Cincinnati Claws Past West Virginia

The following is a live journal composed during the West Virginia/Cincinnati game. All times listed are Pacific Standard Time.

PREGAME

5:00 – Don’t bother mincing words—this is the biggest game in Cincinnati football history; a win, and the Bearcats will have ample opportunity to top that mark in the near future as well.

FIRST QUARTER

5:02 – Mountaineer running back Noel Devine, playing with a bum ankle, slips and goes down in the backfield while making a cut; one has to wonder how many more carries he’ll get after that.

5:03 – For a defense that gave up forty-five points last week, that was a good stand by the Cincy defense on West Virginia’s first drive. Not only was it a three-and-out, but the Bearcats flushed quarterback Jarrett Brown out of the pocket on third down with a three-man rush.

5:05 – The Bearcats haven’t missed a beat with Zach Collaros under center this past month; Tony Pike will see some action tonight and, when completely healthy, he is the quarterback, but if Collaros keeps completing passes at the rate he is (roughly 80%), then there will likely be a contingent of fans who want him to continue to take the snaps.

5:09 – Having not seen any action for a month, Pike throws a touchdown pass on his very first play from scrimmage. That drive played out like a nerd/bully high school collaboration: Collaros was the genius who engineered the drive, but Pike copied his homework.

7-0 Cincinnati

5:17 – West Virginia, having just had another drive fizzle out, has a chance to pin Cincy deep, but the punt hits the foot of a Mountaineer special teamer at the twenty yard line instead. This could get ugly very quickly…

5:21 – …unless the Mountaineers force a turnover; tight end Adrien Robinson didn’t tuck the ball properly after he caught that long completion. What a time for the Bearcats to lose their first fumble of the year.

5:24 – Calling outside runs for Devine might not be the best idea and that’s why West Virginia is faced with this 3rd and 6. Of course, then they proceed to not run an outside run with their hobbled back and move the chains.

5:26 – As long as quarterback Jarrett Brown keeps running like that, West Virginia is going to have a chance—he made at least three shifty moves on that eight yard touchdown run. Incidentally, the tip of the ball broke the plain of the goal line just before Brown’s knee was down, so this should stand up to the official review.

5:28 – The touchdown stands and the Mountaineers did well to take advantage of that turnover and get their offense going; a shootout could be brewing…

Tied 7-7

5:34 – How is it humanly possible for a kickoff unit to be penalized for an illegal formation (only three men on the left side of the kicker) and then be hit again with the exact same penalty on the re-kick? The Mountaineer special teams must be dreading the extra wind sprints that will come as a result of this.

5:36 – Not to be outdone in the silly penalty department, Cincy is called for “slapping an opponent’s helmet.” Who in their right mind would slap a football helmet with their bare hand?

END FIRST QUARTER. TIED 7-7.

SECOND QUARTER

5:47 – If Isaiah Pead keeps making moves like that, it isn’t going to matter who is under center for the Bearcats; he cut two Mountaineer defensemen out of their climbing shoes on that run.

5:53 – Wow. That was one of the worst shanks in football history by Jake Rogers. It’s not like Tropical Depression Ida was blowing through Nippert Stadium; there’s little shame in missing a field goal, but that was a misfire of epic proportions.

5:57 – Jarrett Brown is beginning to make plays with his feet; he bought time on that play and found a receiver for a first down; his legs can make life easier for Devine should the Mountaineers continue to run him.

5:59 – West Virginia runs downhill, with someone other than Devine, and Ryan Clarke takes it all the way to the house. If the Mountaineers can get by with minimal play from Devine, it might be in their best interest to limit his number of plays (a la Pike) and give that ankle a chance to heal.

14-7 West Virginia

6:03 – Bearcat wide receiver Mardy Gilyard, while being non-existent in the passing game thus far, is sure making up for that with his kickoff returns; he’s found a gap to run through on every one of his runbacks.

6:07 – Based on that run, it looks like Collaros can match Brown step-for-step on called quarterback runs.

6:08 – That is why you don’t try to stretch the ball across the goal line unless you are absolutely sure that it will break the plain; in this instance, the ball came as close as it can to crossing, but Pead should’ve known better than that. The next worst case scenario is 2nd and Goal inside the one, so there’s no reason to take that risk in a situation where your team would still be in an outstanding position to tie the game.

6:11 – Mr. Pead may not be a churchgoer, but he should definitely make a visit tomorrow for having that call go his way; the call was a fumble and the replay contained anything but indisputable evidence to overturn it. How many poor replay calls is that for the year now?

Tied 14-14

6:20 – College Gameday “Stormed the Dorm” at Calhoun Hall for this week’s game; that’s an excellent choice in my humble opinion.

6:27 – Collaros finally makes a mistake—two in fact; he forces a throw downfield that gets picked off easily and, to make matters worse, he throws it after he crossed the line of scrimmage. He’ll be a fine quarterback, but you can’t do that in the last minute of the half.

HALFTIME. TIED 14-14.

6:34 – Both teams are relying on two-pronged attacks: West Virginia is going with the dual rushing threats of Brown and Devine while Cincinnati is utilizing the respective arms of Collaros and Pike. It’s anyone’s game at this point so whichever team can make the best use of their dual threats in the second half should have a noticeable advantage.

THIRD QUARTER

6:54 – Pead, sans a bum ankle, is continually getting around the corner on runs; Collaros is probably on a shorter leash after that pick in the first half, so if he can get going, then the question of how much to play Pike will become irrelevant.

6:56 – Double-pumping the snap? Can the penalties get any sillier?

6:57 – The Bearcats are refusing to use the middle of the field—Pead is running to the outside and Collaros is throwing to the sidelines on his passes. Don’t be surprised if the Mountaineer defense begins to creep to the sides of the field and Pike is brought in for a deep pass down the middle at some point (if needed, that is).

6:58 – And here comes Pike to try and finish the drive again; he’ll say otherwise for the good of the team, but you have to wonder if, deep down, Collaros is okay with this.

21-14 Cincinnati

7:19 – After a multitude of runs, the Mountaineers finally attempt a pass and Brown gets sacked; it’s a good thing their in the game right now—and they had better keep it that way—or they will be forced to go to the air eventually.

7:21 – On the bright side, Scott Kozlowski turns the field position around by pinning a punt down inside the 5 yard line.

END THIRD QUARTER. CINCINNATI LEADS 21-14.

FOURTH QUARTER

7:30 – So much for field position; this was not the time for West Virginia’s defense to fold—they had a chance to get their offense the ball back in great position to possibly tie the game, but now the Bearcats are marching on them.

7:31 – Throwing on the run, Collaros hits Robinson on the sideline with a perfectly thrown ball; not much any defense can do when a play goes that well, much less the Mountaineers’.

7:37 – Brown gains ten yards by running for about thirty on that play; there have been two sacks in this game, but otherwise, very little pressure has been put on any of the quarterbacks.

7:41 – Right now, all the Cincy D has to do is find a way to slow down West Virginia’s run game; the Mountaineers passing game is non-existent, so if the Bearcats can force passing situations, then it will be advantageous to them.

7:42 – Who needs a passing game when Brown can make plays like that? Why he hasn’t been called on to run more is a mystery.

7:45 – You have all three timeouts and you’re in field goal range, so why go for it on 4th and 8 Coach Stewart? It doesn’t help that your quarterback, who’s a runner, got his ankles grabbed again.

7:48 – And just like that, Pead breaks off another long run and puts Cincy in position to ice the game. That field goal is looking a lot better right now isn’t it Coach Stewart?

7:59 – Rogers performs a much better kick—you can’t get much worse than his last attempt—and puts the Bearcats up ten.

24-14 Cincinnati

8:01 – West Virginia is going to have to pass now, something the Mountaineers have barely done in the second half; if they were only down seven, that prospect would be somewhat more promising.

8:04 – A crossing route? You’re out of timeouts and you need two scores! Why in the world would you do that?

8:05 – Despite the loss of some precious seconds, the Mountaineers keep hope alive with that quick drive. Why wasn’t Brown throwing it more beforehand?

24-21 Cincinnati

8:07 – There is a ton on the line in regards to this onside kick: Either Cincinnati recovers and keeps their BCS hopes alive or West Virginia gets the chance to pull off a miracle.

8:08 – The Bearcats recover and, barring any trouble with the kneel down, will hold on.

GAME OVER. CINCINNATI WINS 24-21.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My final thoughts on this game can be viewed in the Instant Analysis article by the CFN staff.