No. 3 Cincinnati will try to put Brian Kelly’s departure to Notre Dame behind it when it takes on No. 5 Florida at 8:30PM ET on New Year’s Day. As part of our 2010 BCS Bowl Preview, here are five things to watch for in the Sugar Bowl.

1. Cincinnati’s potent passing attack vs. Florida’s vaunted defense
Led by quarterback Tony Pike and explosive receiver Mardy Gilyard, the Bearcats rank sixth in the nation in passing offense, total offense and scoring offense. Cincinnati averaged almost 40 points per game this season and houses one of the most deadly passing games in the country. That said, they’ll be heavily tested by a Florida defense that has the third best pass defense in the nation, the fourth best overall defense and the third best scoring defense. Only Alabama (11.0) and Nebraska (11.23) have allowed fewer points than Florida’s mark of 11.54. Led by defensive backs Joe Haden, A.J. Jones and Major Wright, the Gators have virtually been impossible to throw on. Making matters worse for opponents, Florida also has a fearsome pass rush, led by defensive linemen Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap. At the center is linebacker Brandon Spikes, who is the heart and soul of the Gators’ defense. Cincinnati will certainly have to earn everything it gets come New Year’s Day.

2. The Gators’ rushing attack vs. the Bearcats’ suspect run defense
Florida boasts the 10th best rushing attack in the nation, averaging 225.23 yards per game. That doesn’t bode well for a Cincinnati run defense that is surrendering over 140 yards per game this season. The Bearcats’ defense is fast and aggressive, but struggles when opponents attack them right up the middle. In their three closest games this season, Connecticut, West Virginia and Pittsburgh all had success running up the gut. If Florida starts pounding the rock up the middle, it could take control of the game early by grinding out the clock and keeping Cincinnati’s high-powered offense on the sidelines.

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The 2010 Sugar Bowl will have plenty of intrigue surrounding it when the Florida Gators take on the Cincinnati Bearcats on New Year’s Day. For the Gators, Tim Tebow will be playing his last collegiate game of his career, while the Bearcats will try to overcome the loss of their head coach, Brian Kelly, who ditched them for Notre Dame.

2010 Sugar Bowl Game Information
Matchup: Florida (12-1) vs. Cincinnati (12-0)
Venue: Superdome, New Orleans
Kickoff: 8:30PM ET, January 1
TV: FOX
Odds: Florida –10

Key Stats:
Cincinnati will have its hands full trying to move the ball against a Florida team that ranks 4th in the nation in total defense, 3rd in pass defense and third in scoring. Led by linebacker Brandon Spikes, the defensive line pair of Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap, as well as a secondary headed by safety Major Wright, the Gators have one of the best defenses in the country. Offensively, Tebow leads a group that has averaged over 225 rushing yards per game this season and over 34 points per outing.

If any team were to move the ball on Florida, it might be Cincinnati, which has the sixth best offense in college football. Led by quarterback Tony Pike and receiver Mardy Gilyard, the Bearcats rank 6th in passing offense and 6th in scoring (averaging 39.83 points per game). Defensively, Cincinnati has the top passing efficiency unit in the country and are 48th in total defense.

The Bottom Line:
Cincinnati has more than enough weapons to contend in this game, but how will they fair without Kelly calling the plays? And even though this looks like a great matchup for Florida, will the Gators get up for the Sugar Bowl after failing to reach the national title game again? One would think that Tebow would get his team up to play this game, but don’t forget Alabama quit last year in this same venue and got rolled by Utah.

Let the smack begin:

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Who will win the 2010 Sugar Bowl?

• Florida
• Cincinnati

View Results

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According to Central Michigan beat writer Drew Ellis of the Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun, Butch Jones is negotiating with Cincinnati to become its next head football coach.

If Jones reaches a deal, he will replace Brian Kelly, who left the Bearcats following a 12-0 season in 2009 and a Big East Championship. Kelly left Cincinnati to take over the head coaching position at Notre Dame.

Jones replaced Kelly at Central Michigan after Kelly left CMU to become head coach of the Bearcats following the 2006 season, when he won a Mid-American Conference title.

In three years as head coach, Jones has won two MAC titles and just recently led the Chippewas into the top 25 rankings for the first time in school history.

ESPN.com is also reporting that Jones is heading to Cincinnati.

If you’re Cincinnati, why not go back to the same well? CMU produced Kelly and Jones had an even better track record in Mt. Pleasant, so it makes sense that the Bearcats tabbed him to run their program.

Jones did a hell of a job at CMU, especially with the development of quarterback Dan LeFevour. This past season, the Chippewas ranked 33rd in the nation in total offense and 17th in scoring offense. They averaged over 33 points per game and Jones runs a spread offense similar to the one Kelly does, so he should make a smooth transition. He’ll also love working with quarterback Zach Collaros, who much like LeFevour, runs well.

While this is disappointing news for the Central Michigan program, at least Jones didn’t hide the fact that he was moving on to a bigger program. Kelly ditched his team right before a bowl game (sound familiar Cincinnati?) to coach the Bearcats, where as Jones has been upfront about the situation. With LeFevour graduating and Jones moving on, the Chippewas have to rebuild for next season.

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According to ESPN.com, Notre Dame signed Brian Kelly to a five-year deal to become the school’s next head coach. Kelly will not coach Cincinnati when the program takes on Florida in the Sugar Bowl early next month.

The news didn’t play well with Kelly’s current team. Bearcat players were led into a meeting room, where Kelly told them he was leaving and thanked them for making his opportunity possible. One minute into the meeting, the door opened and receiver Mardy Gilyard walked out angry and alone, save his MVP trophy.

“He went for the money,” Gilyard told The Associated Press. “I’m fairly disgusted with the situation, that they let it last this long.”

Players weren’t told of Kelly’s decision until the banquet ended, nearly three hours after the news first broke. A few blinked back tears as they left.

“We already knew what he was going to say. We weren’t giving him a round of applause or anything,” tight end Ben Guidugli said. “It’s like somebody turned their back on us. We brought this whole thing this far. We’ve come this far. To have someone walk out now is disappointing.”

Kelly did the exact same thing to his former players at Central Michigan before their bowl game in 2006 after the Chippewas won the MAC Championship. And just like in 2006 when he coached CMU in its bowl game, offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn will fill in for Kelly at the Sugar Bowl.

None of this should surprise anyone seeing as how Kelly and Notre Dame spoke last week. Kelly has won everywhere he’s been and that’s exactly what the Irish seek right now: A winner. He turned Grand Valley State into a D-II powerhouse, brought a MAC championship to Mt. Pleasant and made Cincinnati a national title contender. He has become the hottest name in college football and if his track record is any indication of how he’ll do in South Bend, he’ll be very successful turning the Notre Dame program around.

That said, it’s disappointing that yet another college coach turned his back on his players to advance his career. But that’s reality. Players come and go every four years (or less) and coaches have to job hop in order to further their careers. It’s not an ideal format, but I get it.

Kelly will have his work cut out for him. Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate (ND’s best players) have decided to enter April’s NFL draft and the Irish are void of talent on the defensive side of the ball. But again, if there’s one man that can turn around Notre Dame’s misfortunes, it might just be Kelly.

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ESPN.com is reporting that Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly would entertain the idea of talking to Notre Dame next week about the school’s open coaching position.

Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly told ESPN this week that he promised fans he would focus on the Pitt game and that speculation he is a candidate for the Notre Dame opening wouldn’t be a distraction.

Kelly still maintains that it hasn’t been, adding that he was staying away from it until after the game, but if Notre Dame wanted to speak with him next week, he would “entertain” their request.

Kelly told a local radio station in Cincinnati that he’s happy at Cincy and wants to stay there long term. But that means nothing, especially coming from a man that ditched Central Michigan in 2006 before its bowl game in order to take the vacant position in Cincinnati.

Kelly has successfully climbed the latter from D-III head coach at Grand Valley State, to MAC coach at CMU to Big East coach at Cincinnati. If Notre Dame calls, there is little doubt that he won’t at least entertain the offer. And chances are, Cincinnati won’t come up with the money it’ll take to retain Kelly’s services and he’ll move on.

Regular readers know that I think Kelly would be a perfect fit for the Irish, even though I would think it would be admirable if he stayed at Cincinnati and continued to grow that program. We’ll see what happens.

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