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

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” after the Bearcats trailed by 21 points at halftime

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.

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.

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.

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