By Brock Letchworth
Special to the Enquirer

Cincinnati's Blue Adams brings down East Carolina's Torey Morris. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Sophomore quarterback Gino Guidugli broke three Cincinnati single-season passing records and Jon Olinger tied a school record for touchdown catches in a game as the Bearcats captured their first conference championship in 38 years with a 42-26 victory over East Carolina at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium Friday night.

The Bearcats (7-6, 6-2) clinched a tie with Texas Christian for the Conference USA regular-season title, the first for a Cincinnati football team since the Bearcats won the Missouri Valley Conference in 1964.

It was Cincinnati's fifth win in its last six games, and it earned the Bearcats a bowl invitation for a school-record third straight season.

Guidugli continued to spread his name throughout the Cincinnati record books by eclipsing single-season records for pass attempts (438), pass completions (239) and passing yards in the game.

His 3,319 total yards this season surpassed Greg Cook's record of 3,272 set in 1968.

Guidugli also tied a Bearcats record for passing touchdowns in a single game with four.

East Carolina's Kent Nealy tackles Cincinnati's DeMarco McCleskey. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

After falling behind 3-0 early, the Bearcats jumped on the scoreboard just before the end of the first quarter when Blue Adams returned his sixth interception of the season 12 yards for a Cincinnati touchdown. It was the 12th interception of the senior's college career and led to his second touchdown of the season.

The East Carolina defense kept the potent offense of the Bearcats in check for most of the first half, but with just more than seven minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Bearcats broke a big play. On third-and-13 from the Cincinnati 22, Guidugli found Olinger alone behind the Pirates secondary for a 78-yard touchdown play that propelled the Bearcats to a 14-3 lead.

The Bearcats carried a 14-6 lead into the half despite gaining only three more yards of total offense than the Pirates did over the first two quarters.

The Bearcats' running game struggled to get going against the Pirates' defense in the half, gaining only 22 yards.

Both offenses heated up in the second half.

Cincinnati QB Gino Guidugli fires a pass downfield. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

East Carolina got a 20-yard touchdown run from Christshawn Gilliam in its second possession of the third quarter to pull within two points of UC, but the Bearcats didn't take long to respond.

On the ensuing possession, Guidugli hooked up with Olinger for a 49-yard touchdown pass that stretched the Cincinnati lead to nine.

The scoring did not stop there.

The Pirates used only two plays to pull closer. After a solid kick return, quarterback Paul Troth completed a pass to Torey Morris for 37 yards, and then Gilliam plowed into the end zone on a 4-yard run.

Gilliam finished with 158 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries for the Pirates.

Cincinnati went to the air in record-breaking fashion on its next drive.

On second-and-9, Guidugli found Olinger for a 48-yard touchdown. The completion gave Guidugli the yardage needed to break the school's single-season passing record, and Olinger tied the team's single-game touchdown reception record.

Cincinnati's Jon Olinger catches a touchdown pass despite the efforts of East Carolina's Reicko Jones. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

The Pirates managed to keep it close with a big play of their own early in the fourth quarter.

Troth connected with Richard Alston for a 56-yard touchdown completion that again brought the Pirates within two points of the lead, but Guidugli and the Bearcats would not be denied.

Guidugli put the game out of reach for Cincinnati with his fourth touchdown pass of the game. He connected with wide receiver George Murray across the middle, and the sophomore trotted in from 26 yards out for the final Bearcats score.

After the game, Cincinnati accepted a bid to play in the New Orleans Bowl, to be held in the Louisiana Superdome Dec. 17.

The Bearcats will face the Sun Belt Conference champion, North Texas.