ORLANDO, Fla. — Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby threw for 241 yards, including a game-clinching four-yard touchdown to Tony Johnson late in the fourth quarter and Jared Bartlett recorded a game-clinching sack on the final play of the game, delivering the Bearcats a 19-13 win over rival UCF.
Cincinnati's (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) defense silenced UCF's usually high-scoring offense throughout the game. The Knights (3-3, 1-2) did not surpass the Bearcats in total yards until the final possession of the game when they drove from their own 19-yard line to the Bearcats' 25. With three seconds left, quarterback Jacurri Brown was unable to escape the rush and Bartlett recorded Cincinnati's fourth sack of the game.
UCF suffered its third straight loss, marking the second straight season the team has had a losing streak of three games or more.
The Bearcats put themselves in a hole thanks to two early interceptions inside the red zone. But Sorsby and the offense settled down to stay ahead and the defense kept the Knights off the board.
The Cincinnati defense held the high-powered UCF rush attack to 196 yards, including keeping star running back RJ Harvey to 94 yards on 17 carries. It was the third straight game that Harvey was held to less than 100 yards, after previously going on a streak of five games with at least 100 rush yards. UCF entered the game leading the Big 12 in rushing yards with 282.4 per game.
The Knights' offense struggled to get itself going after opting to sit quarterback KJ Jefferson, who started the five games of the season for the Knights.
Brown, one of the two quarterbacks to play in his place, threw for 207 yards and rushed for another 94 yards. He threw his first touchdown for the Knights on a 15-yard pass to Kobe Hudson early in the third quarter. Hudson caught five passes for 82 yards.
The Knights turned it over on their first two possessions with running back Johnny Richardson fumbling it twice, once in the red zone and another time inside the UCF 20. The second fumble set up Cincinnati's first field goal and points of the game.
