CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Northwestern State football team's second visit in as many weeks to a power-conference opponent played out much like the first.
 
The Demons were snowed under by a first-quarter offensive output as Cincinnati scored five times in the first stanza en route to a 70-0 victory inside historic Nippert Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
 
"You want to compete every time you go out," second-year head coach Blaine McCorkle said. "You want to learn, and you want to get better. That's what I wanted our guys to do today. You look at the game – our guys didn't tackle very well. We were a very poor tackling team. We didn't wrap up. We didn't run our feet. We didn't do what we've been coached to do. Other than that, the last two weeks, we've done what we're supposed to do. We're going home, and we're getting ready for Prairie View A&M."
 
Bearcat quarterback Brendan Sorsby tossed five touchdowns in the first quarter, including a 21-yard strike to Joe Royer on the fourth play of the game that set the tone for Cincinnati's fast start.
 
Sorsby finished 15-for-15 for 253 yards and six total touchdowns, adding a 23-yard rushing score in the second quarter.
 
The Demon offense struggled to sustain drives in the opening quarter, leaving the Northwestern defense to defend short fields. The final three Cincinnati (2-1) scoring drives of the first quarter covered a total of 117 yards.
 
Northwestern began to find its offensive footing at the end of the first quarter, putting together its longest drive since the Aug. 28 season-opening victory against Alcorn State.
 
The Demons collected their initial first down of the game on quarterback Abram Johnston's 7-yard run on a second-and-1 and kept the drive going on an 11-yard pass to tight end Luke Carter and an 8-yard Kolbe Burrell rush that converted a second-and-5 and moved Northwestern to the Cincinnati 35-yard line.
 
A pair of incompletions and a 2-yard loss pushed the Demons out of field goal range and end the deepest first-half push into Bearcat territory.
 
Northwestern made another bid to crack the scoreboard across the third and fourth quarters.
 
Thanks to a facemask penalty on a third down and a fourth-down conversion run by Myion Hicks, the Demons built an 11-play, 44-yard march that came to an end at the Cincinnati 31 as the Bearcats stood up and denied Northwestern a second successful fourth-and-1 run.
 
A week ago against Minnesota, Northwestern's longest drive lasted six plays and its longest by yardage was 15 yards.
 
Similarly, the Demons cut down on their turnovers. A week after losing the turnover battle by three after committing four turnovers, Northwestern had the game's lone giveaway – a first-quarter fumble at the Demon 30 that led to Sorsby's fifth and final touchdown pass – an 8-yard pop pass to Isaiah Johnson.
 
"We ran the ball in spots a little bit better," McCorkle said. "I believe we have an offense that, at our level, will be able to run the ball, move it and do some things. I'm excited to see them play against our level of competition pretty quick."
 
The Demons return to action next week when they cap a three-game road trip with a matchup at Prairie View A&M.  Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.