Cincinnati clings on for dear life, stays unbeaten with 28-20 win over Tulsa

Since Tuesday, the entire college football world has taken up arms for the No. 6 Cincinnati Bearcats and their plight to break into the College Football Playoff. What just happened against Tulsa Saturday isn’t going to help their cause.

The Bearcats defeated the Golden Hurricane 28-20 at Nippert Stadium on Saturday, but, uh, made things extremely difficult for themselves. Up 28-12 midway through the fourth quarter, they were seemingly on the verge of a comfortable win. Tulsa had other plans.

The Golden Hurricane punched in a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, pulling to within eight after a successful two-point conversion. They’d get the ball back and orchestrated a four-minute drive that burrowed deep into Bearcat territory. On fourth down, Davis Brin’s completion to Sam Crawford Jr. came up short of the first down marker, turning the ball over to Cincinnati.

Then things got weird.

With a chance to run out the clock, quarterback Desmond Ridder fumbled the QB sneak, giving Tulsa new life once again.

Getting down to the one with a chance to punch it in on fourth and one, Golden Hurricane running back Steven Anderson went for glory but fumbled it into the end zone himself! Cincinnati ball. Game over.

It was a weird ending, which will certainly not help Cincinnati’s CFP cause. Gary Barta is smiling somewhere.