What We Learned From Cincinnati’s Comeback Win Against Miami-Ohio

The Cincinnati Bearcats won their 12th-straight Battle for the Victory Bell on Saturday, doing so in thrilling fashion. The win taught us that UC is still the dominant force (currently) in this intrastate rivalry with the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks. It taught us a few other things as well. Here are a few of those things.

Malik Clements is a legit

Clements won the game by doing this.

But the junior safety didn’t just get one game winning pick six. He also tied for the second-most tackles on the team (seven) as he continues to be a staunch defender in the secondary.

Kevin Mouhon and Marquise Copeland are still ready to break out

Mouhon was pretty quiet in the first two games of the season, recording just one tackle for loss and seven tackles total against Austin Peay and Michigan. He finally got his engine going against Miami and came through to record two of the team’s three sacks. Copeland had the other, which made up a portion of his team-high 3.0 tackles for loss.

Gerrid Doaks can carry the load for Mike Boone

The Bearcats best offensive player was sidelined on Saturday, as Boone was held out due to an ankle injury. That meant that it was time to shine for Doaks. The redshirt freshman didn’t destroy the opposing defense, but he did rush for a respectable 71 yards on 17 carries, while also catching two balls. That’s the type of backup work that will be key if Boone’s injury lingers.

Kahlil Lewis is the unquestioned No. 1 wide receiver

Nobody else on the roster is getting nearly as many targets or as much production as Lewis. He hauled in seven passes for 83 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s win and has team-highs in receptions (15), receiving yards (153) and receiving touchdowns (three) through the first three games.

Hayden Moore is still trying to find his way

The Bearcat signal caller did some good things, but he also did a lot of bad stuff as well. He completed 24-of-43 pass attempts for 222 yards and hit Lewis for a key scoring strike in the second half, but he was also intercepted twice, both times in Miami territory.

There you have it. Those are the quick lessons to be taken from the Bearcats stunning victory. We’ll be back with more in-depth analysis over the next few days.