Final Huddle: Cincinnati Dominates Oklahoma State To Get Bowl Eligible For First Time Since 2022

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats rolled over the Oklahoma State Cowboys Football team 49-17 to move to 6-1 on the season. UC is now bowl eligible for the first time since the 2022 season and holds a share of the Big 12 conference lead.

The offense continues to be one of the best in the nation, scoring on nearly every drive it touches the ball. Brendan Sorsby (20-29 for 370 yards and 2 TDs, one rushing score) had another monstrous day through the air to bounce back from a couple of shaky passing weeks.

"We want to be in Dallas at the end of the year," Sorsby said after the game about the Big 12 Championship goal. "This is just another step towards that. We're definitely going to celebrate it. We're excited that we're bowl eligible, but we got a lot more work left."

He found Cyrus Allen (three catches for 37 yards and two scores with two carries for 17 yards and a score) for a career-high three TDs, and the hapless Cowboys just couldn't keep up. Cincinnati is now 2-3 all-time against the Cowboys and welcomes in the Baylor Bears next week to keep the foot on the gas pedal toward the Big 12 Championship game.

UC averaged 7.1 yards per play in this game.

Sorsby Slices Like A Surgeon

Cincinnati's top offensive player distributed the football like a calm, collected magician on Saturday night. He dialed up 207 passing yards and three scores in the first half and stayed efficient passing to every level of the field.

It's no shock to see him destroy the nation's second-worst passing defense by EPA/dropback. It didn't matter where Sorsby went; he found success on a high-completion day. OK State didn't bring much pressure on him, and the progressions flourished in the process.

He continues to take great care of the football, with no turnover-worthy plays that I could see. The veteran entered this game top-15 nationally in that mark and should only climb higher. The Bearcats had a clear talent advantage through the air, especially once OK State's top defensive back went out with an injury over the weekend.

Sorsby dialed up a nasty 13.5 yards per completion on Saturday, to continue Cincinnati's top-12 status nationally in that statistic. The passing attack is a flamethrower when it gets in rhythm, like it did to close the first half.

Cincinnati's playmakers on offense didn't play with their food, and it led to full rage back on that side of the ball after a wonky 20-point outing against UCF.

Evan Pryor Maximizing His Moments

The Bearcats have molded Evan Pryor (nine carries for 63 yards) into a true all-around back this season, and he's stayed nearly as efficient rushing the ball as last season.

Saturday was another dynamic showing from the elite tackle-breaker. Pryor made multiple men miss in open space and averaged another seven yards per carry after entering the game, ranked third nationally with 7.9 YPC (minimum 40 carries).

The 5-9 dynamo has played his best ball of the season during conference play, and along with Tawee Walker has molded the Bearcats' offense into one of the nation's most complete units. The Cowboys had no answer for Pryor in open space tonight, and his big-play ability will be crucial as Cincinnati enters its toughest stretch of the season.

Defense Needs To Tighten

The Bearcats face a much tougher back half of the conference slate, and the defense could get exposed if they don't tighten things up in the trenches.

Four of Cincinnati's final five opponents ranked in the top 45 of Bill Connelly's SP+ entering the weekend, including some high-powered offenses in Baylor (26th in scoring), TCU (33rd), and BYU (20th). Things were far from sharp across much of the road, showing against one of the nation's worst offenses in OSU.

The Cowboys are not a strong rushing team, but managed to explode for rushing yards behind freshman Rodney Fields (21 carries for 163 yards) and quarterback Sam Jackson V. A bend don't break defense has worked out so far this season, but they are about to face some much better quarterbacks than they've tackled for much of the campaign.

Cincinnati has to find a way to get more pressure on the quarterback as one of the lowest pressure rate teams in the country this season (one sack, one quarterback hit). They did cap the game with the first pick six of the 2025 season and longest in school history on a 100-yard scamper by Matthew McDoom.

McDOOOOOOOOM‼️

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— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) October 19, 2025

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