Gasparilla Bowl Recap: Cincinnati Falls to Florida State 24-17
Final: Florida State 24, Cincinnati 17
Well, that was certainly a football game that happened. I guess.
Cincinnati’s season ends with a loss to Florida State in the Gasparilla Bowl, dropping the Bearcats to 6-7. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t exciting. It was kinda exactly what you’d expect from two teams that underperformed all year.
How It Went Down
FSU’s defense showed up. That’s basically the whole story right there. Cincinnati’s offense couldn’t move the ball consistently — Brendan Sorsby was 18-of-32 with a pick — and the Seminoles capitalized with a couple opportunistic scoring drives.
FSU’s offense wasn’t exactly lighting it up either. 310 total yards, which is fine but nothing special. The difference was ball security. Cincinnati turned it over twice. FSU didn’t turn it over at all. In a close game between evenly matched mediocre teams, that’s usually what decides it.
The game was 17-17 heading into the fourth quarter — more competitive than I expected honestly. Then FSU put together a solid drive, hit a field goal, forced a turnover, and iced it with another field goal.
And that was that.
Jake’s note: I didn’t watch this game. Was still processing the Tech loss. From what Mike’s telling me, sounds like I made the right call. This sounds boring as hell.
What This Means for Cincinnati
The Big 12 transition continues to be rough. 6-7 in Year 3 ain’t what anybody in Cincinnati expected when they celebrated joining the conference.
The roster needs more depth. The quarterback situation needs more consistency. The identity needs to be clearer. Scott Satterfield’s got work to do this offseason.
According to TeamRankings, Cincinnati ranked near the bottom of the Big 12 in several key metrics. That’s gotta change.
Pick Results
I took Cincinnati +3. They lost by 7. I was wrong.
Jake took FSU -3. He was right, even though he admits he didn’t actually care.
Sometimes the person who don’t pay attention wins. That’s gambling for ya.
— Mike
Big 12 Bowl Record: 0-1
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