TAMPA, Fla. — Tony Pike left the field clutching his non-throwing arm, and unbeaten Cincinnati’s high-powered, quick-strike offense kept rolling against South Florida.
The eighth-ranked Bearcats got two touchdown passes from their senior quarterback before he left in the third quarter with a sprained left wrist, then backup Zach Collaros ran 75 yards for the first of his two rushing TDs in a 34-17 victory over the 21st-ranked Bulls on Thursday night.
“We’re kind of accustomed to it, which isn’t a good thing. You never want to see your starting quarterback go down,” Collaros said.
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 plate that’s in there has shifted,” Kelly said, adding that it has not been determined whether the injury will require surgery. Pike will be examined by a specialist today.
Pike was injured 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 over South Florida (5-1, 1-1), which has lost six consecutive games against top-25 teams.
Collaros squirted through an opening in the middle of the defense for his long touchdown three plays after entering the game. And he led a six-play, 70-yard scoring drive that restored a 14-point lead.
“He’s a gamer. He’s a competitive kid,” Kelly said. “He’s athletic, and we did what we had to do with him in the game, and that was obviously run him, control clock, play good defense and get out of here with a win.”
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, and things got worse for the Bearcats when officials reviewed the play and determined his elbow was down at the 1.
The penalty 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 consecutive game, was 12-of-25 for 140 yards without an interception.
