Field Level Media
Sep 19, 2020
Gerrid Doaks scored four touchdowns Saturday as No. 13 Cincinnati opened its college football season with an easy 55-20 romp over Austin Peay at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati.
Doaks scored on runs of 1, 1 and 2 yards while adding a 32-yard receiving touchdown from Desmond Ridder. That was one of two scoring strikes for Ridder, who was an efficient 13 of 19 for 196 yards before giving way to backup Ben Bryant after three quarters.
The Bearcats outgained the Governors 525-353 and scored touchdowns on their first four possessions to remove any doubt from the equation. It served as a tune-up game for Cincinnati, which hosts No. 22 Army next week.
Austin Peay dropped to 0-3 and will not play again until the calendar flips to 2021. The Governors are a member of the FCS-level Ohio Valley Conference, which opted to play its conference games in the spring after postponing all fall sports due to COVID-19.
Ridder got the Bearcats into the end zone just 1:39 into the game when he flipped a shovel pass to Tre Turner, who zipped 29 yards around right end for a touchdown that capped a 74-yard drive.
After Grant Paulette converted a 30-yard field goal at the 6:21 mark of the first quarter, Doaks started his scoring spree. A 1-yard run finished a 13-play, 81-yard march with 33 seconds left in the period, and his second 1-yard plunge made it 21-3 with 12:01 remaining in the first half.
Doaks scored from the 2 with 3:39 on the clock, enabling Cincinnati to take a 28-3 cushion into halftime. Following a 29-yard field goal by Paulette, Ridder found Doaks for his fourth touchdown of the day.
Jerome Ford's 2-yard scoring run made it 42-6 after three quarters. Bryant accounted for rushing and passing touchdowns in the fourth period, while CJ Evans scored on runs of 1 and 64 yards for Austin Peay.
Governors quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall completed 20 of 34 passes for 202 yards and an interception.
--Field Level Media