Cincinnati quarterback Brendon Kay's 83-yard touchdown strike to Travis Kelce with less than a minute remaining to break a 34-34 tie capped an entertaining Thursday night bowl between the Duke Blue Devils and Bearcats, as UC bested the Blue Devils, 48-34. The winning play:
2012 Belk Bowl results: Cincinnati rides Kay’s big night to Belk Bowl victory
Cincinnati’s Brendon Kay tosses four touchdowns, including a game-winning, 83-yard touchdown strike in Cincinnati’s 48-34 Belk Bowl victory.
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
The teams battled all night, but Cincinnati quarterback Kay's four touchdowns, including the all-important game winning strike after Duke fumbled the ball in the red zone with less than two minutes remaining, proved too much for Duke.
The final score doesn't represent the back-and-forth night, after Cincinnati's Nick Temple returned a Sean Renfree fumble for a touchdown with seconds remaining.
Duke burst out with 16 unanswered points to start the first quarter behind running back Brandon Connette and a touchdown on a blocked punt. Finally, with less than two minutes remaining in the opening quarter, the Bearcats got on the board with Tony Miliano's 45-yard field goal.
From there, the Bearcats reeled off 27 unanswered points to take what looked like a commanding 11-point lead with the Blue Devils struggling to score as Kay, who finished with 332 yards passing and 76 yards on the ground, shined brightly. But Duke woke back up just in time and the teams traded scores until the end of the game.
Renfree finished with 358 yards passing and helped the Blue Devils equalize the score before Cincinnati ended it with the final two touchdowns of the night.
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