ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby threw for 241 yards, including a game-winning four-yard touchdown to Tony Johnson late in the fourth quarter, and Jared Bartlett recorded a game-winning sack on the final play. This gave the Bearcats a 19-13 victory over rival UCF.

Cincinnati’s (4-2, 2-1 Big 12) defense silenced UCF’s normally high-scoring offense throughout the game. The Knights (3-3, 1-2) did not surpass the Bearcats in total yards until they drove from their own 19-yard line to the Bearcats’ 25-yard line on the final possession of the game. With three seconds left, quarterback Jacurri Brown couldn’t escape the rush and Bartlett scored Cincinnati’s fourth sack of the game.

UCF suffered its third straight loss, marking the second straight season in which the team suffered a losing streak of three or more games.

The Bearcats put themselves in a hole inside the red zone with two early interceptions. But Sorsby and the offense settled down to stay ahead, and the defense kept the Knights off the board.

Cincinnati’s defense held the powerful UCF rush attack to 196 yards and held star running back RJ Harvey to 94 yards on 17 carries. It was the third straight game in which Harvey was held to fewer than 100 yards rushing, following a streak of five games with at least 100 rush yards. UCF entered the game leading the Big 12 in rushing yards with 282.4 per game.

The Knights’ offense struggled to get going after opting for quarterback KJ Jefferson, who started five games of the season for the Knights.

Brown, one of two quarterbacks who played in his place, threw for 207 yards and rushed for another 94 yards. Early in the third quarter, he threw his first touchdown for the Knights with a 15-yard pass to Kobe Hudson. Hudson caught five passes for 82 yards.

The Knights turned the ball over on their first two possessions when running back Johnny Richardson fumbled it twice, once in the red zone and another time inside the UCF 20. The second fumble set up Cincinnati’s first field goal and points of the game.

THE TAKEAWAY

Cincinnati: The Bearcats picked up a big win over a former AAC rival, positioning themselves as one of the dark horse teams in the fight for the conference crown. Cincinnati is at least one step closer to bowl eligibility with tough games coming up in the conference.

UCF: The Knights have now lost three games in a row and face even bigger questions after deciding to replace quarterback KJ Jefferson. The once-prolific offense now faces questions as it struggled to score 20 points for the second straight game.

NEXT

Cincinnati hosts Arizona State next week.

UCF travels to Ames, Iowa next week to take on No. 11 Iowa State.

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