Tag: Cincinnati Bearcats (Page 3 of 5)

Botched extra point costs PITT in loss to Cincinnati in thrilling Big East finale

December 5, 2009 /

They scored 44 points, blocked a punt and saw their freshman running back rack up 194 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 47 carries. But in the end, a botched extra point cost Pittsburgh an opportunity to claim a share of the Big East championship and the shot to play in a BCS bowl.

No. 5 Cincinnati rallied to beat No. 15 PITT 45-44 on Saturday in a wild Big East finale, thanks in large part to quarterback Tony Pike’s big second half. His 29-yard touchdown pass to Armon Binns with 33 seconds remaining helped cap the Bearcats’ wild comeback.

But before Pike found Binns for the game-winning score, a botched hold on an extra point attempt gave Cincinnati the opportunity to win the game. After Dion Lewis (what an amazing day he had: 47 carries, 194 yards, 3 TDs) scored on a 5-yard run to give PIT a 44-38 lead with less than two minutes remaining, the Panthers blew the extra point and opened the door for Cincinnati’s comeback.

Of course, it’s important to remember that one play doesn’t determine the outcome of a game. At one point, PITT had a 21-point lead and couldn’t hold onto it. For as good as the Panthers’ defense has played this season, they couldn’t limit the big plays and it cost them in the end. And even though everyone will look at the failed extra point as the difference, PITT’s defense still could have stopped Cincinnati on the final drive and hung on for the win.

What an incredible victory for the Bearcats. They looked doomed from the start, but they never gave up and they kept fighting. Once again, their offense was outstanding and it’s understandable why Notre Dame is heavily considering Brian Kelly as their next head coach.

Now the Bearcats have to root for Nebraska to beat Texas in the Big 12 Championship tonight. They would still have trouble leaping over TCU in the standings even if the Longhorns do lose, but at least Kelly’s team has put themselves in position with this victory.

College Football

Will Kelly ditch Cincinnati for Notre Dame before bowl games?

December 2, 2009 /

The Chicago Sun Times is speculating that Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly could leave the Bearcats in the dust and coach Notre Dame in a bowl game if the two parties come to a contract agreement following the firing of Charlie Weis.

Backstage speculation is brewing that Kelly might resurrect an old trick and forsake whatever venue the bowl-bound Bearcats earn and instead drop shillelagh to stay through the holidays and beyond in South Bend.

That means Kelly could stage- manage his first game for the Fighting Irish later this month if they accept a minor bowl bid. The short list of interested committees reportedly includes those from the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit on Dec. 26, the EagleBank Bowl in Washington on Dec. 29, the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, on Dec. 30 and the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 6.

‘I think it could happen again,” said Tom Beck, the longtime Midwestern coach (Notre Dame, Illinois, Marv Levy’s Chicago Blitz) who gave Kelly his first significant college football job at Grand Valley (Mich.) State in 1987. ”There is no question Brian could be facing a real conflict. If Cincinnati beats Pittsburgh this weekend, they go to a BCS game. But Notre Dame, I’m sure, wants to hire and implement as quickly as possible.

”The Notre Dame job would be his new long-term challenge. Then there’s the fact he’d be moving to an 80,000-seat stadium from one that seats somewhere around 38,000. And the budgets at the two schools are in no way comparable.”

This is all just speculation but as the article points out, Kelly has already left one program (Central Michigan) right before its bowl game in order to join a bigger, better job (Cincinnati), so what’s from stopping him from doing it again this year? (Especially now that the bigger, better job is Notre Dame.)

If Kelly ditched Cincinnati for Notre Dame, he would spawn from the Bobby Petrino and Rich Rodriguez school of thinking in that loyalty means absolutely nothing in college football. He would once again look like the deserter he is, but mid-level schools are always aware that their head coach will be sought after by bigger programs.

Putting that aside, I would be intrigued by what Kelly could do for the Irish over the next couple years. The guy has a proven track record of turning programs around (Grand Valley State, CMU, Cincinnati) in a short period of time and he understands how to build a winner on the college level. His offensive system is perfect for college football and he could re-introduce Notre Dame to the fundamentals of the game, which have been lacking over the past couple years.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

College Football

Cincinnati keeps BCS bowl bid alive

November 14, 2009 /

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

College Football

No. 8 Cincinnati dominates No. 19 South Florida, but Pike hurt in victory

October 15, 2009 /

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.

College Football

Big East has at least three teams on the bubble

March 2, 2009 /

The Big East (apparently) doesn’t have a regular season championship. They call their postseason tourney the Big East Conference Championship. The “bracketologists” over ESPN project that the conference will get eight bids — UConn, Pitt, Louisville, Marquette, Villanova, Syracuse, West Virginia and Providence, with the Friars being one of the last teams in. That leaves Cincinnati and Notre Dame on the outside looking in.

Cincy plays at South Florida and at home against Seton Hall this week, so with two wins, they would finish the regular season at 20-11 and 10-8 in conference. If that happens, it would be tough for the selection committee to leave them out. However, they are just 1-6 against Top 25 teams and the one win was against an overrated Georgetown team. Basically, they’ve been winning games that they should win, but aren’t beating any “superior” opponents. They don’t have a single marquee win on the season, so unless they win out and make some noise in the Big East tourney, they may not get a bid.

Notre Dame is in an even tougher position. The Irish are 7-9 and 16-12 on the season. They did beat Texas early in the season and spanked Louisville by 33 in February, so a win tonight against Villanova and another win on Friday at St. John’s might put the Irish back in the hunt. They’d be 9-9 in conference, so if they were to win a few games in the conference tourney (including a win against UConn, Pitt or Louisville), they would be back in the conversation.

Providence needs to be careful not to close out the season with back to back losses. They visit a good Villanova team on Thursday and will probably enter the conference tourney at 10-8 in the conference (18-12 overall). An early exit in the tourney might spell doom for the Friars.

College Basketball, March Madness

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