Cincinnati Bearcats running back Cole Tabb has been scoring machine

The junior transfer from Stanford by way of Fort Walton Beach, put his name in Cincinnati lore by dominating No. 8 Texas Tech with 173 rushing yards and two touchdowns, one by air, one by ground.

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His first score gave UC it's first lead at 10-6, a four-yard pass from JC French IV. His last, a 58-yard run, pretty much put the game on ice with just over six minutes left as UC went up 37-18. They would eventually win 37-24, their first win over a Top 10 team since taking down Notre Dame in 2021 in South Bend.

It was UC's biggest win under head coach Scott Satterfield since knocking off No. 14 Iowa State last season, 38-30.

Bearcats were minus Gi'Bran Payne, so Cole Tabb comes up big

Bi'Bran Payne had been UC's starting running back but left the West Virginia game early. Payne has 418 yards this season with three games over 100 yards. Tabb's third 100-plus-yard game this season was his best at 173 yards.

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That puts him at 448 yards, three more than what he had all of last season at Stanford. Against No. 8 Texas Tech, Tabb averaged 10.8 yards per carry, and he's averaging 8.1 yards per carry for the season.

During training camp, Payne, Tabb, Zylan Perry and Zion Johnson were running 1-A, B, C, D. Tabb, in the last two games had taken the reins in the backfield.

"You start playing games; whoever makes more plays is going to get more playing time," Satterfield said. "Cole Tabb's made a lot of plays in the last seven games."

Cerebral Cole Tabb sees big picture for Bearcats

The 5-foot-8, 200-pound speedster has a "next play" mentality and often the next play has been a big play. After scoring just three touchdowns the last two seasons, he now sits at a dozen to lead the Bearcats.

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But he continues to deflect praise.

"I think it's coaches trusting me in situations," Tabb said. "We have Zylan (Perry) making crazy plays on third down, and obviously G (Gi'Bran Payne) has been that guy the whole year. There's no real change of perspective for me. It's me knowing that we have the confidence that we have four guys that can go out and make plays, and it's awesome to have an offensive line that supports that and a defense to play lights out behind us."

Tabb's 58-yard run to ice the game with 6:06 left was the first rushing touchdown Texas Tech had given up all season. That was an emphasis for the offensive line.

"These guys are ranked; they feel like they can't be beat," guard Evan Tengesdahl said. "They have not been run on. That was our biggest motivation."

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Said JC French, "It makes my job a whole lot easier having a guy like him. He deserves everything that's coming to him. He's the hardest worker, every day. He's a leader in that running back room and on this team. Everything coming to him, he deserves 100%."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats running back Cole Tabb has been scoring machine