Cincinnati
Bearcats
Preview 2007
By
Richard Cirminiello
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2007 Cincinnati Offense Preview
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2007 Cincinnati Defense Preview
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2007 Cincinnati Depth Chart
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2006 CFN Cincinnati Preview
For most
second-tier programs, losing a coach the caliber of Mark Dantonio,
the architect of the Bearcats’ turnaround, would have been a
crippling blow that might take years to overcome. In the past, UC
would start with a good young assistant to keep the production
rolling.
Things have quickly changed by landing Brian Kelly, one of the
rising stars in the coaching ranks and the star who made Central
Michigan a MAC champion. Now only has Cincinnati made a swift
recovery and should continue the momentum Dantonio built in his
three years in the Queen City, it could be argued the program got an
upgrade.
Head coach: Brian Kelly
1st full year: 1-0
17th year overall: 138-51-2
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 25, Def. 28, ST 0
Lettermen Lost: 13 |
Ten
Best UC Players
1.
DT Terrill
Byrd, Jr.
2. CB Mike Mickens, Jr.
3. WR Derrick Stewart, Jr.
4. WR Dominick Goodman, Jr.
5. DE Trevor Anderson, Jr.
6. S Haruki Nakamura, Sr.
7. OG Trevor Canfield, Jr.
8. OT Digger Bujnoch, Sr.
9. RB Greg Moore, Sr.
10. LB Corey Smith, Jr. |
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2007 Schedule
CFN Prediction:
6-6 |
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Aug.
30 |
SE Missouri St |
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Sept. 6 |
Oregon State |
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Sept. 15 |
at Miami Univ. |
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Sept. 22 |
Marshall |
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Sept. 29 |
at San Diego St |
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Oct.
6 |
at
Rutgers |
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Oct.
13 |
Louisville |
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Oct.
20 |
at
Pitt |
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Nov.
3 |
at
South Florida |
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Nov.
10 |
Connecticut |
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Nov.
17 |
West
Virginia |
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Nov.
24 |
at Syracuse |
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2006
Schedule
CFN
Prediction: 5-7
2006 Record:
8-5
Preview
2006 predicted wins
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| 9/2 |
E. Kentucky
W 31-0 |
| 9/8 |
Pitt L 33-15 |
| 9/16 |
at Ohio State L 37-7 |
| 9/23 |
at Virginia Tech L 29-13 |
| 9/30 |
Miami Univ.
W 24-10 |
| 10/7 |
Akron
W 20-14 |
| 10/14 |
at Louisville L 23-17 |
| 10/21 |
South Florida W 23-6 |
| 10/28 |
Syracuse
W 17-3 |
| 11/11 |
at West Virginia L 42-21 |
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11/18 |
Rutgers
W 30-11 |
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11/25 |
at Connecticut W 26-23 |
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1/6 |
International Bowl
Western Mich W 27-24 |
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Kelly is a winner
with a robust career record and the titles at Grand Valley State and CMU
to back up the hype. He’s also got a bowl victory with his new
employer, a rare luxury for an incoming head coach and his players after
being on the sidelines for the Bearcats’ 27-24 International Bowl
victory over Western Michigan. He’s not coming in cold.
Even if the locals are too interested in the Bengals and Reds to
validate it, you can win football games at the University of
Cincinnati. Dantonio and Rick Minter proved that over the last decade
taking the school to a very respectable six bowl games. Now the goal is
to turn this former Conference USA power into a major conference
champion and get to the BCS. If Louisville and Rutgers could make the
jump into the special category, why not Cincinnati? That’s the question
Kelly is asking, and if he’s able to work his magic, he could have a
positive answer sooner than many other Big East fans might like.
For now, the Bearcats can forget about competing with the stars for the
championship, yet they have more than enough returning talent to win at
least seven games, land another bowl berth, and vie for that coveted
opening directly behind the Big East’s Big Two. Kelly will have this
program dreaming big.
What to watch for on offense: Kelly plans to open things up
offensively, so get ready for the spread offense to replace Dantonio’s
conservative, run-first approach. Even with a shortage of receivers, a
sketchy quarterback situation going into the fall, and a couple of
returning power backs in Greg Moore and Butler Benton, the new scheme
will be implemented, but more gradually than the new staff would like.
Receiver Dominick Goodman has the right size and athletic ability to be
a star once he finds his niche.
What to watch for on defense: What it lacks in size, it’ll make
up for with speed and by swarming to the ball. It all starts up front
for the Bearcats, who boast one of the league’s deepest and quickest
defensive lines. Kelly’s Central Michigan teams thrived with a great
pass rush, and his UC front four will provide the same production.
Trevor Anderson and Anthony Hoke are disruptive coming off the edge and
Terrill Byrd is an all-conference, run-stuffing tackle. Mike Mickens is
a top corner, who’ll always draw the opposition’s best receiver.
The team will be far better if … if the quarterbacks aren’t
ducking for cover every other time they drop back. The offense was
pathetic at times last year mainly because of poor pass protection
leading to poor overall execution. There’s hope that two-step drops and
three quality returning linemen, Trevor Canfield, Digger Bujnoch and
Jeff Linkenbach, will sharply reduce the 33 sacks the Bearcats allowed
last season, while the coaching staff will do whatever’s needed to put
the quarterbacks in better positions to succeed.
The Schedule: Kelly and his new team have a chance to get off to
a fast start if everything breaks right. A home upset over Oregon State
could lead the way to a 5-0 record before October kicks in, and then
things get interesting with at Rutgers, Louisville, at Pitt and at South
Florida. If the Bearcats can get out of that stretch with a win,
consider it a success. Wins over UConn and Syracuse late in the year are
a must to get to a bowl.
Best Offensive Player: Sophomore WR Derrick Stewart. Proof that good things
sometimes do arrive in small packages, Stewart debuted in 2006 with 33
catches for a team-best 675 yards and five touchdowns. Track speed
allows him to get behind the coverage, but at just 175 pounds, he needs
to beef up to a handle a new spread offense that relies heavily on
short-range passes with defenders nearby.
Best Defensive Player: Junior DT Terrill Byrd. Byrd is never
going to amass gaudy numbers with the Bearcats, but those around him
will because of his ability to absorb multiple blockers and create an
upfield push. Like a young Warren Sapp, the all-Big East tackle
compensates for his modest size with a very quick first step and a
non-stop motor.
Key player to a successful season: Quarterbacks Dustin Grutza and
Ben Mauk. Mauk transferred from Wake Forest with the idea that he’d be
the star of the Kelly offense, but Grutza has been the main face of the
passing game, for good and bad, for the last few years and will have a
leg up on the race with more practice time. Mauk won’t join the team
until August allowing Grutza to get a major jump on running the attack,
but no matter who the main man is, he’ll have to be mistake-free and
consistent.
The season will be a
success if
... the Bearcats go to back-to-back bowls for the first time since 2001
and 2002. The Big East has gotten so good that every week will be a
battle, and the Bearcats became so dangerous at times last season that
no one will look past them anymore. The defense should be good enough,
and the coaching so tremendous on offense, that anything less than a
winning season will be a tremendous letdown. Kelly is that good.
Key game:
Oct. 6 at Rutgers.
Considering the way the Bearcats beat up, threw over, and flat-out
embarrassed the unbeaten Scarlet Knights in a 30-11 win, they might be
walking into the lion’s den. A win would mean the world with Louisville,
Pitt and South Florida to follow, but just taking RU’s best shot and
battling well for a full sixty minutes would show the team’s moxie under
adversity.
2006 Fun Stats:
- First quarter scoring: Cincinnati 56 – Opponents 32
- Fourth down conversions: Cincinnati 6 of 13 (46%) – Opponents 4 of 18
(22%)
- Fumbles: Cincinnati 26 (lost 12) – Opponents 15 (lost 9)