By Cord Rankin
POSTGAME NOTES
https://gobearcats.com/documents/2024/11/23/Postgame_Notes_-_Game_11_at_Kansas_State.pdf
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Senior running back Corey Kiner eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for a second-straight season, but a slow start allowed Kansas State to take an early lead and grab a 41-15 victory on Saturday night at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The Wildcats were led by running back DJ Giddens (143 rushing yards, two touchdowns) and quarterback Avery Johnson (219 total yards, three total touchdowns).
Kiner finished with 140 yards on 15 carries. He now has 1,043 yards on the season, becoming the fifth Bearcat with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in school history and the first since Mike Warren (2018-19).
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Brendan Sorsby finished 21-of-39 passing for 200 yards and two touchdowns with an interception.
The Wildcats improved to 8-3 overall and 5-3 in the Big 12, while the Bearcats dropped to 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the league.
Entering the game as one of the country’s most efficient offenses on fourth down, converting 69% on the season, UC was 0-for-5 on fourth down tries in the game. Kansas State was 2-for-2 on fourth down.
“Kansas State has a great program and a great team,” head coach Scott Satterfield said. “They had dropped two games in a row, and tonight was senior night for them. They came out and played inspired football and really put it on us. It was not our night, and there are several reasons for that. We did not do a good job of stopping the run from the start. If you can’t slow the running game down it’s doing to be a long night and that’s what happened in the first half. We also struggled to get things going offensively. Tonight was obviously our worst night on fourth downs as well. When you have both sides of the ball not working well this is what will happen.”
After an opening drive 3-and-out for the Bearcats, Johnson had a 33-yard run to set up a 21-yard quarterback keeper for the score to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead at 11:25 in the first quarter.
After another punt by the Bearcats, the Wildcats extended their lead to 10-0 on a 28-yard field goal by Chris Tennant at 3:37 in the first quarter.
After Sorsby was stopped an inch short on a 4th-and-1 try from midfield, Kansas State settled for a 32-yard field goal from Tennant to take a 13-0 lead at the 13:37 mark in the second quarter.
Sorsby completed four passes of 10+ yards on Cincinnati’s next drive, but his 4th-and-8 pass from the KSU 33-yard line was long.
Kansas State moved ahead 20-0 on a 32-yard touchdown run by Giddens with seven minutes remaining in the first half.
After being stymied in the first quarter, Kiner finally got rolling late in the second quarter. He broke several tackles on runs of 26 and 24 yards to set up kicker Nathan Hawks’ 42-yard field goal at the 4:17 mark in the second quarter.
Kansas State added to its total just before halftime after defensive end Brendan Mott picked off a short pass attempt from Sorsby at Cincinnati’s own 26-yard line. Johnson found receiver Tre Spivey for a 6-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left in the second quarter to put the host Wildcats in front, 27-3 at the break.
The Bearcats forced a pair of punts to start the second half, capitalizing on the second defensive stand with an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Sorsby zipped a 9-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior receiver Tony Johnson for his team-high fifth scoring catch of the season. The two-point try failed, but UC closed its deficit to 27-9 with 4:54 left in the third quarter.
Kansas State answered on its next drive with a 17-yard touchdown rush by Giddens on the first play of the fourth quarter to put the Wildcats up 34-9 with 14:52 left in the game. KSU barely converted a 4th-and-13 attempt on the drive with Spivey taking a short pass 14 yards before he fumbled out of bounds.
Johnson found tight end Will Swanson for an 8-yard touchdown with eight minutes left to make the score 41-9.
Sorsby connected with Johnson for another touchdown later in the fourth quarter, this time in the back corner of the end zone. Johnson’s second TD of the night made it 41-15.
UP NEXT
Cincinnati welcomes TCU to Historic Nippert Stadium at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 30. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. The Bearcats will honor their seniors, and the game will also serve as Military Appreciation Day.
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