Cincinnati & Collaros roll in win over Orange

Cincinnati Bearcats 2009 ... Head Coach: Brian Kelly

2009 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 6-6
2009 Record: 8-0

9/7 at Rutgers W 47-15
9/12 SE Missouri St W 70-3
9/19 at Oregon St W 28-18
9/26 Fresno St W 28-20
10/3 at Miami Univ. W 37-13
10/10 OPEN DATE
10/15 at USF W 34-17
10/24 Louisville W 41-10
10/31 at Syracuse W 28-7
11/7 Connecticut
11/13 West Virginia 
11/21 OPEN DATE
11/27 Illinois
12/5 at Pitt

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 9-4
2008 Record: 11-3

Aug. 28 E. Kentucky W 40-7
Sept. 6 at Oklahoma L 52-26
Sept. 13 OPEN DATE
Sept. 20 Miami Univ. W 45-20
Sept. 27 at Akron W 17-15
Oct. 3 at Marshall W 33-10
Oct. 11 Rutgers W 13-10
Oct. 18 OPEN DATE
Oct. 25 at Connecticut L 40-16
Oct. 30 South Florida W 24-10
Nov. 1 OPEN DATE
Nov. 8 at W Virginia W 36-23 OT
Nov. 14 at Louisville W 28-20
Nov. 22 Pitt W 28-21
Nov. 29 Syracuse W 30-10
Dec. 6 at Hawaii W 29-24
Orange Bowl
Jan. 1 Virginia Tech L 20-6

Cincinnati Bearcats

Oct. 31
Cincinnati 28 … at Syracuse 7
Zach Collaros improvised his way to four touchdown passes hitting Armon Binns for an 81-yard strike in the first quarter, hitting Binns for a 13-yarder in the third, and Kazeem Alli and Adrien Robinson for short scores for a touchdown pass in each quarter. Syracuse tied it at seven in the first quarter with a nine-yard Cody Catalina catch, but failed to move the offense on a regular basis throughout the rest of the game finishing with just 283 yards.
Player of the Game: Cincinnati QB Zach Collaros completed 22-of-28 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns, and he ran nine times for 22 yards.
Syracuse: Passing: Ryan Nassib, 7-10, 97 yds
Rushing: Delone Carter, 19-50, Receiving: Donte Davis, 5-51
Cincinnati: Passing: Zach Collaros, 22-28, 295 yds, 4 TD
Rushing: Isaiah Pead, 16-77, Receiving: Mardy Gilyards, 6-62 
What It All Means: Tony Pike is a better quarterback than Zach Collaros, but even when Pike returns, it’ll be important to keep both options involved. Collaros adds another dimension to the attack with his mobility and his ability to make things happen to keep plays alive, and he came up with touchdown passes against SU that Pike wouldn’t have. The team keeps on rolling and hasn’t been touched over the last several games, and now getting the next three games at home will be a big help. It only gets tougher from here on starting with UConn next week and with West Virginia coming in the week after.

Oct. 24
at Cincinnati 41 … Louisville 10
QB Zach Collaros, playing in place of an injury Tony Pike, was nearly perfect, and Isaiah Pead ran for scores from one and 67 yards out, to go along with a 15-yard scoring grab, as Cincinnati won easily. Louisville went on a ten-point midgame run, with Josh Chichester catching a four-yard scoring pass and Ryan Payne kicking a 36-yard field goal, but it was all Bearcats the rest of the way. Louisville was held to 275 yards.
Player of the Game: Cincinnati QB Zach Collaros completed 15-of-17 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns, and ran 11 times for 52 yards.
Louisville: Passing: Will Stein, 6-9, 98 yds
Rushing: Darius Ashley, 13-67, Receiving: Cameron Graham, 3-35
Cincinnati: Passing: Zach Collaros, 15-17, 253 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Isaiah Pead, 6-88, 2 TD, Receiving: Mardy Gilyard, 4-82, 1 TD
What It All Means: Who loses the starting quarterback and gets better? Without Tony Pike, Cincinnati was extra sharp in all phases harassing the Cardinals all day in the backfield and with Zach Collaros connecting on 15-of-17 passes and the running game doing its part. There could’ve been more third down conversions, converting just 2-of-8, but that’s nitpicking in the blowout. The Bearcats shouldn’t have a problem at Syracuse next week, but Connecticut and West Virginia will have film and time to prepare for Collaros. It doesn’t matter; UC is playing too well. 

Oct. 15
Cincinnati 34 … at South Florida 17
Cincinnati overcame the loss of QB Tony Pike by getting a 75-yard touchdown run from backup Zach Collaros in the third quarter and a three-yard scoring run in the fourth. Pike connected with Armon Binns for two short touchdown passes in the second quarter for a 17-7 UC lead, but the Bulls battled back with a one-yard B.J. Daniels touchdown run and a 50-yard Eric Schwartz field goal. USF suffered from misfires, dropped passes and penalties, and wasn't able to come back in the fourth quarter. 
Player of the Game: Cincinnati QB Zach Collaros completed 4-of-7 passes for 72 yards with an interception, and he ran ten times for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
Cincinnati: Passing: Tony Pike, 12-25, 140 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Zach Collaros, 10-132, 2 TD, Receiving: Mardy Gilyard, 5-75
South Florida: Passing: B.J. Daniels, 15-32, 208 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: B.J. Daniels, 16-74, 1 TD, Receiving: Pat Richardson, 4-36
What It All Means: Talk about picking up the slack, Cincinnati lost Tony Pike to a wrist injury and played even better. Zach Collaros showed what a gamer he was with several nice runs and a few clutch throws, and even though he showed his inexperience at times, he did a good job of moving the offense while the defense stepped up in the second half. Pike will be out for a while, so it'll be important to be sharp. The nine penalties were too many and the defense will have to control the game against Louisville.

Oct. 3
Cincinnati 37 … at Miami University 13
In windy conditions, Cincinnati didn’t play its best game, but it came through when it needed to getting three short touchdown runs from Jacob Ramsey and a 23-yard Marshawn Gilyard touchdown grab to stay ahead all game long. The Bearcats were up 20-0, but MU came back with a one-yard Thomas Merriweather touchdown run and a 19-yard Andre Bratton catch. A misfire into the end zone led to a UC pick to keep MU from making things truly interesting.
Player of the Game: Cincinnati RB Jacob Ramsey ran 12 times for 103 yards and three scores
Cincinnati: Passing: Tony Pike, 23-42, 270 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jacob Ramsey, 12-103, 3 TD, Receiving: Mardy Gilyard, 6-75, 1 TD
Miami: Passing: Zac Dysert, 33-47, 286 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Andre Bratton, 12-30, Receiving: Andre Bratton, 11-90, 1 TD
What It All Means: Cincinnati had better figure out how to win the time of possession battle in a big hurry. Fresno State held on to the ball seemingly all game long, and was able to stay alive because of it, two weeks ago. Against Miami, UC only had the ball for 19:09 and while it didn’t matter too much because it was Miami, this could be a problem for the defense down the road. Against South Florida next week in what might be the Big East game of the year, the Bearcats need to continue to use Jacob Ramsey and the pounding ground game to complement Tony Pike. Pike will come through when needed, but it would be nice if he didn’t always have to. 

Sept. 26
at Cincinnati 28 … Fresno State 20
Cincinnati only had the ball for 16 minutes, but it made the most of the time with three touchdown passes from Tony Pike including a 23-yarder and an 11-yarder to Mardy Gilyard. Fresno State stayed alive on the running of Ryan Mathews, who carried it 38 times for 145 yards with a one-yard run, but a late interception thrown by Ryan Colburn ended the threat. Fresno State outgained Cincinnati 290 yards to 57.
Player of the Game: Cincinnati QB Tony Pike completed 18-of-26 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran for 15 yards.
Fresno State: Passing: Ryan Colburn, 16-27, 153 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Ryan Mathews, 38-145, 1 TD, Receiving: Jamel Hamler, 4-57, 1 TD
Cincinnati: Passing: Tony Pike, 18-26, 300 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Isaiah Pead, 4-27, 1 TD, Receiving: Mardy Gilyard, 9-177, 2 TD
What It All Means: Cincinnati had better secure the run defense in a big hurry. Ryan Mathews is one of the elite backs in college football, but he was able to pound away while the short-to-midrange Fresno State passing attack kept the chains moving all game long. Cincinnati was more quick strike than ball-control, and while that’s not a bad thing, the defense has to do a better job of getting off the field. The Bearcats get two weeks off, playing Miami University next week before a bye week, and then comes the showdown against USF. 

Sept. 19
Cincinnati 28 … at Oregon State 18
Tony Pike connected with Mardy Gilyard on a 19-yard score midway through the fourth quarter to stop an Oregon State run and end the Beavers’ 26-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents. The Bearcats held a 21-8 first half lead helped by a 45-yard touchdown catch from D.J. Woods with 18 seconds to play, but Oregon State fought back with a nine-yard Jacquizz Rodgers run and Justin Kahut’s third field goal of the game. That was as close as the Beavers got.
Player of the Game: Cincinnati QB Tony Pike completed 31-of-49 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and he ran for 15 yards and a score.
Oregon State: Passing: Sean Canfield, 29-45, 240 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Jacquizz Rodgers, 20-73, 1 TD, Receiving: James Rodgers, 11-90
Cincinnati: Passing: Tony Pike, 31-49, 332 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Isaiah Pead, 11-46, 1 TD, Receiving: Mardy Gilyard, 9-65, 1 TD
What It All Means: This was it. This was the big road test that Cincinnati had to overcome, and it not only beat a strong team far from home, it won by double-digits. This was the type of confidence builder that showed UC it can come through when pushed. Tony Pike continued his hot start to the season to overcome the lack of running game, and he’ll have to be just as sharp against Fresno State. If UC can stop the run like it did against Oregon State, it’ll be 4-0 going into a layup against Miami University.

Sept. 12
at Cincinnati 70 ... SE Missouri State 3
Mardy Gilyard caught two touchdown passes, ran for a touchdown, and returned a punt for a 53-yard touchdown in the laugher. The Cincinnati offense stayed hot after destroying Rutgers, coming up with 578 yards with 49 points coming in the first half. The fun continued for the Bearcats after halftime with a 100-yard Darrin Williams kickoff return for a score.
Player of the Game: Cincinnati WR Mardy Gilyard caught six passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran for a one-yard touchdown and returned a punt 53 yards for a score.
SE Missouri State: Passing: Matt Scheible, 15-27, 123 yds, 3 INT
Rushing: Henry Harris, 10-41, Receiving: Walter Peoples, 4-38
Cincinnati: Passing: Tony Pike, 17-23, 229 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Jacob Ramsey, 7-65, Receiving: Mardy Gilyard, 6-111, 2 TD
What It All Means: No team in America has played better over the first two weeks of the season. Rutgers and SE Missouri State might not be world-beaters, but the Bearcats have been tremendously sharp with explosiveness, consistency, and the type of midseason form that should make Oregon State scared next week. Tony Pike has been on fire in a perfect command of the offense, and now, after the blowout win, the depth got some much needed experience. This has been a perfect start.

Sept. 5
Cincinnati 47 ... at Rutgers 15
Cincinnati was unstoppable as i rolled up 564 yards of total offense and went on a 38-point midgame run that rendered the Rutgers defense helpless. Tony Pike threw three touchdown passes and Isaiah Pead scored on a 41-yard pass play and a two-yard run as part of the blowout. Rutgers pounded away early on, tying it at seven with a four-yard Joe Martinek scoring run, but the offense fizzled and didn't get back on the board until early in the fourth.
Player of the Game: Cincinnati QB Tony Pike completed 27-of-34 passes for 362 yards and three touchdowns with an interception.
Cincinnati: Passing: Tony Pike, 7-34, 362 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jacob Ramsey, 8-77, Receiving: Mardy Gilyard, 8-89
Rutgers: Passing: Tom Savage, 15-23, 135 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Joe Martinek, 15-84, 1 TD, Receiving: Mohamed Sanu, 10-101
What It All Means: Never doubt what Brian Kelly can do to get a team prepared. This was, and is, supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Bearcats, but the offense put on the most impressive display in a game of this magnitude in the opening weekend. Tony Pike threw one interception, but he connected on everything else as he was given time to work, he carved up the Rutgers D, and he led the way to an easy win. This was a big first step considering the battles with South Florida and Pitt are on the road, but if UC plays like this, it'll be the favorite to win the Big East title again.