CINCINNATI – Redshirt senior running back Charles McClelland rushed for career-high 179 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 35-yard score with 9:24 remaining, to lift the No. 24-ranked Cincinnati football team to a 28-24 victory over South Florida on Saturday at Nippert Stadium.

McClelland, a Homerville, Ga., native who has overcome two season-ending injuries, also sealed the game with a nine-yard rush on 4th-and-1 in the game’s final minute. 
 
Cincinnati improved to 5-1, 2-0 AAC and won its 30th consecutive home game in front of a sold-out crowd of 38,557, the seventh-largest attendance in stadium history.

McClelland scored the final two Bearcat touchdowns on the afternoon, the first coming on a one-yard dive that gave the Bearcats back the lead, 21-17, at the 10:11 mark in the third quarter.

The second touchdown between Bulls’ Bohanan and Weaver gave South Florida the 24-21 lead before McClelland found paydirt for the final tally of the game on a 35-yard counter.

CAREER AT UC

2021: Ranked fourth on the Bearcats with 190 rushing yards on 37 carries (5.1 ypc)…Started at USF and rushed for 34 yards on six totes and recorded two receptions for 16 yards…Opened the season with 36 rushing yards versus Miami (Ohio)…Had a season-high 39 rushing yards, including a 28-yard score, versus Temple..Finished with 35 rushing yards on six rushes against SMU…Gunner on special teams, who had three tackles…Forced a fumble and recovered in kickoff coverage at USF…Has five career touchdowns and 790 rushing yards.

2020: Played in the first four games of the season before suffering a season-ending knee injury…Totaled 115 yards rushing, one reception for five yards and two tackles…Best performance was in the season opener where he rushed five times for 47 yards, including a season-best 22 yarder against Austin Peay.

2019: Suffered an injury in preseason training camp and missed the entire season…Redshirted.

2018: Enrolled at UC in January 2018…Played in 13 games as a true freshman and was fourth on the team in rushing…Rushed 63 times for 495 yards and four TDs…Explosive player whose 7.7 yards per rush average was tops for a UC player with 20 or more carries…Averaged 37.3 yards per game…Also featured in the pass game, hauling in nine balls for 108 yards and a TD…Made his UC debut versus UCLA at the Rose Bowl…Put a career game together vs. Alabama A&M, rushing 16 times for 121 yards and a TD…Also had his first career reception for six yards and first kick return for 15 yards…Had the first of three long TD runs on the season at Temple, scampering 42 yards for the score on the way to a 70-yard game on four carries…Had a 40-yard TD in the fourth quarter against Navy…Returned a season high four kicks for 70 yards at UCF, including a career-long run back of 24 yards…Set a career-high with 144 all-purpose yards against ECU, totaling eight rushes for 114 yards, a 55-yard TD along with two catches for 30 yards…Got UC on the board against Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl, taking a QB Desmond Ridder screen pass 38 yards to the end zone for a career-long reception and his first score in the passing game.

COURTESY UC SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS