Cincinnati Bearcats Football

The Cincinnati Bearcats Week 1 match up against Austin Peay alerted the Big East and the rest of the college football world to the Bearcats' potent offense.

Spearheaded by dual threat quarterback Zach Collaros and senior running back Isaiah Pead, the Bearcats put up 72 points and 387 yards rushing in last week's contest. I don't care who you're playing, those numbers are impressive.

Going into Knoxville on Saturday the Bearcats knew that if they were to pull off the upset, Collaros and company would need to stamp their mark on the game.

Unfortunately for Cincinnati, it's their defense, or lack there of, that's the story in this one.

The Bearcats gave up 405 yards passing en route to a 45-23 shellacking. Cincinnati's front seven failed to put any pressure on sophomore quarterback Tyler Bray, recording zero sacks in the game. Bray was a deadly 34 of 41 in the game, and cut the Cincinnati defense up for 5 total touchdowns.

The Bearcats defense also gave up 124 yards rushing on 34 attempts, bringing the day's total damage to 529 yards of total offense for the Volunteers.

Credit is certainly due to Tennessee's offense for their ruthless efficiency. The Volunteers' coaching staff never took their foot off the gas pedal as they relentlessly exploited Cincinnati's porous underneath zone.

Bearcats head coach Butch Jones did little to counteract Tennessee's short passing game, ultimately paying the price in the end.

The two biggest plays of the game for Cincinnati came early in the first half, when the Bearcats elected to go for not one but two fourth and shorts. The Volunteers defensive front answered the bell as the Bearcats failed to convert both times. 

Although Collaros and Pead combined for 400 yards of total offense, they were never able to get into any kind of rhythm as Tennessee dominated the tempo of the game with over 37 minutes of possession.

You could also hold the Bearcats offensive line, who failed to provide pushes in key situations, responsible for some of the defensive damage. The offense's inability to sustain long drives in the first half ultimately resulted in a fatigued Cincinnati defense, something that Tennessee exploited to the fullest.

It's back to the drawing board for Butch Jones and defensive coordinator Mike Bajakaian, who have a lot of work to do if the Bearcats are going to improve off last season's 4-8 record. 

In a game that had the potential to springboard Cincinnati into an undefeated non-conference season, the Bearcats defense was a no show on Saturday against Tennessee. The Bearcats lost 45-23.

The Volunteers had no trouble marching down the field nearly every time they touched the football and the Bearcats never had an answer. 

For a team that returned all 11 starters on defense, the Cincinnati defenders looked lost out there.  

While they did force two turnovers, Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray picked Cincinnati apart and the Bearcats secondary was no match for the receiving group of the Volunteers. 

Running back Isaiah Pead had a 65-yard touchdown run with less than two minutes into the game to give Cincinnati an early 7-0 lead. Tennessee quickly answered with a touchdown and recovered an onside kick. The Volunteers never looked back from that point on.

For everything Cincinnati did right in season opener, they did the opposite in this week. The Bearcats were dominant against Austin Peay, yet were dominated by the Volunteers.

Cincinnati failed to get any pressure on Bray throughout the game. 

The Bearcats will need to show vast improvements in the coming weeks if they plan on contending for a Big East title.

Along with a better defensive approach, a more balanced rushing attack in the coming weeks is what Cincinnati will need to find to get back to their winning ways.

Pead only carried the ball 14 times for 155 yards. Pead will need to get a few more carries to help run the clock and keep the defense off the field.

The way it looks now, that seems to be the only way to hold the opposing offense in check.  

After a perfect start in Week 1, the opponent gets a little harder in Week 2 when Cincinnati travels to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. 

Tennessee reigns from the mighty SEC and while they are in the lower half of the conference, the challenge on the road will be one of the most difficult games of the season for Cincinnati. 

Here is a breakdown of what to expect from Tennessee on Saturday. 

Offense

The Volunteers put up 42 points on an overmatched Montana team and utilizes a very balanced attack. They love to throw the football, but also have one of the best running backs in the country. 

Tauren Poole carried the ball 24 times for 98 yards and a touchdown against Montana. 

Quarterback Tyler Bray was 17-24 for 293 yards and three touchdowns. He can sling it and the Bearcats' secondary will be tested early and often. 

The duo of Justin Hunter and Da'Rick Rogers each went over 100 yards receiving in the season opener and pose a huge test for Cincinnati. 

The Bearcats will need to get pressure on Bray to disrupt the Tennessee passing attack. 

Defense

The Volunteers have a solid defensive line with defensive ends Jacques Smith and Ben Martin. Smith had two tackles for a loss in the season opener and will have to be controlled from the start by the Cincinnati offensive line. 

Senior Austin Johnson leads a solid linebacker group that will be geared toward stopping Isaiah Pead on the ground. 

In the secondary, Marsalis Teague will anchor a group that will have their fair share of opportunities against Zach Collaros and the Bearcats' passing attack. 

Outcome

Cincinnati has a chance to go in and pull off the upset over Tennessee. While the Volunteers are at home, Cincinnati should be able to put some points on the board and if they can win the turnover battle, the Bearcats will come out of Knoxville with a "W" under their belt.

Cincinnati 38 Tennessee 31

The Cincinnati Bearcats may have successfully garnished some much needed hype after Saturday's rout of the Austin Peay Governors.

The hype really ought to be tempered slightly however, because it was a home game against an FCS team that has lost its last nine games and has had only eighteen winning seasons in its entire existence.

What today did show however, is that the offense has numerous weapons at its disposal. From senior running back Isiah Pead to sophomore receiver Anthony McClung, Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros is surrounded with playmakers.

The night started off on the right foot, with freshman halfback Ralph David Abernathy IV (great grandson of Ralph David Abernathy, an associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) returning the opening kickoff 60 yards, and then on the next play from scrimmage, Isiah Pead rushed for a 40-yard touchdown.

Things only got worse for the Govs who could only watch as Pead scored another touchdown, and team captain Zach Collaros added four more scores in the first half alone.

If the Bearcats offense was very good, their defense was spectacular, causing five turnovers and giving up only 10 points to the Governors. Senior LB J.K. Schaffer had an interception, and nearly had two more that slipped right through his fingers.

For a team that finished -15 in turnover differential last season, it was uplifting to see the Bearcats D take the ball away five times.

While the win was definitely convincing, Austin Peay isn't West Virginia, Tennessee or North Carolina State.

After the game, Zach Collaros admitted the offensive tempo wasn't quite yet where it needs to be, and head coach Butch Jones said that the kickoff coverage needed some definite improvement. It was also disappointing to see Schaffer let two perfect balls slip away from his grasp.

The team took a step in the right direction, but next week may certainly prove to throw a wrench into their season if the team isn't prepared.

The Bearcats will however still be playing with a chip on their shoulder after their 4-8 season last year. Let's see if they keep up their winning ways. This could be the year that Cincinnati gets back on top of the Big East, and into a BCS bowl game.

As discussed in the ACC Atlantic and Coastal preview and prediction, the Big East gets banged on nationally for being a weak conference. A look at the numbers shows that is not totally true.

The ACC is 2-11 in BCS all-time games and has never had a team selected with an at-large bid. On the other hand the Big East is 6-7 in BCS games all-time with no at-large bids as well.

One thing in the ACC’s favor (if you can call it that) is that the conference did win a BCS game in the 2008-09 season. The last Big East BCS victory came in the 2007-08 season.

A single season separates the last win in a BCS game for these two conferences. The only reason the ACC has a better national profile is because of expansion and living of their reputation from the 1990s.

Also hurting the Big East is no stability at head coach. Think about this: heading into this season only two programs have coaches that have been with the season school for three seasons are more.

Those two coaches are Doug Marrone entering his third year at Syracuse and Greg Schiano entering his 11th season at Rutgers. That means the other six teams in the conference have a coach with two or less seasons with the same school.

With all the talk of conference expansion the Big East got a jump on things inviting TCU into the conference next season. Don’t be surprised if the Big East looks for more teams to join to get to 12 teams for a conference championship game.

Until the Big East decides to expand, we first have to play this season. One thing is for sure, the Big East has parity which has hurt the conference.

Will one team take control of the conference, or will it be status quo again?

Cincinnati Bearcats

Cincinnati was on a heck of a run from 2007 to 2009 under Brian Kelly. The Bearcats won double digit games and reached two straight BCS games.

Kelly jumped ship to Notre Dame before the 2009 Sugar Bowl and Cincinnati hired Butch Jones to replace him. In a strange twist, when Kelly left Central Michigan to take the Bearcats job, he was replaced by Jones.

Now that Kelly has left for the Irish, Jones once again is “Johnny on the spot” at Cincinnati. On subject a bit, but it does not mean when Kelly leaves the Notre Dame job Jones replaces him there. Do these two have some strange contract that says the other one must follow after when the previous job opens up?

In year one of the Jones era, Cincinnati dropped off from double digit wins to a 4-8 record. The Bearcats went from four straight bowls to staying home in the postseason.

To be fair to Jones, a bunch of talent left after the Sugar Bowl and the defense had to be rebuilt. Now the offense has holes to fill, but keeps quarterback Zach Collaros.

Cincinnati’s defense nearly returns intact and should be a very good unit. The offense needs to protect Collaros to put up points, but it will be the defense that could lead this team to a Big East title.

The non-conference schedule for Cincinnati has two tough games and three games that should be wins. Non-conference games at home against Austin Peay and Akron should be wins, but North Carolina State at home will be a test. Road non-conference games have what should be a win against Miami (OH) but a trip to Tennessee that will be tough to win.

In conference, the Bearcats play Louisville (with two weeks to prepare), West Virginia and Connecticut at home. These are all winnable games, and a 2-1 record should be the worst outcome.

On the road in conference is where Cincinnati will make their bowl hopes. Road conference games feature trips to South Florida, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and Syracuse.

Again, in the parity-driven Big East all of these games are winnable. They are also all losable as well. I think a 2-2 road record might be the worst scenario.

Butch Jones is 31-21 overall and will not get much time to turn this program around. If this season does not produce a bowl team, he might only get one more year.

Cincinnati has to defensive starters returning to garner a winning season and a bowl game. The offense just needs to fill holes and be good unit.

Prediction: 8-4

Read the rest of this article on JFP Sports. 

The Cincinnati offense had no trouble moving the ball in 2011. The only problem was, they turned it over 29 times, including 14 Zach Collaros interceptions.

That was more than any other team in the Big East, and to make matters worse, Cincinnati also averaged 63.4 penalty yards a game which was next to last in the conference.

Collaros has worked hard on improving that turnover ratio and not always forcing the issue on third down.

Controlling those turnovers all starts with the opener tomorrow night against Austin Peay.

A more balanced rushing attack may help alleviate some of those problems. The first step toward a well-balanced rushing attack is a healthy Isaiah Pead. Pead was banged up for the first three weeks last season and is at 100 percent as the season begins tomorrow. 

The arrival of freshman running back Jameel Poteat will also help balance the offense. Poteat was the highest-rated recruit in the 2011 class and has the ability to contribute immediately for Cincinnati.

The Bearcats thrived on turnovers in 2008 and 2009 when they went to back-to-back BCS bowl games, and improving on the turnover margin not only involves the offense but the defense also.

On defense, Cincinnati will need to get more pressure on the quarterback to force the issue.

Moving Walter Stewart to defensive end from linebacker is certain to have a positive impact. Stewart is the most talented player on the defensive side of the ball for Cincinnati and will certainly put pressure on the quarterback.

If the Bearcats can improve on their turnover margin in 2011, the 4-8 record from last year will be a distant thing of the past.

It all starts tomorrow night against Austin Peay.   

Preseason camp is over and preparations are underway for the Cincinnati Bearcats as they get ready for their season opener on Saturday against Austin Peay. 

There were some heated battles heading into preseason camp and all of the questions have now been answered, with the season only three days away. 

One of the biggest battles was for the starting kicker position. That was won by redshirt freshman Tony Miliano. Miliano beat out Wake Forest transfer Shane Popham. 

Also on special teams, true freshman Ralph Abernathy IV will return kickoffs along with D.J. Woods and Anthony McClung. Punts will also be handled by Woods and possibly running back Isaiah Pead. 

The two biggest battles on the offensive side of the ball were backup quarterback, with the transfer of Chazz Anderson, and starting tight end. 

Sophomore Munchie Legaux has won the No. 2 quarterback spot and Georgia Tech transfer Jordan Luallen will be the No. 3. 

At tight end, sophomore Blake Annen has surprised many by earning the starting nod over senior Adrien Robinson and junior Travis Kelce (who was suspended all of last season and will not play in the season opener against Austin Peay because of an ankle injury). 

The third receiver spot was grabbed by Anthony McClung. McClung saw action last season due to all of the injuries at that spot and will start alongside junior Kenbrell Thompkins and senior D.J. Woods. 

True freshmen Shaquille Washington and Alex Chisum are in the two-deep at receiver, along with senior Orion Woodard. 

On defense, the surprise of camp is sophomore cornerback Deven Drane winning the starting spot over senior and two-year starter Dominique Battle.

Battle missed the second half of last season with a torn ACL and could see more playing time as the season progresses.

Junior Camerron Cheatham has won a starting cornerback spot along with junior Chris Williams, who beat out junior Ruben Johnson. Johnson started alongside Battle last year.

The defensive depth chart shows a five defensive back set, leaving only J.K. Schaffer and Maalik Bomar at linebacker.

True freshmen Dwight Jackson and Clemente Casseus are at No. 2 on the depth chart at linebacker, followed by two more freshmen at No. 3 in Nick Temple and Solomon Tentman.

The move of Walter Stewart to defensive end from linebacker gives Cincinnati more depth on the defensive line and moves junior Brandon Mills to No. 2 on the depth chart.

While there is a lot of experience on both sides of the ball, there are also a lot of youngsters in the two-deep. This could prove beneficial in Week 1 as Cincinnati should have no trouble giving the reins to their second stringers after halftime.  

With the start of the college football season less than a week away, it is time for the Cincinnati Bearcats to prepare for their Week 1 opponent: Austin Peay. 

The Governors are an FCS team that struggled last season, finishing the year with an eight-game losing streak. 

After starting the season with two wins in their first three games, Austin Peay finished the year 2-9, including a 70-3 drubbing at the hands of Wisconsin. 

Here is a breakdown of the relative unknown Austin Peay Governors of the Ohio Valley Conference. 

Offense: 

Junior Jake Ryan is the man under center for the Governors. Austin Peay is a run-first team and Ryan only passed for 1120 yards last season with seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions. 

Ryan White returns at running back. He teamed last season with Terrence Holt as both ran for over 750 yards. 

Holt is no longer around and the brunt of the carries will fall on the senior captain White. At only 5'8" and 199 pounds, he will get some help on the ground game from junior Wes Kitts who was the No. 3 running back last season. 

When the Governors throw, look for the passes to be directed toward Devin Stark and captain Scott Thomas. The duo were the leading receivers last season for Austin Peay, but only accounted for 253 and 223 yards respectively. 

Defense: 

Austin Peay gave up a lot of points last season. They allowed 38 points per game in 2010, including four games where they gave up over 55 points. 

The Governors are led on defense by senior captain Amius Smith. Smith is a safety who has earned preseason recognition in various publications. 

Smith will need some other younger players to step up on defense if Austin Peay wants to stay in the ball game for more than the first half against Cincinnati.

The kickoff is set for 7 P.M. on Saturday night and this one could get ugly quick. The talent and athleticism of Cincinnati will give the Bearcats a chance to get an early season victory and start off 1-0, a far cry from the start they had last season.   

With preseason camp coming to an end, the depth chart is just about set for the University of Cincinnati. And head coach Butch Jones surprised most fans by saying star running back Isaiah Pead would return kickoffs and punts for much of the season. 

Cincinnati was the top return team in the Big East in 2008 and 2009, thanks to All-American Mardy Gilyard. 

However, last season they ranked last in punt returns and next to last in kickoff returns. 

Jones is looking for a spark on special teams and is turning to Pead to handle most of the duties. 

Most teams do not put their biggest offensive threat on special teams due to the potential for injury, but Jones is taking that risk and letting Pead run free. 

Though, Pead will not be the only person returning kicks. Senior receiver D.J. Woods is back for this third consecutive season of returning punts, but will relinquish some of his duties to Pead. 

Also joining the special teams mix is star linebacker J.K. Schaffer who has led the team in tackles the past two seasons. 

Schaffer will be joined by three-year starter Drew Frey and fellow linebacker Maalik Bomar on special teams. 

Clearly Cincinnati is putting an emphasis on this phase of the game due to the struggles they had last season, and possibly remembering how it propelled them in 2008 and 2009. 

After all, those who remain from the 2009 Big East championship squad remember how significant Gilyard was on special teams in the seasons final game against Pittsburgh. 

Pead has that kind of big-play ability and breakaway speed that Gilyard possessed.

Hopefully he can display it and give the Bearcats an advantage on that side of the ball. 

Regaining their swagger and confidence on special teams will go a long way toward leading Cincinnati to the top of the Big East once again.