Cincinnati holds off tough Towson for 38-20 win in season-opener

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby had a strong first game in the Queen City on Saturday afternoon in the Bearcats 38-20 win over Towson. Sorsby threw for 383 yards and two touchdowns while adding two scores on the ground.

"I had a good amount of family show up, a couple buddies from back home, so it was good to have them in here," Sorsby said. "Obviously had a really strong start to the game. Definitely some things that we can still improve on even in the first half. We had a really strong first half. I was excited to get back out there."

The Bearcats took the ball to start the game and quickly went 75 yards for the opening score. Wide receiver Aaron Turner covered 49 yards on the drive, catching a short pass and sprinting all the way down to the Towson 16-yard line.

Sorsby threw touchdown passes of 42 and 61 yards in the first quarter. The Bearcats had eight plays for 20-plus yards in the game overall.

"Explosive plays win games," Sorsby said. "Any time you can score quick it helps. Big credit to the offensive line for the job they did today."

Cincinnati's offensive line, playing without starting right tackle Phillip Wilder, still managed to keep Sorsby upright the entire game. The transfer QB from Indiana, making just his eighth career start, completed over 70% of his passes.

Huge second half on the ground

After gaining just 67 yards on the ground in the first half, Cincinnati finished with 275 rushing yards. The big play was a 64-yard touchdown run by running back Evan Pryor on the Bearcats first play from scrimmage in the second half. He finished with 105 yards on only four carries.

"Early in the game we were running it back to the field (side)" coach Scott Satterfield said. "In the second half, (we) ran it more to the boundary (side). I felt like we had a little bit better, more advantageous to run it to the boundary. The first time we hit it was Pryor's run. We went over there on an outside zone and hit it for 64 yards."

The Bearcats only hit 275 yards on the ground twice in 2023. They hit that mark in the first game in 2024.

Three turnovers

Special teams were a problem for the Bearcats, primarily in the first half. The Bearcats muffed a punt, had a kickoff go out of bounds, and kicker Carter Brown missed a 31-yard field goal.

Running back Victor Dawson also had a fumble, after a 47-yard run early in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing drive, the Bearcats fumbled the ball on the same play they recovered a Towson fumble.

"(Punt returner Michael Mussari) was trying to make a play (on the muffed punt). Sometimes you just got to let that go," Satterfield said. "(Dawson) was running down the sideline about to break a tackle. You know what's going to happen when you start slowing down at the end, people are going to come and punch it out. You got to have it in your outside arm. These are fundamental mistakes."

Up next

Towson: Hosts Morgan State next Saturday.

Cincinnati: Hosts Pitt next Saturday.