Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati Dominate Boston College in 2020 Birmingham Bowl

Cincinnati ended its season on a high note after a 38-6 victory over Boston College in the 2020 Birmingham Bowl.

Desmond Ridder carried the offense with four total touchdowns on a rainy day at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, helping the team bounce back after consecutive losses to Memphis. The squad jumped out to a 24-0 lead and never looked back while rushing for 343 yards in a blowout victory.

Cincinnati (11-2) ends the year with its second straight 11-win season under Luke Fickell after the head coach took over a 4-8 squad in 2017.

Boston College (6-7) was trying to rally around interim coach Rich Gunnell, who was filling in for the fired Steve Addazio. However, the staff turnaround and the absence of star running back AJ Dillon was too much for the team to overcome.

Notable Stats

• Desmond Ridder, QB, CIN: 14-of-24, 95 passing yards, 1 TD, 105 rushing yards, 3 TDs
• Michael Warren II, RB, CIN: 21 carries, 105 rushing yards
• Malick Mbodj, WR, CIN: 3 catches, 17 receiving yards, 1 TD
• Dennis Grosel, QB, BC: 8-of-17, 87 passing yards
• David Bailey, RB, BC: 8 carries, 28 rushing yards
• Hunter Long, WR, BC: 2 catches, 45 receiving yards

Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati Thrive in Ugly Weather

The weather was a problem for both teams (and included a 92-minute lightning delay), but Cincinnati did the things necessary to take advantage.

The defense and special teams were as good as we have seen all year, making impact plays to change the game.

Bryan Wright was all over the field for the Bearcats defense and was one of the best players on either side of the ball.

Offensively, the passing game wasn't always working, but the team found ways to move the football thanks to the offensive line.

Desmond Ridder took advantage, rushing for two first-half touchdowns and finishing with 105 yards on the ground. He also got more comfortable as a passer in the second half and ended up leading four total scoring drives of at least 10 plays.

Once Michael Warren II got going alongside him, there was nothing Boston College could do to stop this offense.

The weather could've been enough to slow some teams down, but the Bearcats didn't have any problems Thursday.

Boston College Can't Generate Offense Without AJ Dillon

With 1,880 yards from scrimmage this season, AJ Dillon has twice as many as anyone else on the Eagles. The running back's 15 touchdowns were also seven more than runner-up David Bailey.

This made it an especially big loss when the junior announced last month he wouldn't compete in the bowl game in preparation for the NFL draft. It's not easy to replace 4,382 career rushing yards, especially after first-string quarterback Anthony Brown went down for the year with a torn ACL in October.

It left the Eagles unable to move the chains and overmatched against Cincinnati.

Bailey has a chance to be a key player in 2020, but he was held to just 28 rushing yards in the loss.

Dennis Grosel also found little success while completing 47 percent of his passes, with 40 of his 87 yards coming on one play to Hunter Long.

The only excitement from Boston College's perspective came on a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown.

It was a disappointing overall showing as the squad clinched just its second losing season in the last seven years.