CINCINNATI — Not bad for a guy with a broken arm.

Playing with a soft cast protecting his surgically repaired left forearm, junior Tony Pike had one of his finest games last night, throwing a pair of touchdown passes and steadying Cincinnati's offense in a 24-10 victory over No. 24 South Florida.

Pike was sharp in his second game back since he broke his nonpassing arm, which is held together by a plate and six screws. A black wrap covered the removable cast that covers a 4-inch scar from the operation and softens the blows. He took several rattling hits and hung in there until the middle of the fourth quarter.

"He sees the whole field," said receiver Mardy Gilyard, who caught a 26-yard touchdown pass. "He does a good job of getting the offense going. When he's in there, everything is fluid."

Facing one of the conference's toughest defenses, Pike was 20-of-28 for 281 yards and two scores, including a 1-yard pass to Connor Barwin that put the Bearcats (6-2, 2-1 Big East) up 24-10 early in the fourth quarter.

South Florida (6-3, 1-3) was the last Big East team ranked in the Top 25.