Jump to content

CTBengalsFan


MrOrange1219

Recommended Posts

Aside from the opening possession, UConn's defense played great overall... forced a whole bunch of punts. Our offense just couldn't deliver and eventually the defense collapsed. I didn't have a great feeling about this game, I knew Cincy was a great team. I hope you guys beat WVU. :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='CTBengalsFan' post='590208' date='Nov 10 2007, 06:53 PM']Aside from the opening possession, UConn's defense played great overall... forced a whole bunch of punts. Our offense just couldn't deliver and eventually the defense collapsed. I didn't have a great feeling about this game, I knew Cincy was a great team. I hope you guys beat WVU. :thumbsup:[/quote]

...I do too! :D ...and Syracuse (they'd love nothing better than to play spoiler)! <_<

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote]Those Are Some Tough Cincinnati Kids
Right Formula Against UConn
Desmond Conner | NBA, College Football, College Basketball
November 11, 2007
CINCINNATI


We told you a few weeks ago that Cincinnati was the hardest-hitting team in the Big East and the Bearcats didn't do anything to dispel that thought Saturday at Nippert Stadium.

In addition to doing what they do naturally the Bearcats came into the matchup with the nation's No. 16 team with three things in mind to win an important game in their quest to stay in the Big East title race: put points on the board early, stop the run and, naturally, play a physical football game.

There was a fourth, a nice surprise, too, and that was burying the Huskies in tough field position just about the whole game.

It all spelled doom for UConn in a humbling 27-3 defeat. It was the Huskies' first conference loss of the season. It was the Bearcats' second win over a ranked team in as many weeks and third of the season (Rutgers Oct. 6, South Florida last week).

The loss does not, however, impact UConn's goal of a conference championship or BCS bid, hardly at all. But what some would have called a trap game - next Saturday at home against hapless Syracuse before the season finale at West Virginia - is a very important game to win now if the Huskies (8-2, 4-1) want any of those goodies.

Cincinnati (8-2, 3-2) helped its chances of winning the conference, if UConn should slip again. The Bearcats' next game is home against West Virginia next Saturday night.

If the Bearcats can play the way they did against UConn defensively and if the Mountaineers play like they did with all those penalties and mistakes they had in a 38-31 victory over Louisville Thursday night, Cincinnati has a shot.

West Virginia might want to get the tape of this one, though, and see if it can do some things UConn couldn't, which leads us to the three things the Bearcats had in mind to stop UConn - and the surprise.

The Bearcats scored 13 points or more in the first quarter four times this year, against Miami of Ohio, Louisville, South Florida and UConn. And they won each time.

If you're stopping a team on the ground the way Cincy did, that's a tough hole.

"They've been up, in most of their games, early," Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said of UConn. "So it was important for us to get off to a good start."

Once they got that lead, the Bearcats got real nasty up front. Their front four dominated a UConn offense that totaled 204 yards and averaged a mere 3.5 yards in its 59 plays.

Andre Dixon rushed 12 times for 35 yards. C-notes had been pretty easy for him to come by. We're talking about a team that was averaging 174 yards on the ground, but it was apparent early on that he would need some help from the Cincinnati Bengals to reach that mark Saturday.

"Usually when you stop the run, you're going to win the football game," said senior defensive back Hakuri Nakamura, who led Cincinnati with six tackles. "We knew they were a big running, a big screen team. We definitely emphasized stopping the run this week and putting the game on [UConn quarterback Tyler] Lorenzen's shoulders."

And when the Huskies were forced to do that, senior defense end Anthony Hoke was all over those Lorenzen's shoulders.

Hoke had three tackles and they were all sacks, totaling 25 yards.

"Every game their attitude is to run the ball because they're not a real good passing team," Hoke said. "And that was a first-year quarterback out there too, right? I remember last year [D.J.] Hernandez was the quarterback. But if we can get the offense to be one-dimensional it's easier for us as a defense."

Mmmm. Not a real good passing team, eh?

Well, Lorenzen was 18 of 37 for 182 yards and a pick - a pick that led to the Bearcats' second score of the opening quarter.

Those numbers are far from gaudy but they aren't all that far off from what he has done when the Huskies were winning. They looked good when complementing solid rushing numbers.

Taking away the running game was key and putting pressure on Lorenzen up front was huge. That Kevin Huber averaged 47.8 yards on his five punts and Jake Rogers 66.4 on his kickoffs just compounded UConn's offensive problems. The Huskies' best starting field position was their 41. And the drive they got the field goal on? They had to go 74 yards in 11 plays just to get it.

"Any time you're playing a team that wants to run the football, you've got to make them go 80 yards," Kelly said.

The Bearcats showed us they can win a game defensively and their performance against the conference leader will surely give them confidence on their home field against one of the most explosive offensive teams in all the land.

Hey, you never know.

But Cincinnati showed us something else about the UConn offense - that it lacks big-play capability when it gets behind. Go to Morgantown on Nov. 24 without it - against a team that lives by the big play - and the outcome will be the same as it was against the Bearcats. No, probably a lot worse.[/quote]

[url="http://www.courant.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sports/hc-ucdezcol1111.artnov11col,0,745105.column"]http://www.courant.com/services/newspaper/...0,745105.column[/url]
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The WV game is a scary matchup. Every time I watch Pat White it's like disbelief. You know he's running the ball, and he still breaks it for 20 consistantly. Last week at Louisville. White ran it 6 times in a row. Same formation, same play, 6 times, and Louisville could do nothing to stop him. Then he broke one 2 plays later for 50 yards, made the Cardinals look like they were running in mud. Yeah, UC's defense is better, but it still is a scary matchup. Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. UC is going to need them to win this one.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd take the 1996 Bucks D against the bottom 2 or 3 NFL D's that year. They were that good. This years Bucks could probably shut down Miami & San Francisco's Offenses this year. Might be wrong, but those offenses are that bad. Thank God they are on The Bengals Schedule as they might save Chuck's job.









:ninja:

GO BEARCATS BEAT WVU.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='ccartman2' post='593865' date='Nov 16 2007, 12:23 AM']I'd take the 1996 Bucks D against the bottom 2 or 3 NFL D's that year. They were that good. This years Bucks could probably shut down Miami & San Francisco's Offenses this year. Might be wrong, but those offenses are that bad. Thank God they are on The Bengals Schedule as they might save Chuck's job.






:ninja:

GO BEARCATS BEAT WVU.[/quote]


That's just silly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...