Desmond Ridder threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another, and 25th-ranked Cincinnati scored 21 points off five turnovers to record a 38-23 victory over host Houston on Saturday.

Ridder completed 14 of 24 passes for 263 yards, and safety Ja'von Hicks had two interceptions and a fumble recovery as the Bearcats (5-1, 2-0 AAC) won their fourth straight game.

Clayton Tune went just 9 of 27 for 184 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions for the Cougars (2-4, 0-2). Houston also received a scoring strike when Bryson Smith connected with fellow wideout Jeremy Singleton on a 50-yard pass in the second quarter.

Ridder wasted little time making his presence felt as he kept the ball on a quarterback option and scampered 13 yards off tackle for a touchdown on Cincinnati's first possession.

The Bearcats answered Houston's 31-yard field goal by scoring on their next play from scrimmage, with Rashad Medaris reeling in Ridder's pass and bolting up the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown.

Singleton hauled in Smith's touchdown pass to trim the Cougars' deficit to 14-10 early in the second quarter, but Hicks' second interception of the game set up tight end Josiah Deguara's 15-yard touchdown reception.

Houston struck early in the third quarter as Marquez Stevenson ran under a long pass from Tune for a 69-yard touchdown, but Hicks derailed any momentum on Houston's next drive by recovering Terrell Brown's fumble at the Cougars' 34.

Cincinnati then converted a third-and-18 thanks to an unnecessary roughness penalty on Houston's Amaud Willis-Dalton to set up Michael Warren bulling his way in from 11 yards out to give Cincinnati a 28-17 lead.

Tune found tight end Christian Trahan in the corner of the end zone on a 6-yard score to once again trim the deficit, but Ridder had a pair of long runs to convert back-to-back third downs to set up Sam Crosa's 32-yard field goal with 4:27 remaining.

Houston's attempt to answer was thwarted as Tune's pass was batted in the air at the line and hauled in by linebacker Perry Young for a 2-yard touchdown with 3:28 left.

--Field Level Media