Junior quarterback Chad Plummer rushed for 153 yards, passed for 131, and accounted for three touchdowns as UC came from behind to beat Tulsa 34-24 in its season-opener at Nippert Stadium on Thursday night.
A crowd of 17,591 - about half of capacity - watched as UC won an opener for the first time since 1993.
The Bearcats were a 9 1/2-point favorite, but had to overcome a 17-13 deficit in the third period.
"This football team came of age tonight, on account of how we won the game," UC coach Rick Minter said. "It's great that we had to come from behind to win. It shows the character of this team, and my hat's off to them."
UC, 6-5 each of the past two seasons, plays at Tulane (2-9 last year) next week. UC will shoot for its first 2-0 start since 1986.
"It beats the hell out of 0-1," Minter said of the opening win. "Wins don't come along very often around here, and I never met a win I didn't like. So we'll celebrate this one for a while."
Plummer, a 6-foot-3 junior, rushed 15 times for an average over 10 per carry, much of it on option plays. He ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, and directed a UC offense that pummeled Tulsa for 362 yards rushing. The school record is 464 in one game, set in 1953.
Tulsa, with its pass-oriented offense, rushed for only 88 yards but threw for 277.
"Plummer is a great talent," Tulsa coach Dave Rader said. "He ran the option well tonight. We didn't hold them enough . . . Their offensive line was pushing on us pretty much all night."
Tailback Robert Cooper rushed for 94 yards and a TD, fullback Landon Smith added 67 and a TD, and tailback Orlando Smith ran for 46 for UC.
"I didn't plan to run this much, but their secondary was covering our receivers pretty well," Plummer said. "Coach saw they had a weakness covering the option, so we went with that."
Minter did, in fact, plan to run Plummer a lot.
"We just didn't tell you," he told reporters. "We didn't want Tulsa to know. I figure if you've got an athletic quarterback, a weapon like that, you should use it. It puts more pressure on the defense."
The Bearcats intended to run against a Tulsa defense that ranked fifth-worst in the country last year, and run they did.
UC faced a 14-13 halftime deficit, thanks partially to a shaky kicking game that featured two botched snaps and a missed field goal.
Plummer, known primarily for his scrambling, became the first quarterback in UC history to rush for 100 yards in consecutive games, having rushed for 108 in the season finale in 1996.
Plummer threatened the UC school rushing record for a quarterback, 163 yards by Brig Owens in a 1964 game against Tulsa.
UC, despite top rusher Daryl Royal being sidelined with academic deficiencies, ran as if nothing were amiss. UC this year returned every starter on its offensive line and three of its top rushers, aside from Royal.
When Plummer ran in from one yard out to make it 27-17, it appeared UC was in good shape with 10:21 left. But Tulsa scored on a 6-yard run to make it 27-24 with 6:51 remaining.
Plummer iced it on a 7-yard TD run with 2:04 left, giving UC a 34-24 lead.
"We made a few mistakes," said UC safety Tinker Keck, who caused a first-half fumble. "But we'll come back ready for the Tulane game. It's just good to get a win."
Minter, who had been reminded for weeks about UC's embarrassing 34-14 loss to Tulane in its 1996 opener, said the Bearcats never forgot.
"Our offensive line dominated, and Chad Plummer showed he's a man," Minter said. "Our defense will play a lot better. There were some things wrong, and we'll address those. But we did what it takes to win."
Today's report
Tulsa takes defense to school
UC starts season on right foot Paul Daugherty column
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