 143-yard rushing effort last week against Memphis with 88 yards on 16 carries.

Tulane leads the series between the teams 11-6.

THE TAKEAWAY

Tulane: The Green Wave offense was perfect in the Red Zone coming into the game with the Bearcats. Tulane was in the Red Zone eight times in their first five games with six touchdowns and two field goals. They remained perfect with three touchdowns and three trips against Cincinnati.

Cincinnati: Michael Warren's 81-yard touchdown dash in the second quarter was the third longest run from scrimmage in Bearcat history. Joe Miller ran 91 yards for a touchdown in 1953 against Xavier University, the longest ever for Cincinnati. Ethan Tucky's blocked punt was Cincinnati's first blocked punt since October 25, 2008, Connor Barwin, now a NFL player, did it.

UP NEXT

Tulane: The Green Wave will take a week off before hosting Southern Methodist University on October 20 at a time to be announced.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats will also rest a week before they travel to Temple on October 20 at a time to be announced. It will be the first of two straight road games.

Passing

Tul Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
J. McMillan 26 11 42.3 2 130 33 0 83.8
J. Banks 5 1 20.0 0 2 2 0 39.6
Cin Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
D. Ridder 25 15 60.0 2 174 31 1 91.1

Rushing

Tul Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
D. Bradwell 16 88 5.5 20 1
C. Dauphine 6 35 5.8 17 0
Cin Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
M. Warren II 18 123 6.8 81 1
D. Ridder 16 65 4.1 28 1

Receiving

Tul Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
D. Mooney 4 65 16.3 33 1
T. Encalade 2 31 15.5 14 1
Cin Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
J. Deguara 3 49 16.3 31 0
K. Lewis 3 40 13.3 25 2

Fumbles

Tul F FL
T. Encalade 1 1
J. Robertson Jr. 1 0
Cin F FL
D. Ridder 1 0
M. Warren II 1 1

Returning

Tul KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
A. Jones 3 48.3 0 69 0 0 0
J. Robertson Jr. 0 0 0 3 -1.7 0 6
Cin KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
A. Knight 0 0 0 2 1.5 0 3
E. Tucky 0 0 0 1 13.0 0 0

Punting

Tul Punt Yds Avg LgPu
Z. Block 4 149 37.3 52
R. Wright 3 151 50.3 64
Cin Punt Yds Avg LgPu
J. Smith 5 247 49.4 63

Takeaways

Tul Int Yds InTD
W. Harper 1 24 0
P. Johnson 0 0 0

Team Stats Comparison

Tul Cin
Points For 21 37
Total Yards 266 446
Rushing Yards 134 272
Passing Yards 132 174
Passing Completions / Attempts 12/31 15/25
Turnovers 1 3
Interceptions Thrown 0 1
Fumbles - Lost 2/1 3/2
First Downs 14 22
Penalties - Yards 12/90 7/65
Time Of Possession 27:27 33:33
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 3/15 6/16
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 0/4 1/3
Punts - Average Yards 8/38 5/49

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter Tul Cin
Cin 09:05 FG Cole Smith 28 yd FG 0 3
Tul 12:59 TD Darnell Mooney 17 yd pass from Justin McMillan (Merek Glover kick) 7 3
2nd Quarter Tul Cin
Cin 01:22 TD Michael Warren II 81 yd run (Cole Smith kick) 7 10
Cin 10:40 TD Kahlil Lewis 25 yd pass from Desmond Ridder (Cole Smith kick) 7 17
Tul 12:09 TD Darius Bradwell 19 yd run (Merek Glover kick) 14 17
Cin 14:19 TD Desmond Ridder 28 yd run (Cole Smith kick) 14 24
3rd Quarter Tul Cin
Cin 02:35 TD Kahlil Lewis 15 yd pass from Desmond Ridder (missed kick) 14 30
4th Quarter Tul Cin
Cin 08:45 TD Tavion Thomas 25 yd run (Cole Smith kick) 14 37
Tul 10:34 TD Terren Encalade 14 yd pass from Justin McMillan (Merek Glover kick) 21 37

Game Information

Stadium: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 32,200
Game Time:
Weather: