UC Bearcat football airs it out early in 63-7 rout of Alabama A&M

CORRYVILLE, Ohio -- Though it extends into last season, University of Cincinnati football coach Luke Fickell has a two-game win streak now at Nippert Stadium.

After grinding on the ground last week, the Bearcats took to the air early and often against Alabama A&M scoring 28 points in the first quarter on their way to a 63-7 biting of the Bulldogs. Four players recorded their first college touchdowns.

The Bearcats racked up 741 yards of total offense, second only to the 752 they had in a 2015 loss to Memphis. UC ran for 409 yards and threw for 332 with four quarterbacks combining to go 21-for-26. There was balance, but the early plan clearly involved flying footballs.

"The first couple games didn't lend itself for a lot of those opportunities," Fickell said. "We've had confidence in it. We've seen it throughout fall camp."

Quarterback Desmond Ridder threw for more yards in the opening frame than he had in the previous two games. The redshirt freshman was 9-for-10 for 199 yards and three scores. He also ran in his first collegiate score for good measure.

"The first two games, it was obviously tough to throw the ball," Ridder said. "UCLA pressured us a lot, it was hard to get time to throw the ball and last week against Miami the rain made it very tough. This week was perfect conditions. We knew we were going to come out and throw it a lot and that's what we did."



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