Oct 1, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Hayden Moore (8) looks to pass in the first half against the Miami Hurricanes at Nippert Stadium. (Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)
Redshirt freshman quarterback Hayden Moore passed for 279 yards and two touchdowns in his first start as Cincinnati posted a 34-23 victory over Miami at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati.
Senior receiver Mekale McKay and sophomore tight end Tyler Cogswell had scoring receptions and senior running back Hosey Williams rushed for a touchdown for the Bearcats (3-2). Moore started in place of junior quarterback Gunner Kiel, who suffered his second concussion of the season in a loss to Memphis on Sept. 24.
Hurricanes sophomore quarterback Brad Kaaya passed for 255 yards but failed to throw for a touchdown to end a streak of 16 consecutive games with at least one. Sophomore running back Joe Yearby rushed for 113 yards for Miami (3-1).
The Hurricanes pulled within 27-23 on sophomore kicker Michael Badgley’s 26-yard field goal with 8:59 left, but Cincinnati responded with Moore’s 7-yard pass to Cogswell to make it an 11-point margin. Miami turned the ball over on downs with an incomplete pass in the end zone with 4:41 to play and the Bearcats ran out the clock.
Williams erupted for a 29-yard touchdown run on a play in which he was initially stuffed at the line of the scrimmage and Moore tossed an 11-yard scoring pass to McKay as the Bearcats took a 14-3 lead in the opening six minutes. A 47-yard field goal by Badgley and freshman Mark Walton’s 6-yard scamper pulled Miami with 14-13 with 1:24 left in the first quarter.
Yearby scored on an 8-yard jaunt to push the Hurricanes into a 20-17 lead with 11:26 remaining in the first half. Moore scored on a 1-yard keeper to put Cincinnati back ahead and sophomore kicker Andrew Gantz booted a 26-yard field goal to end the half and provide the Bearcats with a 27-20 advantage.
The teams combined for 603 yards in the first half – 305 by Cincinnati – and just 270 in the second half.
