Cincinnati rallies from 21-point halftime deficit to defeat Miami (Ohio) 35-31 on Tabb's TD run

CINCINNATI -- — Cole Tabb's 53-yard touchdown run with 1:29 remaining rallied Cincinnati to a 35-31 victory over Miami (Ohio) in the 129th meeting of the “Battle for the Victory Bell” on Saturday after the Bearcats trailed by 21 points at halftime. “I thought our guys didn’t panic,” Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield said. “You could see how poised they were on the field when they were making plays, and that’s what you want to see when things are not going good. You’re not going to start pointing fingers, you’re just going to keep playing. It’s a mature team, and I think we kind of knew that the way these guys practice each and every day when we’re around them. They just proved it today for everybody to see.” It was the Bearcats' largest rally since they came back from a 21-0 deficit in 2018 to beat Ohio University 34-30. Cincinnati has won 18 of the last 19 meetings in the oldest non-conference rivalry in the nation and the fifth-most played in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The two schools aren’t scheduled to play each other for the immediate future. The game was played at the home of Major League Soccer's FC Cincinnati. On third-and-1, Tabb got the handoff from JC French IV out of the shotgun formation, eluded a couple of tackles near the line of scrimmage and another at the Miami 46-yard line before outracing defenders for his second TD of the game. “I wasn’t surprised to get the ball in the situation. We knew that they were probably thinking that we were passing, and we were throwing the ball that whole drive. It obviously caught them off guard," said Tabb, who had 78 yards on six carries. The Redhawks drove to the Cincinnati 33 before quarterback David McComb had the ball punched out by Antwan Peek Jr. on a sack. It was recovered by Drew Logan at the 34 to allow the Bearcats to hold on and go 3-0 for the first time since 2021. French completed 31 of 43 passes for 309 yards with two touchdowns. He also ran it in from 1 yard out midway through the third quarter to start the comeback. JV Gibson had seven catches for 68 yards, including a TD for the third straight game. After turning it over on downs on their opening series of the third quarter, the Bearcats scored on four of five possessions. Miami (1-2) led for virtually the first 58 1/2 minutes after Scoop Smith returned the opening kickoff 98 yards. Smith, the shortest player in the FBS at 5-foot-5, fielded the ball at the 2 near the left sideline, faked a reverse handoff near the 10 before changing direction and blew past Cincinnati’s kick coverage team up the right sideline. It was the first time since 2018 that Miami returned a kickoff for a touchdown, which was also the opening play of the game. McComb passed for 334 yards and a touchdown along with a rushing score. McComb, who completed 17 of 28 passes, connected with Maleek Huggins on a 36-yard touchdown to the right corner of the end zone to make it 28-7 with 21 seconds left in the second quarter. “Incredible game. Credit to Cincinnati. We talked the last 48 hours about what it was going to take to win. We didn't make the last play and Cincinnati did. A couple years ago we made the last play,” Miami coach Chuck Martin said. “First half was awesome. We did not execute in the second half. We had so many chances to end that thing in all three phases.” Up next Miami (Ohio): Hosts UConn next Saturday. Cincinnati: Hosts Kansas State in its Big 12 opener next Saturday. ------ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here