Unbearable
POSTED: Sunday, December 07, 2008
Cincinnati added a dose of heartbreak to the emotion of senior night for Hawaii.
The 13th-ranked Bearcats rallied from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to send the Warriors to a 29-24 loss last night at Aloha Stadium.
Hawaii led 24-10 with 12:36 left in the game only to see the Bearcats reel off 19 unanswered points to stun the crowd.
Backup quarterback Dustin Grutza's 69-yard touchdown pass to Mardy Gilyard with 4:42 left completed the comeback as Big East champion Cincinnati (11-2) set a school record for wins.
Hawaii quarterback Greg Alexander completed 28 of 42 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns as the Warriors completed the regular season at 7-6.
Hawaii scored two touchdowns in the first 5:04 of the third quarter to wipe out a 10-3 halftime deficit.
A 60-yard completion from Alexander to Malcolm Lane set up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by David Farmer. Guyton Galdeira then forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Jayson Rego returned the loose ball to the 5. The Warriors took their first lead when Alexander shoveled the ball to Lane for a 2-yard score.
An interception by Desmond Thomas off a tipped pass gave UH the ball at the Cincinnati 28 to open the fourth quarter.
Alexander then hit Jon Medeiros over the middle for a 16-yard touchdown to put UH up 24-10 with 12:36 left in the game.
Cincinnati cut into the lead when cornerback Brandon Underwood caught a tipped pass and raced 20 yards for a touchdown.
The Bearcats added a 44-yard field goal by Jake Rogers to close to 24-20 at the 8:19 mark.
A punt downed at the UH 1 set up a safety when Daniel Libre recovered his own fumble in the end zone.
The Bearcats then took the lead when Grutza completed a throw to Gilyard, who shook loose and outran the UH defense for the go-ahead score.
Cincinnati will likely be headed to the Orange Bowl when the announcement is made today. Hawaii will end the season in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve.
Cincinnati 29, Hawaii 24
At Aloha Stadium
| Cincinnati (11-2) | 3 | 7 | 0 | 19 | — | 29 |
| Hawaii (7-6) | 0 | 3 | 14 | 7 | — | 24 |
| First Quarter |
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| CIN | 05:27 | Jake Rogers 53 FG | 3-0
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| Second Quarter |
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| CIN | 03:09 | Delbert Ferguson 1 pass from Tony Pike | 10-0 |
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| (Rogers kick) |
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| UH | 00:06 | Dan Kelly 28 FG | 10-3
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| Third Quarter |
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| UH | 11:37 | David Farmer 1 run (Kelly kick) | 10-10 |
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| UH | 09:56 | Malcom Lane 2 pass from Greg Alexander | 10-17 |
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(Kelly kick)
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| Fourth Quarter |
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| UH | 12:36 | Jon Medeiros 16 pass from Alexander | 10-24 | |
| (Kelly kick) |
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| CIN | 10:27 | Brandon Underwood 20 interception return | 17-24 |
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| (Rogers kick) |
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| CIN | 08:19 | Rogers 44 FG | 20-24 | |
| CIN | 04:59 | Daniel Libre tackled by Drew Frey in end zone | 22-24 |
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| CIN | 04:42 | Mardy Gilyard 69 pass from Dustin Grutza | 29-24 | |
| (Rogers kick) |
Attendance: 35,309. Time: 3:31.
Officials—Referee: John McDaid; Umpire: Mike Semcheski; Linesman: Chuck Rice; Line judge: Ralph Newell; Back judge: Bryan Platt; Field judge: Ben Vasconcellos; Side judge: Chris Junjulas; Scorer: Dara Young.
Team Statistics
| CIN | UH |
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| FIRST DOWNS | 18 | 16 |
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| Rushing | 6 | 3 |
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| Passing | 7 | 13 | |
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| Penalty | 5 | 0 | |
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| NET YARDS RUSHING | 139 | 45 |
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| Rushing Attempts | 33 | 24 |
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| Average Per Rush | 4.2 | 1.9 |
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| Rushing Touchdowns | 0 | 1 |
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| Yards Gained Rushing | 152 | 82 |
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| Yards Lost Rushing | 13 | 37 |
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| NET YARDS PASSING | 183 | 275 |
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| Completions-Attempts-Int | 16-28-2 | 28-42-1 |
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| Average Per Attempt | 6.5 | 6.5 |
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| Average Per Completion | 11.4 | 9.8 |
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| Passing Touchdowns | 2 | 2 |
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| TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS | 322 | 320 |
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| Total offense plays | 61 | 66 |
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| Average Gain Per Play | 5.3 | 4.8 |
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| Fumbles: Number-Lost | 2-1 | 1-1 |
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| Penalties: Number-Yards | 6-58 | 11-109 |
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| PUNTS-YARDS | 4-202 | 7-294 |
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| Average Yards Per Punt | 50.5 | 42.0 |
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| Net Yards Per Punt | 49.8 | 36.3 |
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| Inside 20 | 3 | 3 | |
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| 50+ Yards | 2 | 2 | ||
| Touchbacks | 0 | 1 |
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| Fair catch | 0 | 3 |
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| KICKOFFS-YARDS | 6-418 | 6-361 |
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| Average Yards Per Kickoff | 69.7 | 60.2 |
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| Net Yards Per Kickoff | 51.0 | 40.2 |
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| Touchbacks | 3 | 0 |
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| Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD | 1-20-0 | 3-3-0 |
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| Average Per Return | 20.0 | 1.0 |
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| Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD | 6-120-0 | 3-52-0 |
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| Average Per Return | 20.0 | 17.3 |
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| Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD | 1-20-1 | 2-22-0 |
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| Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD | 0-0-0 | 1-11-0 |
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| Miscellaneous Yards | 0 | 37 |
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| Possession Time | 28:55 | 31:05 |
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| 1st Quarter | 8:34 | 6:26 |
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| 2nd Quarter | 8:50 | 6:10 |
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| 3rd Quarter | 4:29 | 10:31 |
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| 4th Quarter | 7:02 | 7:58 |
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| Third-Down Conversions | 3 of 12 | 5 of 14 |
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| Fourth-Down Conversions | 0 of 0 | 1 of 1 |
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| Red-Zone Scores-Chances | 1-2 | 4-4 |
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| Sacks By: Number-Yards | 5-31 | 2-10 |
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| PAT Kicks | 3-3 | 3-3 |
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| Field Goals | 2-3 | 1-1 |
Individual Offensive Statistics
RUSHING—Cincinnati, Pead 8-74, Goebel 14-49, Ramsey 2-11, Pike 5-4, Grutza 1-4, TEAM 3-(-3). Hawaii, Libre 8-36, Farmer 2-6, Alexander 14-3.
PASSING—Cincinnati, Pike 13-21-2-108, Grutza 3-7-0-75. Hawaii, Alexander 28-42-1-275.
RECEIVING—Cincinnati, Gilyard 7-136, Barnett 2-9, Howard 2-8, Woods 1-13, Guidugli 1-12, Pead 1-3, Ferguson 1-1, Goebel 1-1. Hawaii, Washington 7-64, Libre 6-34, Bain 5-34, Lane 3-66, Farmer 3-10, Medeiros 2-36, Salas 2-31.
Individual Defensive Statistics
| Cincinnati |
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| Tackles |
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| Player | Solo | Ast | Tot |
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| Smith | 5 | 1 | 6 |
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| Cornett | 5 | 0 | 5 |
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| Underwood | 5 | 0 | 5 | |
| Revels | 3 | 1 | 4 |
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| Nelms | 3 | 1 | 4 |
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| Byrd | 3 | 1 | 4 |
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| Manalac | 2 | 2 | 4 |
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| Young | 3 | 0 | 3 |
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| Hoppel | 3 | 0 | 3 |
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| Tolbert | 3 | 0 | 3 |
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| Barwin | 3 | 0 | 3 |
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| Webster | 2 | 1 | 3 |
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| Johnson | 2 | 0 | 2 |
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| McCafferty | 2 | 0 | 2 |
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| Hughes | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Armstrong | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Jones | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Richardson | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Linkenbach | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Gilyard | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Battle | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Collaros | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Smith | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Goebel | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Daniels | 0 | 1 | 1
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| Hawaii |
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| Tackles |
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| Player | Solo | Ast | Tot |
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| Elimimian | 6 | 5 | 11 |
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| Veikune | 4 | 3 | 7 |
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| Dowling | 5 | 1 | 6 |
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| Leonard, A. | 2 | 4 | 6 |
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| Thomas | 4 | 1 | 5 |
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| Roberts | 3 | 2 | 5 |
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| Satele | 3 | 1 | 4 |
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| Fonoti | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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| Mouton | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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| Galdeira | 1 | 1 | 2 |
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| Laeli | 1 | 1 | 2 |
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| Leonard, J. | 1 | 1 | 2 |
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| Ahmad | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Silva | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Porlas | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Kelly | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Maka | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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| Torres | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Tackles for loss-yards — Cincinnati, Barwin 2-17, Young 1-8, Hoppel 1-7, Byrd 1-5, Nelms 1-4, Smith 1-3, Tolbert 1-1, Battle 1-1. Hawaii, Veikune 1-6, Fonoti 0.5-2, Leonard, J. 0.5-2.
Sacks-yards — Cincinnati, Barwin 1-12, Hoppel 1-7, Byrd 1-5, Nelms 1-4, Smith 1-3. Hawaii, Veikune 1-6, Fonoti 0.5-2, Leonard, J. 0.5-2.
Interceptions — Cincinnati, Underwood 1-20. Hawaii, Monteilh 1-13, Thomas 1-9.
Kicks blocked — Cincinnati, none. Hawaii, Watson.
Quarterback hurries — Cincinnati, Young. Hawaii, Fonoti 2, Veikune, Leonard, A., Laeli, Leonard, J.
