NCAAF Game Recap - Cincinnati at Marshall
Sat Sep 28, 2019 5:00 PM EDT

Clem
21
UNC
20
F
Miss
31
Bama
59
F
OSU
48
Neb
7
F
TxTch
16
Okla
55
F
MissSt
23
Aub
56
F
NW
15
Wisc
24
F
Tows
0
Fla
38
F
UVA
20
ND
35
F
PSU
59
MD
0
F
MidTN
3
Iowa
48
F
AzSt
24
Cal
17
F
USC
14
Wash
28
F
WaSt
13
Utah
38
F
Rut
0
Mich
52
F
UConn
21
UCF
56
F
TxAM
31
Ark
27
F
K St
13
OkSt
26
F
Ind
31
MSU
40
F
Navy
23
Mem
35
F
Duke
45
VaTec
10
F
SJSU
24
AF
41
F
C Mi
15
WestMI
31
F
Buff
20
MiaOH
34
F
NIU
18
Vand
24
F
Kans
14
TCU
51
F
BYU
21
Toled
28
F
HolyC
3
Syr
41
F
Del
14
Pitt
17
F
JMU
45
Elon
10
F
JacSt
33
APSU
52
F
CoCar
37
App
56
F
IASt
21
Bayl
23
F
GATec
2
Temp
24
F
MIN
38
Purd
31
F
Akr
29
UMass
37
F
FlAtl
45
UNCC
27
F
Wake
27
BC
24
F
SMU
48
SoFL
21
F
Cin
52
Marsh
14
F
ArkSt
50
Troy
43
F
ULLaf
37
GaSo
24
F
ECU
24
OD
21
F
NM
10
Lib
17
F
SamHu
28
McNee
17
F
SoAl
17
ULMon
30
F
Stan
31
OreSt
28
F
UAB
13
W Ky
20
F
Nich
3
TxSt
24
F
UTEP
13
SMiss
31
F
LT
23
Rice
20
F OT
ColSt
24
UtSt
34
F
KY
7
SCar
24
F
NCSt
13
FlaSt
31
F
UNLV
17
Wyo
53
F
Fres
30
NMS
17
F
Hou
46
NorTx
25
F
Hawaii
54
NEV
3
F
UCLA
17
Ariz
20
F

Sep 28, 2019, 5:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Cincinnati (3-1)

14

14

17

7

52

Marshall (2-2)

0

0

0

14

14

Ridder throws 4 TDs, Cincinnati whips Marshall 52-14
Sat Sep 28, 2019 9:35 PM

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) Cincinnati started off slowly in its past two games and quarterback Desmond Ridder wanted to make sure that didn't happen against Marshall.

Ridder threw a season-high four touchdown passes, three in the first half, and the Bearcats rolled to a 52-14 victory over the Thundering Herd on Saturday.

Cincinnati (3-1) was dominant throughout its final nonconference tuneup before the start of American Athletic Conference play.

Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell said it was "probably the complete game we've been looking for. We've been in a little bit of a rut. We were 2-1, but it just didn't feel the same, the energy. And then after tonight you walk in that locker room, there's a different energy."

Two weeks ago Cincinnati trailed Miami, Ohio 10-0 after one quarter and rebounded for a 35-13 win. The Bearcats were blown out by No. 5 Ohio State 42-0 on Sept. 7.

"The past weeks we haven't started out strong. That was one big thing this week, just start off fast," Ridder said. "We did that. We prepared and executed."

Ridder had TD tosses of 13 yards to Rashad Medaris and 17 yards to Alec Pierce in the first quarter, and 13 yards to tight end Josiah Deguara in the second quarter.

Just before halftime, Ridder fumbled when he was hit by Marshall linebacker Tavante Beckett while attempting a pass. Deguara picked up the loose ball at the Marshall 2 and ran it in for a 28-0 halftime lead.

Ridder, a sophomore, added a 4-yard TD pass to tight end Bruno Labelle in the third quarter. Ridder completed 18 of 22 passes for 221 yards before being replaced by freshman Ben Bryant midway through the third.

"Des Ridder had a command of some things today," Fickell said.

Cincinnati led 45-0 entering the fourth quarter. Marshall (2-2) was limited to 256 yards of offense, with half of that coming in the fourth.

"Obviously that's a game we didn't play very well in any of the three phases," said Marshall coach Doc Holliday. "They came in and took it to us. From the beginning of the game, we could not get things going and unfortunately they played a lot better than we did."

THE TAKEAWAY

Cincinnati: Ridder, whose four TD tosses matched his total from the previous three games, looked at ease in the pocket and it helped that his receivers were often wide open. It marked the first game this season that Ridder did not throw an interception. He also rushed nine times for 48 yards. Pierce had season highs of six catches for 108 yards.

Marshall: The Thundering Herd had averaged 32 points over its first three games but didn't put up much of a fight Saturday. Green missed several of his targets and Marshall struggled to run the ball until after the outcome was already decided. Sophomore quarterback Isaiah Green finished 11 of 29 for 131 yards.

"We didn't execute and we didn't make enough plays," Green said. "This football team doesn't give up. We've got to move on."

AVOIDING A SHUTOUT

Backup running back Sheldon Evans' 13-yard TD run and Willie Johnson's 40-yard run on a reverse, both in the fourth quarter, enabled Marshall to avoid its first shutout loss at home since 1984 and its first overall shutout loss since 2000.

BRYANT'S FIRST

Bryant's first career completion was a 56-yard pass to Tre Tucker to the Marshall 1 late in the third quarter. Tavion Thomas scored on a 1-yard run on the next play.

TOUGH IN HUNTINGTON

Cincinnati and Marshall are about 150 miles apart. The Bearcats won in blowout fashion for the second straight time in Huntington. In 2008, Cincinnati won the last meeting at Marshall 33-10.

UP NEXT

Cincinnati: Hosts No. 22 UCF in its league opener next Friday.

Marshall: Travels to Middle Tennessee in its Conference USA opener next Saturday.

---

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

Cin Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
D. Ridder 22 18 81.8 4 221 46 0 148.1
B. Bryant 4 3 75.0 0 74 56 0 116.7
Marsh Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
I. Green 29 11 37.9 0 131 33 0 52.5

Rushing

Cin Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
T. Thomas 11 70 6.4 38 1
D. Ridder 9 48 5.3 12 0
Marsh Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
B. Knox 16 49 3.1 11 0
S. Evans 7 42 6.0 16 1

Receiving

Cin Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
A. Pierce 6 108 18.0 46 1
T. Tucker 1 56 56.0 56 0
Marsh Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
B. Knox 4 50 12.5 33 0
C. Gammage 2 28 14.0 20 0

Fumbles

Cin F FL
D. Ridder 1 0

Returning

Cin KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
R. Montgomery 0 0 0 2 7.0 0 8
T. Tucker 1 32.0 0 32 0 0 0
Marsh KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
W. Johnson 5 17.2 0 23 0 0 0
S. Walden 1 18.0 0 18 0 0 0

Punting

Cin Punt Yds Avg LgPu
J. Smith 3 151 50.3 52
Marsh Punt Yds Avg LgPu
R. LeFevre 7 303 43.3 51

Takeaways

Team Stats Comparison

Cin Marsh
Points For 52 14
Total Yards 525 256
Rushing Yards 230 125
Passing Yards 295 131
Passing Completions / Attempts 21/26 11/30
Turnovers 1 0
Interceptions Thrown 0 0
Fumbles - Lost 2/1 0/0
First Downs 29 14
Penalties - Yards 9/75 7/65
Time Of Possession 08:08 52:52
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 7/13 4/15
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 2/2 1/2
Punts - Average Yards 3/50 8/41

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter Cin Marsh
Cin 02:20 TD Rashad Medaris 13 yd pass from Desmond Ridder (Sam Crosa kick) 7 0
Cin 12:07 TD Alec Pierce 17 yd pass from Desmond Ridder (Sam Crosa kick) 14 0
2nd Quarter Cin Marsh
Cin 06:15 TD Josiah Deguara 13 yd pass from Desmond Ridder (Sam Crosa kick) 21 0
Cin 13:50 TD Josiah Deguara 2 yd run (Sam Crosa kick) 28 0
3rd Quarter Cin Marsh
Cin 06:14 TD Bruno Labelle 4 yd pass from Desmond Ridder (Sam Crosa kick) 35 0
Cin 13:21 FG Sam Crosa 32 yd FG 38 0
Cin 14:57 TD Tavion Thomas 1 yd run (Sam Crosa kick) 45 0
4th Quarter Cin Marsh
Marsh 02:25 TD Sheldon Evans 13 yd run (Justin Rohrwasser kick) 45 7
Marsh 04:20 TD Willie Johnson 40 yd run (Justin Rohrwasser kick) 45 14
Cin 13:40 TD Michael Kopaygorodsky 1 yd run (Sam Crosa kick) 52 14

Game Information

Stadium: Joan C. Edwards Stadium, Huntington, West Virginia
Attendance: 32,192
Game Time:
Weather: