SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 5, 2010
Cincinnati managed to do something in head coach Butch Jones' debut Saturday night against Fresno State that it didn't do all last year: lose a regular-season game.
The host Bulldogs got a four-touchdown passing performance from quarterback Ryan Colburn and rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to defeat the Bearcats 28-14.
Colburn completed 18 of 24 passes for 247 yards and threw touchdowns to four different receivers to outgun counterpart Zach Collaros, who went 24-for-41 for 219 yards.
The Bearcats jumped out to a 14-0 lead on touchdowns involving Collaros: a 26-yard pass to D.J. Woods in the first quarter and a 5-yard run to open the second.
But the Bulldogs came roaring back, with Colburn completing a 20-yard touchdown pass to Robbie Rouse and a 16-yarder to Jamel Hamler to tie the game at halftime.
Fresno State scored on their third straight possession to open the second half, capped by Colburn hitting Devon Wylie on a 28-yard TD pass to give the Bulldogs their first lead at 21-14.
Colburn saved his deepest pass of the night for the fourth quarter, connecting on a 59-yard strike to Rashad Evans that clinched the Bulldogs' 20th straight win in home openers.
Cincinnati went 12-0 last regular season under coach Brian Kelly, who took the head coaching job at Notre Dame before the Bearcats' blowout loss to Florida in the Sugar Bowl to end last season.