By Henry Rawn
Scott Satterfield UC head coach Postgame Press Conference UC 20 UCF 11 10 11 2025
CINCINNATI – Star redshirt junior quarterback Brendan Sorsby tossed a pair of first-half touchdowns to senior receiver Jeff Caldwell and the Bearcats defense did the rest as the Cincinnati football team defeated UCF, 20-11, on Saturday at Historic Nippert Stadium.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield said. “The bottom line is we’re sitting here at 5-1 and we just won our third conference game in a row. We have a lot of things we can get fixed. That’s a good thing to happen. We’re excited about this opportunity we have coming next week.”
Cincinnati will travel to Oklahoma State next week with an opportunity to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2022.
Led by safeties Tre Gola-Callard (game-high nine tackles) and Christian Harrison (three pass breakups), the Cincinnati defense was dominant. The Knights held a 39:44-20:16 advantage in time of possession but averaged just 4.6 yards per play.
Sorsby passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers. He has 19 total touchdowns this season and has not committed a turnover since the season opener.
Caldwell, a transfer from Lindenwood, caught three passes for 58 yards and two scores.
He sprinted past UCF’s defensive backs for his first touchdown – a 40-yard pinpoint pass from Sorsby – in the first quarter, and caught a 9-yard score in the second frame.
Senior kicker Stephen Rusnak did the rest, nailing two field goals to improve to 9-for-9 on the season and 20-for-20 the last two seasons – the nation’s only kicker perfect on field goals in 2024 and 2025.
Redshirt junior punter Max Fletcher punted five times for a 41.2 average, putting four punts inside the 15 in a game where flipping the field was paramount.
“The margins are so small here in the Big 12, and you have to find ways to gain an advantage,” Satterfield said. “We were not, the last couple of years, gaining any advantage in the special teams. So far this year, we punted the ball really, really well. (Stephen Rusnak) has knocked field goals down. Our guys have covered and are taking pride in covering. n Coach (Luke) Paschall really fits in well with our staff, very smart coach. It’s awesome to have a guy who just really focuses on special teams. Tim Conner has been with me as well, and Tim works great with Luke as well. They have done a great job.”
The Bearcats improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12. Cincinnati’s five-game win streak is its longest since 2022 and the 3-0 start continues to keep the Bearcats tied for first in the Big 12 standings midway through the regular season. UCF dropped to 3-3 and 0-3 in the league. Cincinnati now holds a 6-5 record all-time versus UCF.
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