Instant Analysis - Oct. 15
Cincinnati 34 ... South Florida 17
Pete
Fiutak
I'm more torn than ever.
A few weeks ago I threw it out there that Cincinnati
had the right makeup, the schedule, and the decent
non-conference games on the schedule, beating Oregon
State and hosting Illinois (who now looks like a
layup of an opponent) to be in the mix for the
national title chase up until the end. I believe
that even more now after the win over South Florida
in a fired up stadium against a jacked up team, but
I'm still not sold that this is a national title
club. There's a difference between being in the mix
to play for it all and being good enough to be
considered one of the top two teams in America, and
I'm not sold that UC is in the latter category.
Oh sure, the team and the coaching staff did a
phenomenal job of regrouping the thriving once Tony
Pike got injury and left the game, but this would
have been a far different game if USF had a brain.
From the dropped passes, to QB B.J. Daniels
air-mailing half his throws, to the 12 penalties for
113 yards, including a pass interference call that
bailed the Bearcats out of a jam and led to a
three-yard Zach Collaros touchdown run in the fourth
quarter, the Bulls did their part to make sure
Cincinnati survived and could move on. But no matter
how it happened, UC doubled up USF in its park; this
might have been a better win than I'm giving it
credit for.
But as I say time and again at this time of year up
until the first week of January, it's not about what
I believe, it's about what I can prove. I might
believe that Cincinnati isn't nearly as good as
Florida, Texas, Alabama, Virginia Tech, Nebraska, or
USC, but I can prove that the team is whacking
everyone around on its schedule. I dogged Boise
State for winning ugly in close games that should be
blowouts, so I can't go the other way and fire on UC
for winning by large margins even with things aren't
going so well.
This will be a fun ride for the Bearcats over the
next few months, and the journey could end up in
Pasadena.
Richard
Cirminielloa>
When did Matt Grothe get traded to Cincinnati?
Fans at Raymond James Stadium could never have imagined that they’d witness the reincarnation of their injured starting quarterback on Thursday night. For that matter, those in attendance might have preferred taking their chances with Tony Pike instead of backup Zach Collaros, who weaved in and out of the South Florida defense for 129 yards and two scores on the ground in a huge Bearcat win.
That Collaros looked and played an awful lot like Grothe was eerie. That Collaros actually helped extend Cincinnati’s lead after Pike injured his wrist was further testament to the job being done by Brian Kelly and his assistants. Although he’s never played significant minutes, the sophomore was poised in the face of a quality Bull D, making one mistake through the air, but generally managing the game like a seasoned upperclassman. Because he was well-prepared in the event of an emergency, the Bearcats are still unbeaten and still ranked in the top 10. And it’s a good thing, too, since early signs point to Pike missing more than just the last two quarters of tonight’s game in Tampa.
Matt Zemek
1) I don’t like math, but this equation needs to be studied:
Landry Jones + BYU + Aaron Corp + Washington + Zach Collaros + South Florida = Brian Kelly is one of the elite coaches in major college football.
2) The Big East’s Thursday night games have historically been sloppy slugfests over the years. The 2006 Louisville-Rutgers game is one of the few showcase games in the conference that has managed to elicit more “WOW” than “WOE” on a Thursday. Usually, the top teams in the Big East are so eager to prove themselves to the nation that they lose focus in these made-for-TV tilts.
Last year, Cincinnati hosted South Florida at Nippert Stadium on a Thursday night, and the two teams combined for six turnovers. Tonight in Tampa, the Bearcats and Bulls compiled 21 (accepted) penalties, three turnovers, two missed field goals, multiple dropped interceptions—Jerome Murphy’s bad hands and untimely penalties killed USF in this game—and lots of other misadventures. No, this isn’t some anti-Big East rant. The conference deserves its BCS status; the point is that these Thursday showcases usually witness the triumph of nerves, and not composure, from the Big East’s most prominent pigskin powers.
Michael Bradley
Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike really did hurt his left wrist during the Bearcats’ win over South Florida. It wasn’t just a clever ruse by UC coach Brian Kelly to get Zach Collaros into the game and counter the Roger Staubach-style scrambling by USF quarterback B.J. Daniels, who proved to be more elusive than a bit of mercury. The Cincinnati defense finally corralled Daniels – who didn’t get a lot of help from his line – and Collaros did the rest, picking up for Pike’s solid passing first half with his legs. It was a fine performance by a backup, but the long-term repercussions of Pike’s injury could be huge for a Cincinnati team that has some high aspirations. While we wait to find out how hurt he is and whether he’ll be able to return this season, we also can’t help but be impressed by the UC defense, which was expected to be a problem this year but has become quite a strength. The Bearcats are fortunate to face Louisville and Syracuse in their next two games, so if Pike is down for a short time, things should be all right. But as exciting as Collaros is running the football, he’s nowhere near the downfield passer Pike is, and if he has to be under center for the rest of the season, the Bearcats’ hopes of repeating as Big East champs are in danger.