Cincinnati, OH -- (Sports Network) - Tony Pike threw two touchdown passes and John Goebel had 121 total yards of offense and a score as the Cincinnati Bearcats toppled the 24th-ranked South Florida Bulls, 24-10, at Nippert Stadium.

Pike connected on 20-of-28 pass attempts for 281 yards and was intercepted once while Goebel scored on the ground where he gained 78 yards on 17 carries and also caught three balls for 43 yards.

Mardy Gilyard had four grabs for 98 yards and a score for the Bearcats (6-2, 2-1 Big East), who were coming off a crushing defeat, having been walloped by Connecticut, 40-16, on Saturday.

The win was Cincinnati's third straight over South Florida and helped elevate the school to a perfect 4-0 home mark this season. The Bearcats defense forced four turnovers and came up with two sacks in the win.

Matt Grothe struggled under center completing just 13-of-31 passes for 174 yards with three interceptions for the Bulls (6-3, 1-3), who were dealt a crushing defeat of a different kind this past Saturday when Louisville posted a 24-20 victory to dampen the school's BCS hopes. With consecutive conference losses, South Florida is now all but eliminated from the BCS picture and dropped to a game above the winless Syracuse Orange in the Big East conference standings.

Carlton Mitchell had four catches for 77 yards while Moise Plancher scored the lone touchdown on the ground as part of a 47-yard, eight-carry effort. Ben Williams led the rushing attack with 79 yards on 17 carries.

The Bulls were just 4-of-14 on third down conversions.