FBS college football / FINAL / Sat Sep 12, 2026 6:00 PM CT
Cincinnati rolls past Western Carolina 62-10
The Bearcats rushed for 418 yards at Nippert Stadium, and every touchdown after halftime came on the ground.
By BetMetrics
Final
Western Carolina Catamounts10
Cincinnati Bearcats62
WHERE IT TURNED
Cincinnati beat Western Carolina 62-10 on Saturday night at Nippert Stadium.
Bryan McCollum's 33-yard field goal at 8:57 of the first quarter gave Western Carolina an early lead. JC French IV answered with a 5-yard touchdown pass to JV Gibson at 3:34 and a 2-yard throw to Lyviel Waters at 12:35 of the second. Lex Thomas' 1-yard run at 6:23 cut it to 14-10, but Cole Tabb's 36-yard run at 3:00 and Zion Johnson's 3-yard run with 0:38 left sent Cincinnati to halftime up 28-10.
The second half was all Cincinnati runs: Gi'Bran Payne from 40 yards at 9:10 of the third and 17 yards at 5:03, Zylan Perry from 40 yards at 2:02, Liam O'Brien from 11 yards at 11:51 of the fourth, and Samaj Jones from 4 yards with 0:43 left. The extra point after O'Brien's score failed.
French completed 21 of 24 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns; Malachi Henry caught 3 for 87 yards. Payne ran 12 times for 102 yards and two scores as Cincinnati rushed 49 times for 418 yards and finished with 690 total yards, 32 first downs, and no turnovers. Western Carolina gained 241 yards and converted 2 of 12 third downs; Thomas was 23 of 32 for 165 yards. Attendance was 34,827.