HOUSTON (AP) Luke Fickell described No. 25 Cincinnati's fourth-straight victory as "not the prettiest thing in the world."

The Bearcats (5-1, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) used a 21-point first half to pull away early and Perry Young's late 2-yard interception return for a touchdown sealed a 38-23 road victory over Houston on Saturday.

"Nobody thought this was a trap game," Fickell said. "This is obviously a very good football team with some guys down and some guys that are redshirting. But they have a lot of talent. You can tell they have a lot of fight. Our guys fought back and, in the end, they had the ability to battle through some of those adverse situations."