DALLAS (AP) — Desmond Ridder had an upset stomach that briefly sent him to the injury tent. On the field, the Cincinnati quarterback was nothing but trouble for SMU.
Ridder ran for 179 yards on only eight carries and scored three touchdowns, including a 91-yarder in the fourth quarter. He also threw for 126 yards and a score to help No. 9 Cincinnati beat No. 16 SMU 42-13 on Saturday night in a showdown of unbeaten teams.
Cincinnati (4-0, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) played its first game since Oct. 3. The Bearcats had an open date the following weekend and then had their scheduled Oct. 17 home game against Tulsa moved to Dec. 5 because of positive COVID-19 cases at Cincinnati and the quarantining of athletes at the school.
Ridder completed 13 of 21 passes. He had scoring runs of 15, 32 and 91 yards, and threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Josh Whyle to open the scoring.
“We see it every single day,” Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell said. “I was just waiting for some more people to be able to see it. He really showed what he is when it’s really tough. He does his best job when the heat is on.”
The 91-yard touchdown run down the left sideline, with no one ahead of him during the final 60 yards, gave Cincinnati a 35-13 lead with 4:26 to play and finally put away an SMU team that threatened to get back in the game earlier in the quarter.
