Bearcats win, but Pike sprains wrist

The eighth-ranked Bearcats got two touchdown passes from Pike before he left in the third quarter with a sprained left wrist, then backup Zach Collaros ran 75 yards for a score in a 34-17 victory over No. 21 South Florida last night.

Collaros squirted through an opening in the middle of the defense for the long touchdown three plays after replacing Pike. The senior injured his nonthrowing wrist late in the first half, then left after being hit as he released an incomplete pass on Cincinnati’s first possession of the second half.

Pike threw scoring passes of 3 and 8 yards to Armon Binns in the second quarter, helping the Bearcats (6-0, 2-0 Big East) to a 17-10 halftime lead.

The Bulls (5-1, 1-1) led early on B.J. Daniels’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Jessie Hester, and closed to 24-17 late in the third quarter when safety Nate Allen intercepted an ill-advised pass by Collaros to set up a 1-yard TD run by Daniels.

But Collaros, one of two freshmen quarterbacks who bailed Cincinnati out after two starters - Dustin Grutza and Pike - were injured early last season, was not rattled by the mistake. He came right back to lead a six-play, 70-yard scoring drive that restored the 14-point lead.

The big play in the march was a 43-yard completion to Ben Guidugli, who stretched out to get the ball over the goal line for an apparent touchdown. The tight end was penalized for taking his helmet off in the ensuing celebration. Then, officials reviewed the play and determined his elbow was down at the 1.

The penalty, which would have been assessed on the kickoff, moved the ball back to the 16. After USF gave the stalled drive new life with a pass interference penalty on third down, Collaros scored on a 3-yard run, making it 31-17.

Collaros finished with 132 yards rushing on 10 carries. Pike, who threw a TD pass for the 16th straight game, was 12 of 25 for 140 yards and no interceptions.

Pike was injured when he was hit attempting to pass on Cincinnati’s last possession of the half. He went to the locker room but returned for the first possession of the third quarter, wearing a protective sleeve on the wrist.

Coach Brian Kelly said Pike, who broke his left forearm last season and played with a plate and six screws that are still in place, will miss Cincinnati’s next game, at home Oct. 24 against Louisville.

The Bearcats have one of the most prolific quick-strike offenses in the nation.

They had the ball for just 16 and 19 minutes in victories over Fresno State and Miami (Ohio). They had one scoring drive of four seconds last night, set up by Aaron Webster’s interception and 83-yard return to the USF 3.

Pike’s first TD pass gave Cincinnati a 10-7 lead less than a minute into the second quarter. Binns’s diving 8-yard catch in the back of the end zone put the Bearcats up, 17-7.