Cincinnati holds off Miami (OH) to reclaim Victory Bell

Cincinnati earned bragging rights between in-state rivals for at least two years with a 27-16 victory over host Miami (Ohio) in Oxford, Ohio, on Saturday.

A pair of Ohio State transfers led the way for the Bearcats (2-1). Joe Royer’s 3-yard touchdown catch gave them a 10-3 lead in the second quarter and Evan Pryor made it 24-10 in the fourth quarter with a 65-yard run.

Pryor carried three times for 76 yards, Corey Kiner had 21 rushes for 126 yards and Brendan Sorsby threw for 186 yards and a touchdown, completing 21 of his 34 pass attempts.

Brett Gabbert’s 7-yard pass to Cade McDonald pulled the RedHawks (0-2) to within 24-16 with 7:57 to play after a failed two-point conversion.

Gabbert was 23-of-35 passing for 339 yards, two TDs and an interception.

Cincinnati’s Nathan Hawks made a 50-yard field goal with 59 seconds left for the final score.

Cincinnati took a 61-60-7 overall lead in the series which dates to 1888 after Miami ended the Bearcats’ 16-game winning streak in “The Battle for the Victory Bell” last season.

However, all future on-campus games, including a previously scheduled 2025 game at Cincinnati, have been canceled. The teams will next play in 2026 at Paycor Stadium, home of the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals, and the athletic directors at both schools said they would like to continue the series every few years at a neutral site.

The Bearcats received the second-half kickoff and went 75 yards in 12 plays to extend their lead to 17-3 on a Kiner 1-yard plunge. Gabbert tossed a 58-yard scoring strike to Reggie Virgil to make it 17-10.

Cincinnati led 10-3 in a frustrating first half for both teams. The Bearcats came within inches of TD with 18 seconds left in the first half but a 21-yard scoring catch by Royer was overturned upon review when the ball was knocked out of his hands as he stretched for the right pylon and it rolled out of bounds for a touchback.

Gabbert had three completions of more than 35 yards but couldn’t produce a TD.

The score was 3-3 in the first quarter when Miami punter Alec Bevelhimer fumbled the snap for a 16-yard loss to the RedHawks’ 3 and Royer made the TD catch on the next play.

— Field Level Media