No. 8 Cincinnati uses penalty to jumpstart offense, rallies to 38-24 win at Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A targeting call changed everything for the University of Cincinnati football team on Saturday.

With the No. 8-ranked (Associated Press/Coaches) Bearcats trailing Indiana 14-0 with 2:27 to play in the first half, Hoosiers middle linebacker and senior captain Micah McFadden was ejected for a targeting penalty on a hit on Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder. Cincinnati scored 17 unanswered points after the play, the UC defense caused two late turnovers and the Bearcats pulled away for a 38-24 victory.

"No. 47 is their guy," Ridder said of McFadden. "He's their middle linebacker who goes hard every play. Their whole defense kind of goes around him, so we just felt like the tone of their defense switched a little bit. We were able to attack and jump on them."

Ridder and Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. put on a show in the second half, as both offenses went back and forth. But it was Ridder who left the sold-out stadium (5,2,656 fans) with the win after a late fumble by Hoosiers running back Tim Baldwin Jr. and an interception thrown by Penix helped seal the victory.

With Cincinnati ahead 30-24 with 8:26 to play and Indiana knocking on UC's door, Bearcats linebacker Darrian Beavers forced Baldwin to cough it up and recovered the loose ball at the UC 4-yard line.

Baldwin was initially ruled down by contact. The play was reviewed and the call was overturned and ruled a fumble.

"Yeah, I knew it was a fumble," Beavers said. "I told Coach Fick it was a fumble."

After Ridder and the Cincinnati offense stalled, Penix threw back into the middle of the the UC defense and Deshawn Pace intercepted Penix and returned it to the Indiana 6-yard line. Penix's third interception of the day led to a Ridder game-clinching rushing score, his second touchdown of the day.

The 2020 American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year finished with 210 yards on 20-of-36 passing.

Penix, who earned 2020 second-team All-Big Ten honors before suffering a torn ACL, completed 17 of 40 passes for 224 yards, two touchdowns and the three costly turnovers.

Despite the second-half fireworks, penalties killed both teams on Saturday. Cincinnati committed 11 for 72 yards, while Indiana had five costly ones of its own.

The McFadden penalty came the possession after Ridder fumbled on a sack, Bearcats offensive tackle John Williams collected the loose ball, McFadden caused Williams to fumble and McFadden recovered the ball and returned it to the UC 6-yard line.

Penix linked up with running back Stephen Carr from 5 yards out to give the Hoosiers the two-score advantage with 5:06 remaining in the first half.

The touchdown capped a dominant start by Indiana that saw Ridder the Cincinnati offense go scoreless in their first six possessions. UC's anemic start featured four punts, four three-and-outs, an interception and the Ridder fumble.

Cincinnati's offensive line, which was without injured right guard and senior captain Vincent McConnell, also committed six false starts to aid Indiana's 14-0 start.

But after the McFadden penalty, Jerome Ford scored from 6 yards out, kicker Cole Smith netted a 32-yard field goal and Ford ran in another score to give the Bearcats a 17-14 lead with 5:47 to play in the third quarter.

Tre Tucker, who earned 2020 all-AAC honors as a returner, scored on a 99-yard kickoff return at the end of the third quarter and wide receiver Alec Pierce scored on a 19-yard connection from Ridder in the final frame for Cincinnati.

Pierce finished with five catches for 86 yards (both team-highs).

The Bearcats have a bye next week before heading back to the state of Indiana on Oct. 2 to face No. 12/10 Notre Dame in South Bend.

"We'll be right back here in Indiana," Pierce said. "We had our fall camp in Indiana (West Harrison). We've played a lot of football in this state. So we'll have our second opportunity to come in this state and face another good team."