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Cincinnati • In a state that just hosted the World Series, BYU's defense almost posted a shutout on Saturday afternoon — in college football.
The Cougars gave up a game-opening, 23-yard field goal after a 59-yard drive to Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium, then clamped down defensively and kept the Bearcats from striking the rest of the way in a ho-hum 20-3 win.
"It was an overall team win and we talked about it with our guys," coach Kalani Sitake said. "We said, this is the time we need to step it up more. This is the time we worked all summer for, and for our guys to be great shape right now. I am really pleased with the way that they worked, and I thought they looked good overall."
The defense forced just one turnover — freshman Austin McChesney's interception and 37-yard return in the first quarter — and got an assist from the offense, which held the ball for nearly 38 minutes. McChesney later sprained his knee defending a kickoff return and missed the remainder of the game.
Cincinnati also missed a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter and inexplicably took a knee at the end of the first half. BYU's defense dominated beyond that, holding the Bearcats to 295 yards. They were averaging 386.
It was appreciated by the BYU offense, which took some time to get going and had just 71 yards in the first quarter.
"It takes a lot of pressure off me, and off us offensively, to know that we don't need to press, or force the ball downfield, because our defense was so good and was playing so well," BYU quarterback Taysom Hill said. "Kudos to those guys. They kept us in the game and allowed us to sustain the lead the entire night."
Early in the fourth quarter, Cincinnati drove to the BYU 37 while trailing 17-3. But on 4th-and-2, Fred Warner and Tevita Mo'Unga corralled Tion Green for no gain to end Cincinnati's hopes of a comeback.
"I feel like they had a couple good drive. But luckily we were able to come together in the red zone and stop them," said defensive tackle Logan Taele, who grew up in nearby Columbus. "But overall, we kept them out of the end zone, which is the ultimate goal."
Francis Bernard led the Cougars with nine tackles, while Warner had six. Corbin Kaufusi got a sack, and Taele and Sae Tautu combined on another. Troy Warner had three pass breakups.
"To come out here and have a dominant performance defensively was awesome," Troy Warner said.
It was especially satisfying after giving up 571 yards to Boise State in their last outing, the players said. They held Cincinnati to 96 rushing yards, while Kiel was 19 for 32 for 199 yards and was sacked twice in his third start of the season.
Twitter: @drewjay __
Cincinnati's offensive production
Quarter Plays Yrds Pts First 20 114 3
Second 9 9 0
Third 14 62 0
Fourth 14 110 0