Cincinnati Runs Over No. 8 Texas Tech and Hands the Red Raiders Their First Loss

By The Arena Staff

CINCINNATI, Oct. 24, 2026 — Texas Tech arrived at Nippert Stadium with a perfect record and the stingiest run defense in the Big 12. Cincinnati ran straight through both.

JC French IV threw four touchdown passes, Cole Tabb ran for 173 yards on 16 carries, and the unranked Bearcats beat No. 8 Texas Tech 37-24 on Saturday, according to ESPN. The Red Raiders (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) had been chasing their first 7-0 start since 2013, RedRaiderSports.com noted. Cincinnati (5-2, 2-2) had lost its previous two games.

The game came with some history. Texas Tech landed Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby in the transfer portal last offseason, and Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield accused the Red Raiders of tampering, the Associated Press reported in its preview. The fight became moot when the NCAA permanently banned Sorsby in May for gambling violations, the AP said.

Texas Tech led 6-3 after one quarter. Cincinnati's field goal, a 47-yarder by Stephen Rusnak, came after the Bearcats stripped quarterback Will Hammond on a fourth-and-1 run, according to RedRaiderSports.com. Then the second quarter belonged to French. He found Tabb on a bootleg for a 4-yard score, hit tight end Malachi Henry for a 5-yarder, and after MJ Cannon intercepted Hammond, Tabb broke a 51-yard run that set up a 2-yard touchdown pass to Lyviel Waters. Cincinnati led 24-6 at the half.

Texas Tech's best answer came from its defense. In the third quarter, a hit by cornerback Brice Pollock popped a French pass into the air and safety Peyton Morgan, a game-time decision before kickoff, ran it back for a touchdown, RedRaiderSports.com reported. A targeting flag on the hit was overturned on review. Amier Boyd picked off French on the Bearcats' next series, but Stone Harrington missed a 38-yard field goal, and French answered with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Larenzo Fenner to make it 31-15.

Harrington's 33-yard kick cut the lead to 31-18 with just under eight minutes left. On the next Cincinnati possession, Tabb took a handoff up the middle and went 58 yards for a touchdown with 6:06 to play, according to ESPN and RedRaiderSports.com. Quinten Joyner's 3-yard run with 59 seconds left accounted for the final score.

The numbers tell the story of a defense that got worn down. Texas Tech came in allowing 82.0 rushing yards per game, best in the Big 12, the AP said. Cincinnati ran for 255 yards on 40 carries, according to ESPN, and did it without Gi'Bran Payne, the team's leader in carries, who was ruled out before kickoff, RedRaiderSports.com reported. Texas Tech was also flagged 13 times for 85 yards and lost two fumbles, ESPN's stats show.

French finished 19 of 30 for 172 yards with two interceptions. Hammond went 24 of 37 for 227 yards. Cincinnati outgained the Red Raiders 427 yards to 400.

For Cincinnati, the win opens a stretch of three straight games against teams that were ranked in the AP top 14 this week, according to the AP. It is a good way to start it.

Watch Tabb's 58-yard touchdown run on FOX College Football's official X account.

Share-card photo: Nippert Stadium, by Uccee44 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.