Western Carolina Catamounts at Cincinnati Bearcats

Gi'Bran Payne and JC French IV power Cincinnati to big win over Western Carolina

French completed 21 of 24 pass attempts before being pulled late in the third quarter.

Cincinnati (2-0) outgained Western Carolina (1-2) 690-241 in total yards and rushed for 418 yards as a team.

“I like to think of it as a quarterback's best friend is the run, and I think we have a great run game,” French said. “It's going to pay off a lot the further we get into the season. Other teams are going to have to pick one to defend, so I think it's going to make us lethal.”

Cincinnati pushed a 28-10 halftime lead to 49-10 in the third quarter after running back Gi'Bran Payne scored on touchdown runs of 40 and 17 yards and running back Zylan Perry scored on a 40-yard run.

Payne, a transfer from Notre Dame, eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the second straight game and finished with 102 yards on 12 carries. Cincinnati.

“It's hard to say which running back to put out there, because they all produce,” said Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield. “It's a very unselfish group. They work hard in practice. They're pushing each other. It's a great competition, and I love how it has unfolded the first two weeks so far.”

Western Carolina quarterback Lex Thomas completed 23 of 32 pass attempts for 165 yards and scored his team's lone touchdown on a 1-yard run in the second quarter that cut Cincinnati's lead to 14-10.

Cincinnati built its 28-10 halftime lead by scoring touchdowns on all four of its first-half possessions.

French threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver JV Gibson and another 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Lyviel Waters.

The other two touchdowns in the half came on a 38-yard run by Cole Tabb and a 3-yard run by Zion Johnson.

The Takeaway Western Carolina: The Catamounts are a member of the Football Championship Subdivision, and Saturday's loss makes them 0-65 against Football Bowl Subdivision teams. Cincinnati was their only FBS opponent this season, and their final nine regular-season games are against FCS teams.

Cincinnati: Against a defense that entered allowing an average of 317.5 yards per game passing, the Bearcats clearly wanted to build some confidence in French, who was making his second start after transferring from Georgia Southern. After attempting 14 passes for the game in last week’s 34-15 win over Boston College, he attempted 18 passes in the first half alone and completed 17 for 169 yards and two touchdowns.

“I'm proud of him and thought he played really good,” Satterfield said. “If people look at stats, sometimes they don't tell the whole story. In the first two weeks he's played with great poise. He's got us into plays that we need to get into. He's executed our offense.”

Up Next Western Carolina hosts Presbyterian on Saturday.

Cincinnati plays Miami (Ohio) on Saturday at TQL Stadium (neutral site in Cincinnati).

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