Cincinnati ran a fake punt up 32 points Friday night during the fourth quarter of No. 7 Bearcats’ win against East Carolina.
Leading 42-10 and facing a fourth-and-6, Cincinnati’s Joel Dublanko took a direct snap and rumbled 29 yards to the ECU 43.
UC pushed its lead to 49-10 as the drive resulted in a touchdown. ECU scored a touchdown with 17 seconds left in the game to make it 49-17, and pushing and shoving between the two teams followed.
“And now a little post-play discussion and some hand-fighting going on, and you had to assume this might be a possibility after the fake punt earlier,” ESPN play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti remarked on the call.
Cameron Young’s 75-yard touchdown run with 10 seconds left gave Cincinnati a 55-17 win that moved the Bearcats to 7-0.
ECU head coach Mike Houston and Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell had a lengthy discussion on the field as their teams headed to their locker rooms.
“I will leave what was said between us,” Houston said when asked about the conversation by reporters.
Fickell, for his part, told reporters after the game that the fake punt was not a called play, and that he apologized to Houston.
“We would not want to do it in that situation,” Fickell said of running a fake.
The Bearcats edged ECU, 46-43, in Greenville, North Carolina, about one year ago. ECU quarterback Holton Ahlers threw for 535 yards and accounted for five touchdowns (four passing and one rushing) in that contest. In Friday’s game, Ahlers managed just 87 yards on 9-for-20 passing and tossed three interceptions.
“The defense had an edge, a chip on their shoulder,” after last year’s game, senior defensive back James Wiggins said.
Said Fickell: “There was definitely a different feel than last year. There was only one time (Ahlers) had an opportunity to scramble around. I give the front guys a lot of credit to keep him inside the pocket.”
Contributing: Jace Evans/Associated Press
