Upset Alert: No. 2 Cincinnati In Trouble Against Unranked Opponent

Once again, the Cincinnati Bearcats are off to a sluggish start against an unranked opponent.

Last weekend, Cincinnati narrowly defeated Navy by a score of 27-20. Head coach Luke Fickell was hopeful his team would respond this Saturday with a hot start against Tulane, but that hasn’t been the case at all.

The Bearcats lead 14-12 heading into halftime this afternoon. Star quarterback Desmond Ridder has been very inconsistent thus far, completing 10-of-17 passes for 139 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Cincinnati was in Tulane territory with 42 seconds remaining in the first half when Ridder’s pass attempt was intercepted by Macon Clark. Four plays later, Merek Glover made a 41-yard field goal for the Green Wave.

We’re in this thing. #RollWave

📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/YQVXterela

— Tulane University Football (@GreenWaveFB) October 30, 2021

This is a concerning game for the Bearcats, especially since style points matter for a Group of Five program.

What makes this halftime score so shocking is that Tulane is hanging around with Cincinnati despite not having star quarterback Michael Pratt this afternoon. He missed this Saturday’s game due to a concussion that he sustained against SMU last Thursday.

Pratt is OUT today at QB for Tulane & #2 Cincinnati only leads 14-12 at Halftime. I expect a much better 2nd half for the Bearcats. pic.twitter.com/mMhwqE0eHy

— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) October 30, 2021

Cincinnati will need to turn things around fast if it wants to defeat Tulane in convincing fashion this Saturday. Anything less than a double-digit win will raise questions about the Bearcats’ legitimacy.

The second half of the Cincinnati-Tulane game will be televised on ESPN2.

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