CINCINNATI, Ohio — Under the lights at historic Nippert Stadium Saturday night, Cincinnati gave the home crowd plenty to celebrate.

After Western Carolina briefly grabbed the lead on the opening possession, the Bearcats took control and never gave it back, piling up 690 yards of offense in a 62-10 victory over the Catamounts.

From our spot inside Nippert, the game initially looked like it might take Cincinnati a little while to settle in.

Western Carolina took the opening possession 60 yards on 12 plays, keeping the football for more than six minutes before Bryan McCollum connected on a 33-yard field goal to give the Catamounts a 3-0 advantage.

That lead didn’t last long.

Cincinnati quarterback JC French IV answered by directing a methodical 13-play, 75-yard drive. French capped it by finding JV Gibson for a 5-yard touchdown, giving Cincinnati a 7-3 lead with 3:34 remaining in the first quarter.

It was the beginning of an extremely efficient night for French and the Bearcats’ offense.

Cincinnati put together another 75-yard touchdown drive early in the second quarter. This one lasted 12 plays and ended when French connected with tight end Lyviel Waters from 2 yards out, extending the lead to 14-3.

Western Carolina wasn’t finished yet.

Quarterback Lex Thomas led the Catamounts back down the field and eventually finished the drive himself with a 1-yard touchdown run. The extra point made it 14-10 with 6:23 remaining in the half, and for the moment Western Carolina was hanging around.

Then Cincinnati’s running game took over.

Cole Tabb broke through the Western Carolina defense for a 36-yard touchdown run, pushing the advantage to 21-10.

The Bearcats added another score just before halftime, and the setup was one of the biggest plays we saw all night.

French connected deep with Gibson for a 50-yard gain, putting Cincinnati in position to score again. On the next play, Zion Johnson went straight up the middle for a 3-yard touchdown with 40 seconds remaining.

Cincinnati went into the locker room leading 28-10 after scoring touchdowns on all four of its first-half possessions.

French was nearly flawless during that stretch, completing 17 of 18 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the opening half.

If Western Carolina had any hope of making things interesting after halftime, Cincinnati quickly took it away.

Gi’Bran Payne broke loose for a 40-yard touchdown with 9:15 remaining in the third quarter, giving the Bearcats a 35-10 advantage.

Less than five minutes later, Payne struck again.

This time he went 17 yards for the score, and Cincinnati’s lead grew to 42-10.

Payne, a Cincinnati native and Notre Dame transfer, finished with 102 yards on just 12 carries, averaging 8.5 yards per attempt while reaching the end zone twice. It marked his second consecutive 100-yard rushing performance to begin the season.

The Bearcats weren’t done producing explosive plays.

Zylan Perry added another 40-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, sending Cincinnati into the fourth with a commanding 49-10 advantage.

By then, the outcome was no longer in question and Cincinnati was able to work deep into its roster.

Quarterback Liam O’Brien entered and eventually scored on an 11-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Samaj Jones later finished the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run in the final minute.

When the night finally ended, Cincinnati had scored 59 unanswered points after Western Carolina’s opening field goal and walked off the field with a 62-10 victory.

The numbers showed just how dominant the Bearcats became.

Cincinnati outgained Western Carolina 690-241 and rushed for 418 yards on 49 carries. The 418 rushing yards were the sixth-most in a game in Cincinnati history and the program’s highest total since rushing for 419 against Xavier in 1970.

The 690 total yards were the fifth-most in program history and the most by Cincinnati during Scott Satterfield’s tenure.

French finished his night 21-of-24 passing for 245 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. At one point, he completed 13 consecutive passes.

Gibson caught five passes for 79 yards and a touchdown, while Malachi Henry led Cincinnati with 87 receiving yards on three catches.

But the story of the night was Cincinnati’s depth on the ground.

Payne rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns, Perry added 76 yards and a touchdown on only five carries, and Tabb finished with 72 yards and a score on five attempts. Six different Bearcats ultimately scored rushing touchdowns, tying a Big 12 record.

Western Carolina quarterback Lex Thomas finished 23-of-32 for 165 yards and added the Catamounts’ only touchdown on the ground. Cincinnati’s defense did not allow another point after Thomas’ score with 6:26 remaining in the second quarter.

What began with Western Carolina controlling the football and taking the first lead turned into a showcase of Cincinnati’s depth, speed and rushing attack.

And on a Saturday night at Nippert, once the Bearcats got rolling, there wasn’t much Western Carolina could do to slow them down.

Cincinnati improves to 2-0 and will remain in the city next weekend for the Battle for the Victory Bell against Miami (Ohio) at TQL Stadium.

Western Carolina falls to 1-2 and returns home to face Presbyterian.