News Archive for Cincinnati

Tebow wants to prove them wrong again.

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Tim Tebow is getting set to show off his skills as a quarterback in next weeks Senior Bowl in Mobile Alabama. Tebow is more than determined to show the scouts and any Pro personnel that he has the tolls and attitude to be a Pro quarterback. This is not the first time that people have doubted him…

Tebow has been told all his football career that he does not have what it takes to be a quarterback. It started in high school, college and now the majority of Pro people in the know think that he would be better suited as a tight end or H-back. He has also been motivated by proving people wrong, I think it has worked out for him so far.

Tebow has two NCAA championships as well as the 2007 Heisman trophy to back up his quarterback play.What you can’t measure is the heart that he plays with. His intensity and wanting to win at all costs is somethoing special in him. He is a true leader on the field ,and his teammates respond to him. The quarterback is the leader of the football team, that is Tim Tebow. I love the way he plays and would love nothing more to see him behind center someday in the NFL.

Tebow’s last college game could of not been better played as a quarterback. In the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day, Tebow lead his Florida Gators to a lopsided 51-24 over Cincinnati. His stats were ever more impressive than the win. He went a incredible 31-35 for 482 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for another 51 yards and another touchown. He played nearly perfect football. This is a indication of his determination and skills to play quarterback at the next level. He is truly a unique athlete.

Scouts will say that Tebow is too lanky at 6-3 and 245. He has played the majority of snaps out of the shotgun formation and does short of throw side armed. He does have a tendacy to maybe hang on the ball at times. These are some of the things that have the Scouts doubt his play as a quarterbck in the Pros.Doubt is what he thrives on. The scouts need to have the confidence that Tebow can make the adjustments at the pro level. I think he has the intellect and drive to someday be a pro starting quarterback. I think he will need a little tool-age and seasoning in order for this to happen. Don’t bet against Tim Terrific.

Tim Tebow will be fired up to prove them wrong again.

Tim Tebow will be fired up to prove them wrong again.

Tebow will be out to prove them wrong again.

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Posted in Cincinnati University, Florida University, college football | No Comments »

Kiffin Era Begins With Scandal On His Way Out Door

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

ESPN’s Chris Low is reporting that it didn’t take long for Lane Kiffin to kick dirt in the face of his former employer, the University of Tennessee.  After being done a huge favor by the Vols after his tumultuous tenure at the Oakland Raiders, Kiffin held a press conference announcing his resignation.  Apparently Kiffin had his top assistant and head of recruiting, Ed Orgeron, contact Tennessee recruits to encourage them to come to USC.  Orgeron will be joining the USC staff under Kiffin.

Based on the report from ESPN’s Low, Tennessee defensive lineman Marlon Walls overheard Orgeron making calls to incoming freshman recruits, pitching the players on coming to USC and not finalizing enrollment at the university.  Specifically, Orgeron has been accused of tell the incoming recruits that if they attend class, your ability to transfer and play for USC becomes more difficult.  Tennessee official responded by turning off Orgeron’s university-issued cell phone and provided Kiffin a police-assisted escort off the campus.

Orgeron's Behavior Demand New Rules

Orgeron's Behavior Demand New Rules

The behavior brings forward serious issues with NCAA rules and it calls for changes.  The Presidents and Athletic Directors of various universities have spit in the face of the governing body with their aggressive actions to steal coaches from other universities without repercussions.  And with this, the lives of teenagers are being tremendously affected by the greed and lack of sportsmanship displayed by these actions.

While a university should be able to go out and seek the best coach possible for their program, such activity needs to be done with professionalism.  In December, Notre Dame hired away Brian Kelly from Cincinnati in the middle of an undefeated football season.  Cincinnati then responded by hiring Central Michigan’s head coach before their bowl game.

Where do we set the line that shouldn’t be crossed?

Kiffin and Orgeron just showed the NCAA where the line should be set.  If Orgeron’s action had been conducted in the business world, he would be getting sued for tortuous interference of contractual duties.  When you are a business executive leaving, you legally can’t intentionally hurt your former employer on the way out the door.

In the instance here with Orgeron, they found the loophole in the NCAA rules that needs to be closed.  Many football recruits, the blue-chippers, have begun a process of graduating early from high school by taking community college courses and summer classes to graduate in December.  This allows the recruit to enroll during the spring semester and be available for Spring practice.

To ensure this never happens again, the NCAA rules change needed is simple.  First, require that any student that participates in Spring football practice must be starting their second semester at the school.  Second, once a player provides an oral commitment to a university, any departing coach involved in that player’s recruitment is barred from making contact.  If the player wants to follow the coach, they must forfeit one year’s eligibility.

The NCAA needs to get this back to a student athlete signing on with the university, not the coach.

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Posted in Southern Cal University, Tennessee University, college football | 21 Comments »

Longhorns Blowout Loss Will Bring Cries For Playoff

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Let’s face it, the BCS system is broken.

The Texas Longhorns are one of the most undeserving championship game combatants in some time.  That is quite a great feat considering how often Oklahoma and Ohio State have crashed the party in recent years.  Tonight’s game will be a mismatch of great proportions and it will serve as a final statement as to why NCAA football needs a playoff system.

Texas Taints The Title

Texas Taints The Title

Texas got this opportunity simply because of their preseason ranking, not due to the quality of the football results on the field.  Texas began the season pre-ranked #2 in the polls and ended in the same spot.  Texas got beat by Nebraska, no matter what it said on the scoreboard, but the pollsters and computer rankings didn’t apply the reality we all saw on the field.

In contrast, Boise State, TCU and Cincinnati had to claw their way forward after being dismissed in the early polls.   Each of those team’s were more deserving of tonight’s matchup, as much the same for the Florida Gators.   You have to cut Cincinnati some slack on their loss, as they were reeling from their coach being stolen by Notre Dame, but the other three teams displayed championship quality football on the field in their bowl games.

A playoff is needed to ensure that the best two teams make it into the final game.  This not just for the fans, its for the players that are leaving it all out on the field.  When Alabama celebrates another national championship tonight, their title will be diminished because they never played Boise State.  The kids at both schools deserve better than how the NCAA is treating them.

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Posted in Alabama University, Boise State University, Cincinnati University, Florida University, Texas Christian University, Texas University, college football | 1 Comment »

Will Tebow’s Finale Be Sweet As Sugar?

Friday, January 1st, 2010

One of the greatest players in college football history will write his final chapter this evening as Tim Tebow closes out his career with the Florida Gators.  Given the press coverage of the game, you wouldn’t know it.   The headlines of the game have focused on issues regarding each team’s respective head coach rather than Tebow getting his fourth consecutive bowl victory.

Tebow Closes Out Historic Career

Tebow Closes Out Historic Career

Tebow’s departure will leave a gaping hole on a team where the talent level has clearly declined over the course of the last four years.  That talent deficit was hidden by Tebow’s leadership, but was exposed as the Gators were hammered by Alabama 32-13 in the SEC Championship.  That defeat and Tebow’s departure will likely accelerate the decision of Florida’s top underclassmen to declare early for the NFL Draft.

That’s enough to give Urban Meyer another anxiety attack.

But the focus tonight should be a celebration of what Tim Tebow has meant to college football.  The fire is his eyes, his pure athleticism, his determination to win.  These are all things we will miss after the final gun sounds tonight.  Just take a look at some of Tebow’s accomplishments:

  • Heisman Trophy Winner
  • 3x finalist for Heisman Trophy
  • Two NCAA Championships
  • Three SEC Championships
  • 2x Maxwell Award Winner
  • NCAA First Team All-American
  • NCAA Academic All-American
  • 1st Player in NCAA history to score 20 Rushing TDs and throw 20 passing TDs in a season.
  • SEC record for Total Offense in a season
  • SEC record for Most Touchdowns, Career
  • SEC record for Most Touchdowns, Season
  • SEC record for Most Touchdowns, Game
  • SEC record for Most Rushing Touchdowns, Career
  • SEC record for Most Rushing Touchdowns, Season
  • SEC record for Passing Efficiency, Career
  • SEC record for Lowest Interception Rate, Career

The list can go on much longer, but lets leave it here.

NFL scouts say that Tim Tebow has no future at the next level.  That his intangibles don’t make up for his lack of pocket passing skills.  That he is a product of a system that has a proven failure in Alex Smith. That his arm motion doesn’t translate.  Or that his arm strength and accuracy just don’t measure up.

Pish Posh!

The Sugar Bowl serves as his final national television to silence the doubters with a masterful performance.  Expect Tebow to show up big and send notice to the NFL scouts that his intelligence, internal drive and ability to win make a future star at the professional level.

Tebow is a special player for the ages.  Let hope we get to enjoy him for many years to come in the NFL.

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Posted in Cincinnati University, Florida University, college football | No Comments »

How will the Pitt Panthers rebound from devastation?

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

The story line of todays Car Care Meineke Bowl  is how the Pitt Panthers will rebound with one of the their most devastating defeats in the history of their program. Pit is coming off a loss to Cincinnati in the Big East Championship game. Pitt had a 21 point lead and a 14 point fourth quarter lead before eventually losing 45-44 in front of their home crowd..Too add insult to injury, Pitt’s holder botched the extra point that would of had the game into overtime. Instead of playing a BCS game, the Sugar Bowl, Pitt finds themselves in Charlotte today facing North Carolina. What a difference a extra point can make.

How will Dave Wannstedt have his Pitt Panthers motivated in today's Car Care Meineke Bowl?

How will Dave Wannstedt have his Pitt Panthers motivated in today's Car Care Meineke Bowl?

Pitt is (9-3) and 17th ranked. They are lead by their sensational freshman running back Dion Lewis. Lewis is the Big East Offensive Player Of The Year. He will be going up against North Carolina’s 6th nationally ranked defense and 9th against the run. He will be a key factor in taking the pressure off their  senior quarterback Bill Stull. Stull  and his fellow seniors are more than ready to answer the question from that last loss and wants to go out a winner as a Pitt Panther. I also want to see how Pitt’s coach Dave Wannstedt will motivate his team after that devastating loss. He has something to prove in this Bowl game.

I think Pitt will come up big in front of the Carolina home crowd and show that they have the character to rebound from the Big East Championship loss. They have too much talent and pride to go out losers this year. This time rebounding will occur in football and not basketball.

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Posted in Cincinnati University, North Carolina University, Pittsburgh University, college football | No Comments »

College Bowl Game Predictions

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

BSCThe college bowl schedule kicks off today with two opening games on the schedule as Wyoming meets Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl and Central Florida hooks up with Rutgers in the St. Petersburg Bowl.   College football fans will be treated to 34 games over 20 days culminating with Alabama and Texas deciding this year’s national champions.

This year’s matchups pair what appear to be some with three teams favored by double-digit spreads and twelve team favored by a touchdown or more.  While Vegas is seeing a lot of mismatches, there appears to be some great upsets brewing.   I am projecting right now seven underdogs achieving outright victories and sixteen underdogs covering the spread.

My biggest underdog covers include SMU, Boston College, Northwestern, East Carolina and Boise State.  My biggest underdog outright victories are Texas A&M and Stanford.

Bowl Matchup Spread Winner Cover
New Mexico Bowl Wyoming vs. Fresno State Fresno State by 11 Fresno State Fresno State
St. Petersburg Bowl Central Florida vs. Rutgers EVEN Central Florida Central Florida
New Orleans Bowl Middle Tenn St vs.Southern Miss Southern Miss by 4 Southern Miss Middle Tenn St
Las Vegas Bowl BYU vs. Oregon State Oregon State by 3 BYU BYU
Poinsettia Bowl Utah vs. California EVEN Utah Utah
Hawaii Bowl SMU vs. Nevada Nevada by 15 Nevada SMU
Little Caesars Bowl Ohio vs. Marshall Ohio by 3 Ohio Ohio
Meineke Care Bowl North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh Pittsburgh by 3 Pitt North Carolina
Emerald Bowl Boston College vs. USC USC by 9 USC BC
Music City Bowl Kentucky vs. Clemson Clemson by 7½ Clemson Clemson
Independence Bowl Texas A&M vs. Georgia Georgia by 7 Texas A&M Texas A&M
Eagle Bank Bowl UCLA vs. Temple EVEN Temple Temple
Champs Sports Bowl Wisconsin vs. Miami Miami by 3 Miami Miami
Humanitarian Bowl Bowling Green vs. Idaho Bowling Green by 2 Bowling Green Bowling Green
Holiday Bowl Nebraska vs. Arizona Arizona by 1½ Nebraska Nebraska
Armed Forces Bowl Air Force vs. Houston Houston by 4½ Air Force Air Force
Sun Bowl Stanford vs. Oklahoma Oklahoma by 8 Stanford Stanford
Texas Bowl Navy vs. Missouri EVEN Navy Navy
Insight Bowl Iowa State vs. Minnesota Minnesota by 3 Minnesota Minnesota
Chick Fil-A Bowl Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech Virginia Tech by 4½ Virginia Tech Tennessee
Outback Bowl Northwestern vs. Auburn Auburn by 7½ Auburn Northwestern
Capital One Bowl LSU vs. Penn St. Penn St. by 3 Penn State Penn State
Gator Bowl Florida State vs. West Virginia West Virginia by 3 West Virginia West Virginia
Rose Bowl Ohio State vs. Oregon Oregon by 3½ Oregon Oregon
Sugar Bowl Cincinnati vs. Florida Florida by 11 Florida Florida
International Bowl Northern Illinois vs. South Florida South Florida by 7 South Florida South Florida
Papa John’s Bowl Connecticut vs. South Carolina South Carolina by 4½ Connecticut Connecticut
Cotton Bowl Mississippi vs. Oklahoma State Mississippi by 3 Oklahoma State Oklahoma State
Liberty Bowl Arkansas vs. East Carolina Arkansas by 8 Arkansas East Carolina
Alamo Bowl Michigan State vs. Texas Tech Texas Tech by 8 Texas Tech Texas Tech
Fiesta Bowl Boise State vs. TCU TCU by 7 TCU Boise State
Orange Bowl Iowa vs. Georgia Tech Georgia Tech by 4 Georgia Tech Iowa
Gmac Bowl Troy vs. Central Michigan Central Michigan by 3 Central Michigan Central Michigan
BCS Championship Texas vs. Alabama Alabama by 5 Alabama Alabama

Looking at conference performance, here’s how I see it playing out:

Bowl Matchup
Atlantic Coast 4-3
Big East 4-2
Big Ten 2-4
Big 12 4-4
C-USA 2-4
Mountain West 4-1
Pac-10 3-4
Southeastern 4-6
Western Athletic 2-2

The SEC might be the power conference, but they got some unfavorable matchup.  I think the Big 12 and Big East are going to surprise some opponents.  The Mountain West is going to do some damage and really stoke the argument that they deserve an automatic BCS invite.

As for the National Championship game, I am seeing a major blowout.  Given Texas’ performance against ranked opponents and closing out its season on some very poor play, this just seems like a mismatch of grand proportion.  TCU and Cincinnati were much more deserving of a spot in the Championship Game and Alabama is going to apply a major smackdown that will likely drop Colt McCoy’s NFL stock drop tremendously when he loses the game single-handedly.

Overall, this bowl season looks to be exciting.  We have a lot of underdogs with solid shots at upsets which should make the next 20 days enjoyable for all to watch.

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Notre Dame’s Rogue Actions Call For NCAA Rule Changes

Friday, December 11th, 2009
Brian Kelly Is All Smiles After Turning His Back On the Cincy Players

Brian Kelly Is All Smiles After Turning His Back On the Cincy Players

After a sensational season led by Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard, the Cincinnati Bearcats football squad ran the table and are entering the Sugar Bowl undefeated.  Awaiting them is a matchup against last year’s champion Florida Gators and the greatest college football player of all-time, Tim Tebow.  With a blowout victory, they could still lay some claim to being the best team in college football.  It should be a time of celebration for these kids,  Instead, the Fighting Irish decided to be the Grinch.

Notre Dame got its coach.  Brian Kelly got his dream job.  And the Cincinnati football players got screwed.  Something just feels wrong about how all this went down.

Speculation has been building for weeks that Notre Dame would axe its head coach Charlie Weis and aggressively pursue the hottest coaching commodity in college football, Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly.  Notre Dame was mum.  Kelly dismissed the rumors as lies created by the media.  Both sides kept their poker faces as rumors grew louder and louder.  Despite the distractions, the Cincinnati players pulled off a miraculous 45-44 comeback  victory against Pitt to a earn a potential shot at the championship.

After the Pitt game, Gilyard responded to Fanhouse.com that “We ain’t going to lose him.  He ain’t going nowhere. He already addressed the team on that a couple of days ago.  That’s dust under the rug. It’s been popping up everywhere. Coach, he didn’t shy away from it. Coach said, ‘Listen guys, I’m here. I’m here to stay. I like you guys. I like the city. I like my team.’”

Then the BCS announcements were made, Cincinnati was left looking in from the outside as an overrated, undeserving Texas squad took their spot in the big game.  When the championship game opportunity was taken from Kelly, he began his sellout process, took the money and ran.

The worst part is how Kelly and the university officials at Cincinnati handled the affair.  The football squad held their team awards banquet, and at the end of the event announced Kelly’s departure to the team and would be leaving immediately instead of coaching the kids at the Sugar Bowl.   Team MVP Mardy Gilyard and other players stormed out of the banquet in disgust.

Interviewed shortly after the banquet Gilyard’s tune had changed.  Speaking to the Associate Press, Gilyard shared “He went for the money.  I’m fairly disgusted with the situation, that they let it last this long.  I don’t like it.  I feel there was a little lying in the thing. I feel like he’d known this the whole time. Everybody knows Notre Dame’s got the money. I kind of had a gut feeling he was going to stay just because he told me he was going to be here.”

How is this fair to a group of kids whose only consideration offered is a scholarship in return for services that generate millions of dollars for their universities?  The kids have invested their hearts and souls to become champions and their coach turned his back on them for big dollars while the players are restricted from monetary opportunities or they lose their eligibility.

It is time for the NCAA to institute rules around hiring coaches whose teams are still completing their seasons.  In the NFL, teams are not allowed to interview or hire assistant coaches from teams that are currently still in the playoff hunt at season’s end.  Why should college bowl games be given any less consideration.

The NCAA should strongly consider apply similar rules so instances such as this gross misbehavior by Notre Dame and Brian Kelly, driven solely by monetary greed, doesn’t negatively impair the sport and contributions made by these great kids who reap none of the benefits outside of a free education.

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Posted in Cincinnati University, Notre Dame University, college football | 10 Comments »

Irish to Irish

Friday, December 11th, 2009

Notre Dame hired a new coach this week and his name is Brian Kelly. I think that they hired the right guy in their hopes of bringing a winning tradition back to the school. Kelly lead Cincinnati to a perfect 12-0 record this season and a impressive 34-6 over the last three years. Cincinnati is headed to the Sugar bowl against Florida. While I agree that he is the right man for the job, I am not happy that he will not be coaching his team in the game. This is his decision and whether it is not a sound moral decision, it does not take away from the fact that he is a solid coach that has what  it takes to turn around things in South Bend.

Will Brian Kelly bring back winning to the Irish?

Will Brian Kelly bring back winning to the Irish?

Kelly will inspire passion and purpose from his players and will get the most from them when the game is on the line. Cincinnati pulled out close victories against the likes of Connecticut 2, West Virginia 3, and the last minute victory by 1 over Pittsburgh to give them the Big East Championship and a perfect regular season. In contrast, Notre Dame lost a bunch of close games under Charlie Weis. They were defeated by 4 by Michigan, 7 by USC, 2 by Navy, 5 by Pitt and 7 by Stanford. All these games could have been wins.

Kelly will bring that toughness and will to win those close games when the victory is on the line.

Notre Dame is a dismal 16-21 over the last three seasons. Kelly will be looking to improve on that. He does have the cards stacked against him a bit, because Notre Dame loses its QB Jimmy Clausen and his top receiver Golden Tate. He rebuilt Cincinnati. I think he will do the same for the Irish and restore pride and winning back to the school with the golden dome.

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Posted in Cincinnati University, Connecticut University, Florida University, Michigan University, Notre Dame University, Pittsburgh University, Southern Cal University, Stanford University, West Virginia University, college football | No Comments »

Texas Undeserving of BCS Title Game, Whose To Blame?

Sunday, December 6th, 2009
Colt McCoy Steers An Undesjavascript:;erving Texas To BCS Title Game

Colt McCoy Steers An Undeserving Texas To BCS Title Game

Very few college football fans will disagree that Texas University is questionable at best of deserving the opportunity to play in the BCS National Championship title game.  Talk with a handful of people, you’ll hear backing for TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State consistently in the conversation.  With 3 other undefeated teams on the outside looking in, the calls for a playoff system are sure to blow up at the end of this college football season.

But is the BCS system really to blame?

In actuality, the BCS system is just a mathematical model…nothing more.  It combines data inputs from various polls, both human and computer, to give weight to multiple voices in the debate.  Its democracy in action.  The only drawback is the included conferences / at-large bid issues that determine who plays, which doesn’t impact the final two choices at all.

People are up in arms once again that perhaps the wrong teams are playing in the final game.  The BCS is not to blame, it is the people casting votes in the polls and the inappropriate weight being applied to certain conferences.  The story behind Texas getting into this title game details the problem.

Texas began the season rated #2 in both the coaches poll and AP poll.  Alabama leapfrogged Texas in the AP poll during week 6 after a dominating victory over Ole Miss, but it maintained the #3 spot until the final poll.   Those voting in these polls maintained a standard that you don’t drop until you are beaten, regardless of schedule or opponent.  And this rang extremely true for Texas.

The first signs of trouble in Austin showed up in Game 3, when Texas got outplayed on the field but took the victory on the scoreboard against Texas Tech.  Next up was the pathetic showing against an Oklahoma squad which lost its Heisman Trophy winning quarterback early in the first quarter.  Then came the Thanksgiving Night embarrassment against Texas A&M where the #3 defense in NCAA football was lit up for 532 yards.  Finally, they win a nail-biter against Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship game while displaying embarrassing clock management on the game-winning drive.

Despite the evident lackluster results on the field, none of the voters deemed it necessary to drop Texas a peg when teams like TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State racked up impressive performances one after another.  In fact, two AP voters and four Coaches poll voters still believe Texas is the best team in the country.   These voters disregarded what was seen on the field and cast their vote based solely on the fact Texas escaped with a victory.   Due to this short-sightedness, we are robbed of seeing a more fitting national championship game.

More concerning is that Texas got a pass on a weak schedule.  Loading its schedule with patsies like Louisiana-Monroe, Wyoming and UTEP, all of which failed to post winning records in second-tier conferences.  Its toughest non-conference foe was UCF, which is not saying much.  As for the Big 12 conference this year, calling it a down year is being nice.

On the other hand, TCU posted impressive victories over BYU and Utah, Boise State scored a big victory over Oregon and Cincinnati has shown mettle all year long with tremendous 4th quarter performances.

So in the end, it is not the BCS that is to blame, it is the people filling out the polls.  The BCS just computes what the voters submit.  And we can blame the six people that voted Texas #1 in the two human polls from robbing TCU, Cincinnati, and Boise State, whom on their merits earned the right to play in the big game much more than Texas with their performance on the field.

They just didn’t get the proper recognition in the preseason polls as Texas did and are now being punished for it.

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Posted in Alabama University, Boise State University, Cincinnati University, Texas Christian University, Texas University, college football | 2 Comments »

Cincinnati Pulls Off Thriller, National Championship Hopes Still Alive

Saturday, December 5th, 2009
Mardy Gilyard Speaks Cincinnati Comeback

Mardy Gilyard Speaks Cincinnati Comeback

The National Championship hopes of Cincinnati were almost dashed by an upstart Pitt defense, pulling off a huge comeback victory at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA.  With its 45-44 victory, Cincinnati earned an automatic bid to a BCS bowl game and must await the results of the Big 12 Championship game between Texas and Nebraska.   A Texas loss will likely lead to Cincinnati earning an invite to the Rose Bowl and a shot at the national championship.

Flustered by the Pitt defense, the high-powered Cincinnati offense failed to fire as it had all season leading up to the Big East championship game, often looking unprepared and out of sync.  Entering the game, Cincinnati led the NCAA in least turnovers, having only 2 fumbles lost and 5 interceptions for the entire season.  Heisman Trophy candidate Tony Pike committed three interceptions that hamstrung his team and led to a sideline verbal altercation with head coach Brian Kelly.

Pitt initiated its game plan to perfection in the first half, feeding the ball to its star running back Dion Lewis 12 times on the opening drive as Pittsburgh got on the board first at 7-0.   Cincinnati responded quickly on the next drive with a quick touchdown drive, highlighted  by 40 yard run by Isaiah Pead, to tie the score at 7-7.

Riding the legs of Lewis, Pitt fed the ball over and over again to their offensive stud, driving them down the field before a 22 yard TD pass from Bill Stull to Jonathan Baldwin to open the second quarter.  Cincinnati once again moved quickly down the field, but was halted by a terrific goal line stand by Pitt, settling for a field goal to bring the score to 14-10.

The momentum shifted fast into the direction of Pitt, as Stull completed a 23-yard pass to Mike Shanahan, followed by a 40 yard touchdown strike to Baldwin that gave Pitt a 21-10 lead.  Cincinnati went to the air to close the gap, but Pike was intercepted on a sideline thrown by Dom Decicco.  Pitt seized the opportunity feeding the ball once again to Lewis and scoring a field goal to extend their lead to 24-10.  On the ensuing drive, the Pittsburgh defense held serve again.  Cincinnati punter Jake Rogers then mishandled the punt snap and Pittburgh took over on downs at the Cincinnati 5.  Pittsburgh quickly capitalized with a 3 yard plunge by QB Stull to extend the lead to 31-10.

Looking down-and-out, Cincinnati needed a big play to shift the momentum.  All-American WR Mardy Gilyard responded by returning the kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to close the gap to 31-17.  The Cincinnati defense then came up big, getting a stop deep in Pitt territory with time running out.  A poor Pitt punt, combined with a 15-yard personal foul gave Cincinnati the ball on the Pitt 35.  QB Tony Pike then telegraphed a rollout pass that was intercepted by Elijiah Field.  On the very next play, Pitt turned the ball back over when Stull was intercepted by Cincinnati’s Aaron Webster as the first half came to an end.

Cincinnati got on the board first in the second half, with Tony Pike engineering another scoring drive which was highlighted by a 68-yard catch and run by Gilyard to bring the score to 31-24.  Pitt coach Dave Wannestedt kept with his conservative approach, grinding it out on the ground, but not with the same success as in first half, as Cincy got the ball back again after holding Lewis in check.

Following a great 50-yard punt out-of-bounds by Pitt’s Dan Hutchins, Cincy went back on offense with a quick attack mentality.  After a 7 yard rush by Pead and 16 yard catch by Armon Binns, Pike made an ill-advised heave down field that was intercepted by Pitt’s Jarred Holley at the Pitt 17.  As Pike came of the field, heated words were exchanged between Pike and Coach Brian Kelly.  Kelly called for backup QB Zach Collaros to begin warming up on the sidelines, signaling an end to Tony Pike’s day at the helm.

As the game moved into 4th quarter, fireworks exploded as the teams went back and forth with scoring drives.  Cincinnati sent Tony Pike back on the field to finish what he started and Coach Brian Kelly was not to be disappointed in his decision.   Pitt struck first with a 15-yard touchdown run by Lewis to make the score 38-24 with 12:26 to go.  Cincy’s Gilyard once again stood up and delivered a 49 yard kick return to setup a D.J. Wood touchdown reception, but Cincy kicker Jake Rogers nailed the upright, missing the extra point to leave the score at 38-30.

Pitt followed with a 3-and-out, giving Pike another chance to drive his team down the field and he delivered, directing a 7 play, 68 yard drive to close the gap to 38-36.  Pike then hooked up with Gilyard for a two-point conversion reception to tie the score at 38-38 with 5:46 left in the game.

The ball was placed back into Dion Lewis’ hands, as Pitt fed their workhorse all the way down the field for a final 5-yard touchdown run by Lewis.  The star running back ended the day with 47 carries for 195 yards, as well as 5 catches for 34 yards.  Unfortunately for Pitt, bad luck turned their way, as they mishandled the extra point snap, leaving the door open for a comeback with the lead at 44-38 with 1:36 to play.

Cue Tony Pike…Superstar.   Pike put his struggles behind him, completing four straight passes for 70 yards, culminating in the game winning touchdown to Armon Binns with 0:33 left on the clock.  The Cincy defense then did its job, shutting down the Pitt passing game for the victory.

Despite all the media attention shone on Brian Kelly this week and the rumors he is leaving Cincinnati to take the head coaching job at Notre Dame, Cincinnati was able to pull it all together in the 4th quarter to keep its championship hopes alive.  And Tony Pike made sure that references to another Tony famous for choking in big games…Romo…would not be levied upon him by delivering when it counted in the end.

Given the performance put on today by the Cincinnati Bearcats, if they are not in the national championship game, a playoff system needs to be instituted to award such great play.

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Posted in Cincinnati University, Pittsburgh University, college football | No Comments »

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