The Red Raiders needed to win ugly against Cincinnati. The defensive side of the ball was ugly, the offensive side had moments of ugly, and then there were the usual kinds of mistakes. But what matters in the end is that the Red Raiders gutted it out.

Behren Morton had a strong, but not overwhelming game, with 251 yards and 2 TDs. He was making good decisions all night, even in the run game rattling off a 26 yarder. He was supported by the usual characters, Josh Kelley and Coy Eakin being the heart of the passing game. Tahj Brooks had a whale of a game with 172 yards and 2 touchdowns, paired with a 5.4 YPC night.

Defensively, the team continues to control the ground but the banged up secondary is really struggling. Giving up 426 through the air is a terrible outcome, and the problems are a combination of really poor secondary play and the continued absence of an elite pass rush. However, a forced errant through on a screen led to McCarty taking it to the house.

In the end, the Red Raiders managed to gut their way to a 44-41 win after a missed field goal as time expires. And I would always rather win ugly than lose pretty.