#22 Army Suffers First Loss to #14 Cincinnati

Saturday, September 26

Cincinnati, OH

3:30 p.m. ET

Army West Point

2-1

Cincinnati

2-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Army

Cincinnati

#22 Army Suffers First Loss to #14 Cincinnati

September 26, 2020 | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes

CINCINNATI – No. 22-ranked Army football fell for the first time this season at the hands of No. 14 Cincinnati, 24-10, Saturday afternoon at Nippert Stadium.

Jabari Moore was responsible for both of the turnovers that Army's defense caused. The sophomore defensive back had a fumble recovery for a touchdown and an interception in his first appearance for the Black Knights this season. Jon Rhattigan led the Cadets' defense with eight tackles and two pass breakups.

Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder was 18-for-33 passing, finishing the day with 258 yards and two touchdowns through the air. His top target was Michael Young, who reeled in five grabs for 60 yards and a touchdown.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Black Knights got off to a quick start, wasting no time getting points on the board as Moore forced a fumble on the third play of the game and returned it 41 yards for his first touchdown of the year.
After the extra point, the Black Knights led 7-0. On the subsequent drive for the Bearcats, Army's defense held them to a field goal, making it a 7-3 game.
The Black Knights finished the first quarter with 58 rushing yards, while the defense held UC to an impressive -5 yards rushing as the 7-3 Army lead held through the first quarter.
Moore led the Black Knights in the first quarter, making his presence known early as he forced the fumble and completed the scoop-and-score with the fumble recovery touchdown and hauled in his first career interception.
The Bearcats got into the end zone for the first time on the day with 7:25 left in the half on a 12-yd touchdown reception for Michael Young and the Black Knights trailed for the first time on the day, 10-7.
The Bearcats obtained the ball on the Army 7-yardline after a blocked punt. Though the Army defense held strong on a goal line stand denying Cincinnati of the end zone and forcing a turnover on downs.
The 10-7 score held up through the end of the first half. The Black Knights rushed for 88 yards on 23 carries, while also tallying 16 passing yards. Tailback Artice Hobbs led the Black Knights with 36 yards rushing on three carries, while Brandon Walters had one reception for 13 yards.
The Black Knight defense held Cincinnati to 171 yards of total offense in the first half, including just 6 rushing yards on 13 carries.
In the second half, the Black Knights got the ball to start the half and were moving the football, but a fumble by quarterback Christian Anderson ended the drive.
The Bearcats made use of the turnover, finishing off a seven-play, 60-yard drive as a four-yard rush by Jerome Ford and the subsequent extra point put the Bearcats up, 17-7.
The Black Knights pulled within seven as Landon Salyers connected on a 36-yard field goal just four seconds into the fourth quarter, capping off a nine-play, 73-yard drive to make it 17-10, Cincinnati.
The Bearcats struck on a 60-yard connection between Desmond Ridder and Gerrid Doaks up the sideline on their second play of the drive which made the score 24-10 with 6:55 remaining.
Later on in the fourth quarter Anderson marched the Black Knights down to the Cincinnati 21 yardline, but the Black Knights turned the ball over on downs.

NOTES

The game represented the first time since 1996 that Army has played in a contest where both teams were ranked.
This marked the seventh all-time meeting between the two schools and the first since 2004. Cincinnati now owns the 4-3 advantage in the series.
The Black Knights' defense forced two turnovers, which puts the team's total on the season at eight.
Moore, who made his first start of the season, had a 41-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the opening minute of the game, to mark his second career touchdown. Against Tulane on Oct. 5, 2019, Moore had a 54-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Moore became the first player to record a forced fumble, fumble recovery and interception in the same game since Jaylon McClinton did so against Liberty on Sept. 9, 2018.
Anderson rushed for a team-high 81 yards. He also had nine completions, which matched his career amount entering the game.
Marquel Broughton registered a career high seven tackles. Additionally, he had 1.5 TFLs after entering the game with none in his career.
Salyers drilled a 36-yard field goal to improve to 2-for-2 on field goal attempts this season.
Chris Skyers surpassed his season total of tackles with a career high seven stops. He entered the game with three on the season.
Amadeo West registered his second career sack, which was his first since his freshman year in 2016

UP NEXT
The Black Knights return to action on Saturday, Oct. 3, when they host Abilene Christian at 1:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.