Cincinnati Bearcats Football: Report Card Grades for the Rutgers Game

Head coach Butch Jones and the Cincinnati Bearcats no longer control their own destiny. 

Without quarterback Zach Collaros, Cincinnati was no match for Rutgers, and fell 20-3 on Saturday. 

The loss dropped the Bearcats back to the pack in the Big East, and means they will need to win out and get help in order to reach their ultimate goal of making the Orange Bowl. 

Here are the position-by-position grades for the Bearcats. 

Munchie Legaux struggled mightily in his first collegiate start at quarterback. He finished the game 12-of-31 for 158 yards and an interception. 

After showing flashes against West Virginia, Legaux took a step backward against Rutgers. He will need to rebound quickly to help save the Bearcats season. 

Overall grade: D

Isaiah Pead had possibly his worst game of the season, with only 28 yards on 14 carries. He failed to break off a run of 10 yards or more, and also failed to find the end zone for only the second time all season. 

In his defense, Pead did not have many holes to run through. 

He will be counted on heavily once again against Syracuse on Saturday. 

Overall grade: D-

A lot was expected of senior D.J. Woods heading into the season, and he only had one catch for five yards yesterday. 

Anthony McClung caught five balls for 69 yards and true freshman Alex Chisum caught three passes for 57 yards. 

Those two were the lone bright spots of the game on offense for Cincinnati. 

Overall grade: C

The offensive line did a decent job of protecting Legaux, but were unable to open up any holes for Isaiah Pead. 

Numerous penalties were drive-killers, and without Collaros, Cincinnati was unable to overcome any miscues at all. 

The line will need to do a better job of opening up holes for Pead if Cincinnati plans on winning any more games this season. 

Overall grade: C-

Senior tackle Derek Wolfe had a huge game, with 10 tackles, and spent a good part of the day in the Rutgers backfield. Defensive end Dan Giordano had six tackles, including one for loss. Backup Rob Trigg had a sack for the Bearcats. 

The negative: Cincinnati allowed Rutgers to rush for 203 yards, and that is unacceptable. 

Overall grade: C-

Perhaps the lone bright spot of the day for Cincinnati came from senior linebacker J.K. Schaffer. Schaffer led the team with 13 tackles and was all over the field. He also had 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss, to go along with a pass breakup. 

Other linebacker Maalik Bomar finished with eight tackles. 

Overall grade: B

The Bearcats secondary held Rutgers to 182 yards passing, and did a respectable job against Mohamed Sanu, holding him to 38 yards on six receptions. 

Safety Drew Frey had 11 tackles on the day, and fellow safety Wesley Richardson had nine. 

The cornerbacks also played well against the Rutgers receivers. 

Overall grade: B+

Ralph Abernathy IV was unable to give Cincinnati good field position on kickoffs. That is something the Bearcats have been accustomed to all season. 

Kicker Tony Miliano hit a 47-yard field goal for the only points of the day for Cincinnati. 

Punter Pat O'Donnell averaged 42.9 yards on seven punts.

Overall grade: C 

Head coach Butch Jones seemed to abandon the run a little too quickly, as he has often been known to do. Isaiah Pead only carried the ball 14 times, and he could never get in a groove. 

The defense had a good game plan coming in, but without Collaros, they could not execute it like they wanted to. 

Overall grade: C