UC Football Thread

[Jason]

I tell you what, I would not mind seeing 21 or 28 in Red in stripes eventually. Both of those kids looked really good.

[Rumble In the Jungle]

well, the U lost today i wonder how the Polls will look tomorrow!

[ThurmanMunster]

[quote name='Bengals1181' date='26 September 2009 - 05:02 PM' timestamp='1253998971' post='807316']
another Thurman bandwagon team going down. Who's bandwagon are you going to jump on next week? I'll bet some money against them.
[/quote]

bandwagon team? i only have 1 team and its UC.

miami played like ass today they did NOTHING to help their future stud QB. they obviously werent ready, but they are becoming the team the U from the past.

like a 3rd of the top 25 lost today. i think 4 teams ranked ahead of UC. good times for us.

[sois]

Can I be on this teams bandwagon?

[Jeb]

[quote name='Rumble In the Jungle' date='26 September 2009 - 10:49 PM' timestamp='1254016147' post='807347']
well, the U lost today i wonder how the Polls will look tomorrow!
[/quote]

Penn State lost too. So did Cal.

I say we land at 12 this week.

[Jeb]

UC YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jeb]

[quote name='sois' date='27 September 2009 - 02:23 AM' timestamp='1254029033' post='807372']
Can I be on this teams bandwagon?
[/quote]

You don't need to ask, ...welcome aboard!

[ThurmanMunster]

there were times at the game today where it was so incredibly loud. i cant wait until they add more seats. it will help keep the sound in the stadium even better.

[Jeb]

Recap ...
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4506198

[Jeb]

[quote]No. 14 Cincinnati beats Fresno St. 28-20
9/26/2009, 3:19 p.m. EDT
JOE KAY
The Associated Press

(AP) — CINCINNATI - Receiver Mardy Gilyard was asked what he thought about those astounding time-of-possession numbers on the stats sheet. It took him a few seconds to find the right line.

When he did, his eyes widened.

"Forty-three to 16?" he said. "We had it 16 minutes? Oh, my goodness!"

Those 16 minutes were just enough for Gilyard and Tony Pike to save Cincinnati.

Pike threw three touchdown passes in a quick-strike offense that was hardly on the field, and the 14th-ranked Bearcats held on for a 28-20 victory over a Fresno State team that ran all over them on Saturday. One gamble made the Bulldogs (1-3) come up empty.

Facing fourth-and-2 at the Cincinnati 6 to open the fourth quarter, Fresno State chose to throw rather than run it again. Ryan Colburn's pass was picked off, and Pike put the Bearcats (4-0) in control with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Gilyard.

"I thought we had a real good call," Fresno State coach Pat Hill said. "I think if you ask Ryan, he would tell you he would have thrown it deeper, but there were a lot of bodies in the way. We considered a field goal, but we thought we could score."

Gilyard also caught an 11-yard touchdown pass in another career day. The senior receiver and returner had nine catches for a career-best 177 yards, giving him eight touchdowns in four games.

The Bulldogs' strategy was to keep one of the nation's top offenses off the field. It nearly succeeded. Cincinnati came in averaging 48 points per game, fourth-best nationally, but was on the field for only 16:18. With Ryan Mathews grinding out the yards, the Bulldogs held the ball for 43:42.

The Bearcats' defensive secondary was depleted by injuries and the Bulldogs hit a lot of big plays in their first three games, so coach Brian Kelly decided on a conservative philosophy: Drop the safeties deep in zone coverage and let Fresno State grind away.

"They conducted the game exactly the way they needed to," said Kelly, who considered changing his strategy before Pike's last touchdown put Cincinnati in charge. "I'm glad they're not in the Big East, let me tell you that."

Mathews carried a career-high 38 times for 145 yards, topping the 100-yard mark for the fourth straight game. He was the Bowl Subdivision's leading rusher coming in, averaging 149 yards per game. His ability to find holes behind 270-pound fullback Reynard Camp kept Cincinnati on the defensive all game and persuaded his own coaches to keep giving him the ball.

"I'm tired," Mathews said. "Thirty-eight carries is a lot. The coaches told me to expect the ball every play. It's part of being a running back. Sometimes you may only get it five times, sometimes you get a lot of carries. It depends on the day."

Fresno State had the fourth-best running game in the nation, and showed it wouldn't be pushed around by churning out a 17-play drive that took more than eight minutes in the second quarter. Colburn's 21-yard touchdown pass to Jamel Hamler-uncovered in the middle of the field-cut it to 21-17 with 7 seconds left before halftime.

The Bearcats thought: Uh-oh.

Cincinnati's offense had the ball for only one minute in the third quarter-a three-and-out drive that put the whole burden on the defense. Linebacker Craig Carey's first career interception on Fresno State's pivotal fourth-down pass helped the Bearcats improve to 25-0 under Kelly when they open the fourth quarter with a lead.

Carey had a suspicion the Bulldogs were going to throw to his area.

"Before the play, I noticed the running back staring at me for some reason," Carey said. "I got a weird feeling the play was going to come my way. I feel like he looked me right in the eyes and just threw it to me."

The Bearcats' no-huddle offense needed only 2:12, 1:43, 2:53 and 1:45 to zip down the field for its touchdowns, giving the defense little rest. The game was in the hands of that tired crew after Fresno State got the ball back at its 7-yard line following a punt with 3:55 to go.

Colburn's fourth-down pass from the Cincinnati 37 was broken up by safety Aaron Webster with 39 seconds left, ending it.[/quote]

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/sports-104/1253999883282470.xml&storylist=cleveland

IMO, ...impressive win. We never lost the lead and our defense held when we really needed them.

[Jeb]

BTW, ...Tebow has the flu and a concussion, ...that must suck!

On the flip side, ...Pike can gain a lot of stats this next game for the Heisman race. The Miami(OH) legacy game (that they begged us to keep playing, ...it wasn't our idea).

[Bengals1181]

[quote]
Kiper's top 5 by position: Seniors

By Mel Kiper Jr.
ESPN.com

Top five senior prospects at each position

Quarterbacks
1. Colt McCoy, Texas
[b]2. Tony Pike, Cincinnati[/b]
3. Tim Tebow, Florida
4. Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan
5. Jarrett Brown, West Virginia

Analysis: How accurate is McCoy? Well, his accuracy is down more than 5 percentage points this season, but he's completing 71 percent of his passes. Pike's no slouch, either. He's at 70.5 percent and, at 6-foot-6, sees the whole field.[/quote]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft10/insider/news/story?id=4519656&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnfl%2fdraft10%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d4519656

[Jeb]

[quote]Bearcats not at best, but improve to 5-0

By Bill Koch • bkoch@enquirer.com • October 3, 2009


OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami RedHawks were not supposed to be within shouting distance of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats late in the third quarter.
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but strange things can happen in rivalry games and there the RedHawks were on the UC 3-yard line, facing third-and-goal, trailing the Bearcats by only 10 points, and threatening to close the gap to three.

That’s when UC sophomore linebacker JK Schaffer picked off a Zac Dysert pass in the end zone, snuffing out the RedHawks’ scoring threat and sending the Bearcats on their way to a 37-13 victory Saturday before 23,493 fans at Yager Stadium in the annual Battle for the Victory Bell.

“We had to come up with a stop,” said Schaffer, who has picked off three passes this season. “There really wasn’t any other choice. I ended up at the right place at the right time. The quarterback slipped a little bit and threw it right to me.”

After all, this was the 10th-ranked team in the country against a winless team trying to rebuild under a first-year head coach, a BCS program against a MAC program.

UC (5-0) has now won four straight over its neighborhood rival for the first time since 1989 and has an 11-game winning streak dating to last season.

Miami, playing its first game at Yager Stadium under coach Mike Haywood, fell to 0-5. The RedHawks still lead the series, 59-48-7.

Haywood designed his defensive game plan to stop UC wide receiver Mardy Gilyard.

The RedHawks consistently double-teamed Gilyard, who still caught six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown, but he did not run wild as he has so often this season.

UC adjusted by rushing for 164 yards, 103 by senior Jacob Ramsey, who became the first Bearcat running back in more than two years to gain 100 yards in a game.

Ramsey also ran for three touchdowns.

“It says a lot about the balance we had,” said UC quarterback Tony Pike. “We feel like we can run the ball against anybody. They were sending an extra guy at Mardy so we had to establish the run. Pike did not have his best game, but he managed to complete 23 of 42 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

“He didn’t make a couple of throws he normally makes,” said UC coach Brian Kelly. “It shows that he’s human.”

Miami’s Dysert, a redshirt freshman making just his second start, was 33 of 47 for 286 yards and one touchdown. He was intercepted twice and was sacked 10 times, four times by UC defensive end Alex Daniels.

“We just came together as a defensive line,” Daniels said. “We stopped the big plays that Miami was capable of doing.”

The Bearcats had some help from the RedHawks in producing two of their first-half touchdowns. One was set up by Chris DiCesare’s 6-yard punt, giving UC possession on the Miami 42. The Bearcats faced a fourth-and-eight on that drive and had lined up to punt when Miami was called for an illegal substitution penalty.
Kelly then decided to go for the first down and Pike hit Armon Binns with a 35-yard touchdown pass to give UC a 13-0 lead.

After Miami’s next drive stalled, Haywood called for a fake punt only to have Austin Moore come up a yard short, forcing the RedHawks to turn the ball over to UC at the Miami 27.

Ramsey then scored on an eight-yard run and UC held a 20-0 lead with 12:33 left in the half. The Bearcats appeared well on the way to the blowout that most observers expected.

But Miami made a game of it.

Trailing at halftime, 23-7, the RedHawks scored on Dysert’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Andre Bratton on their second possession of the second half. They appeared to have made the two-point conversion but an offensive pass interference call nullified the two points.

Trevor Cook, forced to kick from 35 yards after the penalty, missed the extra point and Miami trailed, 23-13, with 5:00 left in the third quarter.

The RedHawks then surprised UC with an on-side kick that was recovered by Anthony Kokal at the UC 45. They advanced to the UC three-yard line when Schaffer came up with his third interception of the season.
UC essentially put the game out of reach on Ramsey’s three-yard run with 11:31 to go. They added another score on a 23-yard pass from Pike to Gilyard.

“Today was not our ‘A’ game,” Kelly said. “Not to take anything away from Miami because they played very well today. We’ve just got more work to do.”
[/quote]
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009310030017

...I'll take the win!

[Jeb]

[quote]Bearcats can run, too

By Bill Koch • bkoch@enquirer.com • October 3, 2009


OXFORD – Jacob Ramsey has said all along that in the University of Cincinnati’s pass-happy spread offense, a running back has to take advantage of the few carries he gets.
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Ramsey received 12 of them Saturday against Miami and made the most of them, rushing for 103 yards and three touchdowns.

He’s the first UC back to gain 100 yards in a game since Butler Benton gained 101 yards against Southeast Missouri State on Aug. 30, 2007.

Ramsey, who was a sophomore at the time, remembers that day well.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” Ramsey said, “for me and the offensive line. It’s definitely something the backs look toward doing every game.”

Sophomore Isaiah Pead also had a productive game, gaining 60 yards on just five carries.

Given the way Miami double-teamed UC wide receiver Mardy Gilyard, UC coach Brian Kelly said the Bearcats had no choice but to run the ball.

“If we didn’t run the ball today with any effectiveness we would have struggled,” Kelly said.

GETTING BETTER: Miami coach Mike Haywood took some solace from how his team played, even though the effort did not produce his first victory as Miami’s head coach.

“I think our players played a little better today because of the rivalry,” Haywood said. “They played extremely hard. (UC) proved today why they’re the No.10 team in the country.”

VERSATILE BARNETT: After starting last week at cornerback in place of the injured Dominique Battle, Marcus Barnett started at wide receiver Saturday in place of D.J. Woods, who did not make the trip due to illness.

Barnett, who caught 62 passes two years ago, caught six for 57 yards against Miami.

“He’s a great team player for us,” Kelly said. “He had to play 72 plays last week on defense. Then D.J. came down with an illness and couldn’t even make the trip. Marcus got thrown into the lineup at wide receiver. He did a very nice job.”

BIG CROWD: Saturday’s crowd of 23,493 was the largest at Yager Stadium since the Miami-Marshall game on Nov. 12, 2003 attracted 26,286. The stadium has since been renovated, reducing capacity to 24,286.

GILYARD MOVING UP: Gilyard’s 23-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter gave him a seven-game touchdown streak and tied him with Jim O’Brien for second place on UC’s career list with 21. He needs one more touchdown catch to tie Dominick Goodman for the UC record.

ROGERS’ STREAK ENDS: Junior Jake Rogers’ missed extra point after UC’s first touchdown snapped a streak of 58 straight extra points, which ranks fourth in school history. It was the sixth missed extra point in his career. He later made a 42-yard field goal.
[/quote]
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20091003/SPT0101/310030018

[ThurmanMunster]

UC is now 8th in the nation and OSU is 9th.

[Farbeyonddriven]

[Jeb]

[quote name='ThurmanMunster' date='04 October 2009 - 03:41 PM' timestamp='1254681674' post='810866']
UC is now 8th in the nation and OSU is 9th.
[/quote]

I don't think the Miami game had a thing to do with our jump to 8. I believe the writers know that we get some starters back after the bye for the South Florida game that should make our team play more like the team that played against Rutgers. A strong secondary does wonders for a defense and can totally change the complexion of a game. South Florida needs to forget about stretching the field and concentrate on moving the chains if they want to win and we won't be dropping our safeties like we have been the last few games for the Florida game. Chances are we'll be playing them up to cover the run or at least mixing it up.

[Jeb]

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jeb]

[quote]No. 8 Bearcats take down No. 21 Bulls in Tampa; Pike injured
Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. -- Even with starting quarterback Tony Pike on the sideline, Cincinnati's quick-strike offense kept rolling.

The eighth-ranked Bearcats got two touchdown passes from Pike before he left in the third quarter with a sprained left wrist, then backup Zach Collaros ran 75 yards for a score in a 34-17 victory over No. 21 South Florida on Thursday night.

Collaros squirted through an opening in the middle of the defense for the long touchdown three plays after replacing Pike. The senior was injured late in the first half, then left after being hit as he released an incomplete pass on Cincinnati's first possession of the second half.

Pike threw scoring passes of 3 and 8 yards to Armon Binns in the second quarter, helping the Bearcats (6-0, 2-0 Big East) to a 17-10 halftime lead over South Florida (5-1, 1-1).

The Bulls led early on B.J. Daniels' 28-yard touchdown pass to Jessie Hester, and closed within 24-17 late in the third quarter when safety Nate Allen intercepted an ill-advised pass by Collaros to set up a 1-yard TD run by Daniels.

But Collaros, one of two freshmen quarterbacks who bailed Cincinnati out after two starters -- Dustin Grutza and Pike -- were injured early last season, was not rattled by the mistake. He came right back to lead a six-play, 70-yard scoring drive that restored the 14-point lead.

The big play in the march was a 43-yard completion to Ben Guidugli, who stretched out to get the ball over the goal line for an apparent touchdown. The tight end was penalized for taking his helmet off in the ensuing celebration, and things got worse for the Bearcats when officials reviewed the play and determined his elbow was down at the 1.

The penalty, which would have been walked off on the kickoff if it had been a touchdown, moved the ball back to the 16. After USF gave the stalled drive new life with a pass interference penalty on third down, Collaros scored on a 3-yard run, making it 31-17.

Collaros finished with 132 yards rushing on 10 carries. Pike, who threw a TD pass for the 16th consecutive game, was 12 of 25 for 140 yards without an interception.

Pike injured his non-throwing arm when he was hit as he released a pass on Cincinnati's last possession of the opening half. He went to the locker room ahead of his teammates, then returned for the first possession of the third quarter, wearing a protective sleeve over the wrist.

Last season, Pike broke his left forearm and played with a plate and six screws that are still in place.

Moving up the polls hasn't been a problem for USF, which has climbed into the top 10 each of the past two seasons before tumbling out of contention when they got into the heart of the Big East schedule.

The Bulls started 6-0 in 2007 and were ranked No. 2 before three consecutive losses dropped them out of the Top 25. They were 5-0 last season before losing four of their next five, including their third straight loss to Cincinnati.

The Bearcats have one of the most prolific offenses in the nation, but they've been so efficient in moving the ball and scoring quickly that coach Brian Kelly has been concerned by a time of possession imbalance that's kept his defense on the field for too long this season.

The defending Big East champions had the ball for just 16 and 19 minutes in victories over Fresno State and Miami (Ohio). They had one scoring drive of 4 seconds on Thursday, set up by Aaron Webster's interception and 83-yard return to the USF 3.

Binns had one career touchdown reception before Pike's first TD pass gave Cincinnati a 10-7 lead less than a minute into the second quarter. The junior from Pasadena, Calif., stretched out in the back of the end zone to make the diving 8-yard catch that put the Bearcats up 17-7.[/quote]
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=292880058

[Rumble In the Jungle]

Coach Kelly said that Tony Pike's injury doesn't look good. damn it

[Jeb]

[quote name='Rumble In the Jungle' date='16 October 2009 - 01:08 AM' timestamp='1255666133' post='816862']
Coach Kelly said that Tony Pike's injury doesn't look good. damn it
[/quote]

[quote]Collaros gets the call, leads Cincinnati to victory

October 16, 2009 12:40 AM

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

TAMPA, Fla. -- For the past two years, Zach Collaros has run the scout team for Cincinnati. He impersonated South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels last week in practice. His favorite player to mimic, though, was injured Bulls star Matt Grothe.

On Thursday night, Collaros found himself under center for real in the second half against South Florida after Bearcats star Tony Pike got hurt. And the sophomore ran the ball as well as Grothe ever has.

Collaros rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another 72 yards as the No. 8 Bearcats stormed past the No. 21 Bulls 34-17. This from a guy who had no major scholarship offers other than Cincinnati, despite going 30-0 as a starter at Steubenville (Ohio) High School.

"We liked his moxie and savviness," Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said. "Sixty-thousand [fans], on the road, you just lost your star quarterback, and your No. 2 guy comes in and does what he does. And it's because of his makeup and because of his intangibles."

[b]Collaros might be needed for a while. Pike, the senior Heisman Trophy candidate, sprained his left wrist late in the first half, then aggravated it on his first series of the second half. A plate still in his left arm from last year's fracture has shifted, and he'll have to see a specialist Friday, Kelly said. The coach has already ruled Pike out for next week's game against Louisville.[/b]

Cincinnati has been through this before, playing five quarterbacks last year because of injuries, yet winning the Big East.

"We're kind of accustomed to it, which isn't a good thing," Collaros said. "When me and [fellow backup] Chazz [Anderson] are on the sidelines, we don't hope to go in. We're cheering for Tony."

Collaros was one of the five last year but only attempted four passes. The 6-foot, 209-pounder is a well-rounded athlete who played 36 games on the Cincinnati baseball team this spring.

Things looked bleak on his first series. He faced third-and-11 from his own 25 and then missed a signal from the sideline, forcing a timeout. After some chewing out from Kelly, he ran the same called play: a quarterback draw up the middle.

He went untouched for 10 yards, then broke a tackle and kept on going for a 75-yard touchdown run. That made it 24-10 Cincinnati, and Kelly could rest easy with Pike sidelined.

"I can throw the ball, too" Collaros said. "But I can do some of that zone-read stuff."

Just like the guys he used to imitate.[/quote]
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/3909/collaros-gets-the-call-and-leads-cincinnati-to-win

[Rumble In the Jungle]

thats not good at all!

[Bengals1181]

Selvie gets all the hype, but I'd love to see this Jason Pierre-Paul kid in stripes down the road. BEAST.

[Jason]

[quote name='Rumble In the Jungle' date='16 October 2009 - 01:35 AM' timestamp='1255671349' post='816870']
thats not good at all!
[/quote]

Colaros looked good. UC will be fine for a few weeks I think. But I think it hurts Pike's chances of making a trip to NYC come December if he is out for more than a game or 2.

Not that he would win, but it would be nice if he were a finalist.

[Jeb]

[quote name='Jason' date='16 October 2009 - 11:00 AM' timestamp='1255701640' post='816935']
Colaros looked good. UC will be fine for a few weeks I think. But I think it hurts Pike's chances of making a trip to NYC come December if he is out for more than a game or 2.

Not that he would win, but it would be nice if he were a finalist.
[/quote]

Chaz Anderson is great too. Both have won us games in the past.

I agree with your thoughts on Pike. I hope its not too serious.