Cincinnati keeps BCS bowl bid alive
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/14/2009 @ 9:18 am)
For those of you that didn’t see the broadcast, Brian Kelly ate this guy’s lunch on Friday…
For the first time in school history, Cincinnati has started a season 10-0 and is also the first FBS team to 10 wins in 2009.
The Bearcats beat Big East rivals West Virginia 24-21 on Friday night. The game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, although that’s not to suggest that Cincinnati blew the Mountaineers out either.
Senior quarterback Tony Pike attempted four passes on the night and completed two of them…for touchdowns. Pike had been dealing with a forearm injury the past couple weeks and head coach Brian Kelly (when he wasn’t yelling at one of his assistants) wanted him to see some game action against West Virginia. Pike obviously made the most of his limited opportunities as he helped Cincinnati score two of its three touchdowns on the night.
Sophomore Zach Collaros ran the show for most of the night and used his arm and his legs to keep drives going for the Bearcats. Fellow sophomore Isaiah Pead had a fantastic night, rushing for 175 yards with a touchdown on 18 carries.
Not everything was positive for the Bearcats, however. Their run defense was gashed for 202 yards by the Mountaineers, some of which came right up the gut. The Bearcat defense also struggled getting a hold of West Virginia QB Jarrett Brown, who was able to keep the came close with his scrambling ability.
A team with a power running game will beat Cincinnati by wearing down its front seven and keeping its potent offense off the field. That said, with this win they set up a huge game with No. 12 Pittsburgh on December 5 for the Big East title. (Assuming the Panthers isn’t upset before then.)
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Posted in: College Football
Tags: 2009 College Football Week 11, Brian Kelly, Cincinnati Bearcats, Cincinnati beats West Virginia, college football week 11 scoreboard scores recaps, Isaiah Pead, Tony Pike, Tony Pike injury, Tony Pike plays for Cincinnati, West Virginia vs. Cincinnati score recap, Zach Collaros
College Football Week 11 Point Spreads
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/11/2009 @ 10:29 am)
Along with a complete list of point spreads for the top 25 action in college football, here is a quick-hit look at some of the marquee matchups in Week 11.
No. 25 West Virginia at No. 5 Cincinnati, Friday, November 13
This is the first of three important games left on the Bearcats’ schedule. After playing the Mountaineers on Friday night, Brian Kelly’s squad will take on Big Ten foe Illinois on November 27 and then have a marquee Big East showdown with No. 12 PITT on December 5. Kelly won’t have starting quarterback Tony Pike again this week as the senior continues to nurse a forearm injury. That means impressive sophomore Zach Collaros will once again be counted on to keep Cincinnati’s BCS hopes alive. After ratting off four straight wins to get to 6-1 on the season, West Virginia has struggled the past two weeks. They were defeated by South Florida two weeks ago and then struggled generating offense against a below-average Louisville team last Saturday. Will Collaros and the rest of Cincy’s backfield be too much for the Mountaineers to handle?
Odds: Cincinnati –9.
No. 16 Utah at No. 4 TCU, 7:30PM ET, Saturday
Now that the Horned Frogs have leapt into the No. 4 spot in the rankings, they have one more hurdle to overcome on their schedule before they let fate take the wheel for the rest of the season. Utah will do everything in its power to knock off its Mountain West foe and gain the inside edge for a second straight conference title. But the Utes’ task is a daunting one. TCU has the sixth best rushing attack in the nation and are ranked eighth in total offense. They also rank third in total defense and fifth in scoring defense. The Frogs look like a small-school juggernaut right now but if they will be challenged this weekend in Fort Worth.
Odds: TCU –19.5.
No. 10 Iowa at No. 11 Ohio State, 3:30PM ET, Saturday
In the blink of an eye, the Hawkeyes saw their national title hopes and quarterback go down in one fall swoop last Saturday as Northwestern shocked them at home. Now Iowa can only hope for a Big Ten title, but even that looks dim considering it has to go into Columbus this week in attempts to beat a confident Ohio State team. The Buckeyes knocked off Penn State last Saturday in Happy Valley and now has the inside track to winning the Big Ten again this season. The Hawkeyes will start redshirt freshman James Vanderberg, who struggled last week after Ricky Stanzi suffered an injury in the first half. Asking a redshirt freshman to beat the Buckeyes in Columbus is no small order and it appears that Iowa’s magical 2009 season won’t have a fairytale ending.
Odds: Ohio State –17.
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Posted in: College Football
Tags: 2009 College Football odds point spreads, 2009 College Football Week 11, Brian Kelly, college football odds point spreads, college football odds point spreads week 11, Iowa vs. Ohio State odds, James Vandenberg, Ricky Stanzi, Tony Pike injury, Utah vs. TCU odds, West Virginia vs. Cincinnati odds
No. 8 Cincinnati dominates No. 19 South Florida, but Pike hurt in victory
Posted by Anthony Stalter (10/15/2009 @ 10:34 pm)
In what was supposed to be a tough game in a tough environment for Cincinnati, the No. 8 Bearcats easily disposed of No. 19 South Florida 34-17 at Raymond James Stadium on Thursday night. And they did it with their starting quarterback missing the entire second half.
Tony Pike suffered an injury right before halftime and was replaced by backup Zach Collaros, who supplied a touchdown run of 75 yards midway through the third quarter. He then hooked up with Ben Guidugli on a 43-yard pass completion to set up his second touchdown of the game, this time from three yards out with 13 minutes remaining in the game.
This was an impressive victory for Cincinnati, especially considering Pike didn’t play the entire second half. To beat a good South Florida team on the road with their backup quarterback should give the Bearcats leverage when the BCS standings are released for the first time on October 20.
That said, should anyone be surprised by this outcome? The Bulls were undefeated coming into this game, but their only substantial win was against a Florida State team that was obviously overrated from the start. And while freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels is fun to watch, he has a long way to go as a passer. He looked like he was playing in a pick up game tonight with the way he often ran backwards from the snap and never stayed in the pocket.
But allow me to give credit where credit is due – Cincinnati’s defense played well tonight as it suffocated USF’s running game and never allowed Daniels to set his feet and throw (whether he wanted to or not). Everyone takes about the Bearcats offense (and rightfully so), but Brian Kelly’s team has played well defensively this season too.
Kelly told Erin Andrews after the game that it “doesn’t look good” for Pike, who could miss a couple weeks with a wrist injury. While that’s unfortunate, Cincinnati has an easy stretch of games over the next couple weeks and could certainly get by with the shifty Collaros.
Posted in: College Football
Tags: 2009 College Football Week 7, Ben Guidugli, Cincinnati Bearcats, Cincinnati South Florida, Cincinnati vs South Florida, College Football Week 7 scoreboard, South Florida Bulls, Tony Pike, Tony Pike injury, Tony Pike injury report, Zach Collaros
