Controversial Calls and Missed Opportunities: The Dramatic Finale of Cincinnati's Clash with Texas Tech

The final drive of Saturday's game in Jones AT&T Stadium was a rollercoaster of emotions for the Cincinnati football team. From an injury-induced 10-second runoff to a disputed targeting call and a missed game-tying field goal, the Bearcats found themselves on the wrong side of a series of critical decisions that ultimately led to their defeat against Texas Tech.

Navigating the Chaos: Cincinnati's Challenging Final Drive

Injury Setback and Timeout Dilemma

The Bearcats' final drive began with a significant setback as an injury to Xzavier Henderson on the first play resulted in a 10-second runoff, putting Cincinnati at their own 10-yard line and trailing Texas Tech 44-41. Faced with the decision to use his final timeout or let the clock wind down, head coach Scott Satterfield opted to hold onto the timeout, a move that would prove crucial later in the drive.

Targeting Call Controversy

It was a play later in the drive that left Satterfield and the Cincinnati sideline baffled. Quarterback Brendan Sorsby ran for a short gain, and one official flagged Texas Tech's C.J. Baskerville for targeting. However, after review, the call was reversed, and the Bearcats were forced to use their timeout or let another 10 seconds run off the clock.

Confusion and Frustration

The confusion on Cincinnati's sideline extended beyond the thrown-out targeting call, as the Bearcats were also puzzled by the lack of a penalty for a late hit on Sorsby. Satterfield expressed his frustration, stating, "I couldn't really quite understand what he was trying to say on that one. I was really angry on that because when you give yourself up, you're not supposed to get hit."

Costly Clock Management

According to Satterfield, officials told the Cincinnati coach that there was no late hit on the play, and the flag had only been thrown for the targeting infraction. Once again, Satterfield opted to hold on to his timeout, costing Cincinnati another 10 seconds of clock. "He calls the penalty, they end up taking it off, yet we still get penalized for 10 seconds," Satterfield said. "We got screwed on that one."

The Missed Opportunity

The reason for the 10-second runoff was that Sorsby went down inbounds, and had a flag not been thrown, the clock would have continued to run. When play resumed, the clock was reset to 48 seconds, despite the flag being thrown with 58 seconds on the clock.

The Heartbreaking Finale

Cincinnati continued the drive and settled for a game-tying field goal attempt, but Nathan Hawks' 51-yard try went wide right, and the Red Raiders escaped with a three-point victory. "Would've loved to have a little extra time at the end," Satterfield said, "because I feel we would've had an opportunity to go down and probably get into the end zone."The final drive of Saturday's game was a rollercoaster of emotions for the Cincinnati football team, marked by a series of controversial calls and missed opportunities that ultimately led to their defeat against Texas Tech. The Bearcats' frustration was palpable, as they felt they were on the wrong side of several critical decisions that cost them a chance at victory.