BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Throughout the week, Cincinnati coach Rick Minter admitted Saturday's opponent, Alabama-Birmingham, possessed an NFL-quality defensive line. He knew the Bearcats offense, led by freshman quarterback Gino Guidugli, would face its toughest task of the season.

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Antwan Peek (56) celebrates after returning a blocked punt 4 yards for a TD. (AP photos) 600 | 800 | 1024

        What he didn't know was his special teams and defense would tally 14 points, the difference in the Bearcats' 31-17 victory over the Blazers at Legion Field Saturday.

        UC (3-0, 3-2 Conference USA) returned an interception and a blocked punt for touchdowns on the way to overcoming a 10-point first-quarter deficit against UAB (2-4, 1-2). The start is the Bearcats' best in league play since 1964, when they went 4-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

        “I didn't know if were capable,” Minter said of his team's scoring ability on defense. “It certainly was on my wish list. It's like, "Hey, fellas, go score because our offense isn't doing a whole lot.'”

        With UC leading 14-10 and UAB looking to crawl back into the game on its first drive after the half, Bearcats cornerback LaVar Glover picked off quarterback Jeff Aaron's pass on the second play.

        Glover ran untouched for 38 yards into the end zone to give UC a 21-10 lead.

        Not helping UAB was the wind, which blew hard enough at times to swing the uprights and was coming straight at the Blazers' faces.

QB Gino Guidugli fumbles. | ZOOM |

        “When I took a peek at the quarterback, I knew he was going to leave it short because of the wind,” Glover said. “Then, I knew no one could catch me.”

        The Bearcats offense struggled to move downfield against the Blazers all night. UC had only 10 first downs and 220 total yards, 66 rushing and 154 passing.

        The Blazers jumped out to what seemed to be a comfortable lead.

        Aaron scored on a 4-yard keeper with 6:21 left in the first quarter. And with 45 seconds left in the first quarter, Blazers kicker Nick Hayes nailed a 44-yarder for a 10-0 lead.

        The Bearcats were held to 10 yards rushing in the first quarter and committed three penalties.

        But the Bearcats revived themselves with a drive in the second quarter, when Guidugli connected with Ray Jackson for a 65-yard catch-and-run along the sideline. And with the UAB defense pounding his line, Guidugli managed to thread an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jon Olinger to cut the deficit to three, 10-7, with 14:12 left in the second quarter.

        The Bearcats scored again with 41 seconds left in the first half, when Jackson capped a 60-yard drive with a 1-yard leap over the line that gave UC a 14-10 lead.

        “You always want to be more productive as a team than that,” Guidugli said of the offense's total yards. He finished 12-for-20 with one interception for 154 yards.

        “But the most important thing is we came out with the win,” Guidugli said.

Team		1	2	3	4			SCORE
Cincinnati		0	14	14	3			31
U-A-B		10	0	7	0			17

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter	U-A-B Touchdown - 4-yard run by Jeff Aaron. (Nick Hayes kick). 6:21 remaining. U-A-B Field Goal - 44-yarder by Nick Hayes. 0:45 remaining.
2nd Quarter	Cincinnati Touchdown - 8-yard pass from Gino Guidugli to Jon Olinger. (Jonathan Ruffin kick). 14:12 remaining. Cincinnati Touchdown - 1-yard run by Ray Jackson. (Jonathan Ruffin kick). 0:41 remaining.
3rd Quarter	Cincnnati Touchdown - 38-yard interception return by LaVar Glover. (Jonathan Ruffin kick). 14:07 remaining. U-A-B Touchdown - 24-yard pass from Jeff Aaron to Roddy White. (Nick Hayes kick). 8:30 remaining. Cincinnati Touchdown - 4-yard blocked punt return by Antwan Peek. (Jonathan Ruffin kick). 3:09 remaining.
4th Quarter	Cincinnati Field Goal - 38-yarder by Jonathan Ruffin. 8:53 remaining.

Attendance: 14,417

Final Team Statistics	Cincinnati	U-A-B
First downs	10	19
Rushes-yards	36-66	47-200
Passing yards	154	133
Return yards	108	14
Passing (Att-Comp-Int)	20-12-1	30-11-2
Punts-Average	9-40.2	8-29.5
Fumbles-Lost	1-0	1-0
Penalties-Yards	5-24	5-50
Time of Possession	27:43	32:17

Rushing
Cincinnati	- Jackson 15-48, McCleskey 19-34, Guidugli 2-(-16).
U-A-B	- Dugger 23-85, Aaron 16-66, Cox 5-28, Dudley 3-21.
Passing
Cincinnati	- Guidugli 12-20-1, 154 yards and 1 touchdown.
U-A-B	- Aaron 9-23-1, 120 yards and 1 touchdown. Cox 2-7-1, 13 yards.
Receiving
Cincinnati	- Vann 4-46, Keith 4-21, Jackson 2-70, Wize 1-9, Olinger 1-8.
U-A-B	- Little 5-64, Quinnie 4-36, White 2-33.

UC 31, Alabama-Birmingham 17 Dream becomes reality for UC walk-ons Martin, Big'O' share spotlight

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