CINCINNATI -- Indiana State trailed the Cincinnati Bearcats, two-time defending champions of the BIG EAST Conference by a slim 12-7 margin at the half, but UC rallied with four consecutive touchdowns in the third quarter to take a 40-7 victory over the Sycamores in front of 30,807 fans on an overcast day at Nippert Stadium.

ISU fell to 1-1 on the season while the Bearcats improved to 1-1.

Cincinnati scored the game's first 12 points, as Jacob Rogers connected on a 48-yard field goal with 9:32 left in the first quarter to cap off a six-play, 34-yard drive for the 3-0 advantage. The Bearcats then moved the ball 62 yards in eight plays as Zach Collaros hit Armon Binns on a 16-yard scoring pass on the first play of the second quarter to move the lead out to 10-0. A high snap over the head of quarterback Ronnie Fouch gave the Bearcats a safety for a 12-0 lead with 8:11 left before the half.

On the free kick following the safety, things got extremely interesting for ISU. Punter Santino Davis, who posted a pair of turnovers last year in the FBS contest at Louisville, got the first of two against Cincinnati as he forced a fumble on ensuing free kick which gave ISU the ball. The Sycamores couldn't take advantage but pinned the Bearcats deep in their own territory. Davis then forced his second fumble of the opening half which led to a four-play, 35-yard scoring drive which took 2:28 off the clock and was capped on an 18-yard pass from Fouch to Alex Jones to make it 12-7 with 2:10 left in the opening half.

ISU's defense held and forced a Bearcat punt. The Sycamores gained a pair of first downs and moved the ball near midfield until the half expired. 

The Bearcats led 12-7 at the half and marched down the field on a seven-play, 65-yard drive that used 1:56 on the clock and was capped with a three-yard touchdown run by Josh Goebel to stretch the lead out to 19-7. The Sycamores were limited to three plays and out on their first offensive drive after halftime and were forced to punt the ball back over to Cincy. The Bearcats added to their advantage with 8:22 left in the third quarter with their second touchdown of the third quarter to take the lead out to 26-7. Cincinnati scored on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Zach Collaros to Armon Binns.

Cincinnati had the advantage of short field to work with on their third drive on the third quarter following a bobbled deep snap. It took just two plays for the Bearcats to score their third touchdown of the period to make it 33-7 with 6:57 on the clock. John Goebel plowed into the end zone from two yards out to cap the short two-play, 10-yard drive. Cincinnati scored on its fourth consecutive possession to make it 40-7. UC's fourth score came on a two-yard run by Collaros to cap a five-play, 36-yard drive with 3:03 left in the third quarter.

ISU held defensively in the fourth quarter and was sparked by a long 50-yard run by freshman Shakir Bell which put the Sycamores down in the red zone for the second time in the period. ISU was able to come away with points, but did hold the Bearcats scoreless in the final stanza.

Indiana State was paced in rushing by Bell who finished the game with 10 rushes for 67 yards, including a long of 50. Bell averaged 6.7 yards per carry. Behind Bell's efforts was Darrius Gates who finished with 13 rushes for 40 yards, including a long of 13. Fouch was 23-of-38 for 161 yards and a touchdown in the contest. Bryant Kent had four catches for 34 yards while Leonard Riston had four catches as well. Endut Egberongbe posted three receptions for 37 yards while Alex Jones had three catches for 36 yards and a touchdown. Fouch found a total of 11 different receivers in the game.

Defensively, ISU was paced by Jacolby Washington with 10 total tackles, including eight solos. He added a tackle for loss into the mix as well. Larry King posted 10 tackles as well, including a forced fumble while Ryan Roberts had six and Ben Obaseki posted four. Both Obaseki and Roberts had a quarterback sack. Santino Davis forced one fumble off a free kick after a safaty and recovered another deep in Bearcat territory that led to ISU's touchdown.

Indiana State returns to action following an open week on September 25 when the Sycamores travel to Western Illinois for its Missouri Valley Conference opener. Kickoff from Macomb, Ill., is set for 4:05 p.m. (ET).