The Cincinnati Bearcats opened the Big East conference's season with a resounding victory against the Pittsburgh Panthers 34-10 on Thursday night.
The two teams have played the Ohio River rivalry for the past seven years, but Thursday's game will be the last, with Pittsburgh leaving the Big East next season for the ACC.
The winner of the game receives a 96-pound replica of a riverboat telegraph that represents the rivalry. The trophy was created back in 2005 when Cincinnati entered the conference.
Quarterback Munchie Legaux had over 200 yards passing and two touchdowns. He led the team with 117 rushing yards and was making his first regular season start after going 2-1 last year as an injury replacement.
"I felt I showed everybody I can run this offense," Legaux told the Associated Press. "We call it the no-name offense. I felt I went out there and answered a lot of questions for people."
Cincinnati dominated the game from the start, including on a nearly 60-yard run from running back George Winn on the first play of the game. Winn ran for two touchdowns and had 95 yards rushing.
The Bearcats have won four of the last five games against Pittsburgh, who drop to 0-2 for the first time since the 2005 season. The Panthers had issues on offense all night and turned the ball over in the end zone on an interception from quarterback Tino Sunseri.
Sunseri was sacked six times but passed for 278 yards on 24 attempts. He drove the team to a touchdown in the fourth quarter with 30 seconds left to play, but it was too little too late for the Panthers.
Running back Ray Graham had 103 yards rushing for Pittsburgh, returning a season after he had reconstructive knee surgery.
Cincinnati had a 99-yard drive in the fourth quarter and also had a number of big plays, including the 58-yard touchdown run by Winn that opened the game.
With Pittsburgh set to move to the Big East next year, the Ohio River rivalry ends with Cincinnati keeping the riverboat trophy permanently. The Big East will look drastically different next year, with West Virginia having already left for the Big 12 and Syracuse moving to the ACC with the Panthers.
The teams take the rivalry very seriously and have played some epic games over the past seven seasons. In 2009 the two teams faced off in the snow late in the year and saw Cinincatti erase a 21-point deficit on their way to a 45-44 victory. The win put the Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl and sent the Panthers home empty handed.
"To end the rivalry here with a win and the trophy stays here, that's a blessing," said Legaux.
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