Cincinnati Stays Unbeaten, Edging Kansas State 31-26 on Tabb's Three Scores
Take away Cole Tabb's three touchdowns and Cincinnati has 10 points. The Bearcats, with 271 rushing yards and a back who scored 21 of their 31 points on the ground, held on to beat Kansas State 31-26.
Kansas State got out of the gate first. A 22-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 19-yard Rodney Fields Jr. run made it 10-0 in the second. Cincinnati answered with a 39-yard JC French IV touchdown pass to Malachi Henry and a 45-yard Stephen Rusnak field goal to tie it 10-10. Derrick Salley Jr. caught a four-yarder from Avery Johnson with 15 seconds left in the half, so it was 17-10 Kansas State at the break.
The third quarter was Cincinnati's. Tabb ran in from five yards to tie it 17-17 and from 30 to make it 24-17, which was the first time the Bearcats led. A Luis Rodriguez field goal got Kansas State to 24-20 in the fourth, and Tabb scored again from 14 yards with 3:28 left to make it 31-20. Fields scored from two yards with 1:15 to go, but the two-point conversion failed, and it stayed 31-26.
The yardage was almost even: Kansas State had 447 to Cincinnati's 436, though the visitors threw 50 passes to get there (Johnson was 30 of 50 for 292 yards). Cincinnati ran for 271 and threw for 165. Both teams lost one fumble and neither threw an interception.
Cincinnati is 4-0 and Kansas State is 3-1. For fantasy, Tabb led the way with 30.4 points, Salley was next with 27.0, and Johnson had 21.5.