The Cougars hang tough with the Bearcats for a half, but a (ticky-tack) pass interference call and a Clayton Tune interception in the third quarter both led to easy Cincinnati touchdowns that swung momentum in the Bearcats' favor. Cincinnati becomes the first "Group of Five" team to reach the College Football Playoff.
The Good: Houston QB Clayton Tune threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Nathaniel Dell was his biggest target, with nine receptions for 152 yards and a score. Kicker Dalton Witherspoon, who had struggled through the season, made both of his field goal attempts. The UH defense shut out the Bearcats on third and fourth down conversion attempts: they were 0-9. The Coogs dominated time of possession, 40 minutes to 20 minutes, proving that...
The Bad: ...time of possession is the most meaningless statistic in football, because Cincinnati's average scoring drive was just a minute and a half long. Bearcats quarterback Desmond Ridder passed for 190 yards and three touchdowns, while Cincinnati RB Jerome Ford embarrassed the UH defense by rushing for 187 yards (including touchdown runs of 72 and 49 yards). Clayton Tune was intercepted early in the third quarter - the game's only turnover - and was sacked a whopping eight times.The Cinci defense also held the Cougars' running game to under 100 yards and no touchdowns.
What It Means: In order to have won this game, the Cougars would have had to have played flawless football, avoiding any turnovers and limiting big plays by the Bearcats. They were able to do neither against one of the best teams in the nation. That being said, eleven wins and a conference championship game appearance isn't a shabby outcome for the Cougars, and certainly exceeded my expectations for them this season.
(For the record, I also thought that the CFP committee was going to screw Cincinnati out of a playoff berth, and am pleasantly surprised at being proven wrong, although I can't help but wonder what the rankings would have looked like had Oklahoma State gotten that last yard against Baylor on Saturday.)
Cincinnati will play Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, with the winner moving on to the national championship game. Houston will face Auburn in the Birmingham Bowl on December 28th.
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