Cincinnati vs. UConn 2012: Bearcats notch ninth win

The Cincinnati Bearcats finished off the 2012 regular season on Saturday with a victory over the Connecticut Huskies, 34-17. Although the Huskies managed to cut the Cincinnati lead to four at halftime, and to the same margin in the third, Cincinnati pulled away in the fourth quarter with 13 points in the final frame.

The Bearcats defense stepped up on Saturday with three interceptions of Connecticut quarterbacks Chandler Whitmer and Johnny McEntee. Those turnovers were the difference for the Bearcats, who were outgained offensively by the Huskies. Cincinnati coughed the ball up just once, on a fumble.

While the Bearcats' season will continue with an appearance in a bowl game, the Huskies' year is over. A win against Cincinnati would've made Connecticut bowl eligible but instead, at 5-7, they'll be home for the holidays. The guys over at The UConn Blog were understandably disappointed with their team's performance.

Two wins in the last three weeks created a glimmer of hope that UConn could salvage this season but that dream came crashing down onto the frozen East Hartford turf in a predictably frustrating loss filled with offensive penalties, stupid turnovers, inconsistent secondary play and piss-poor blocking.

Bearcat fans will wait and see what bowl the team is invited to this week.