2007 trip to Pittsburgh hands Bearcats second straight loss

After starting 6-0 in 2007 the Cincinnati Bearcats were getting national attention. After dropping a game to Louisville the Bearcats had a chance to right their ship in Pittsburgh before a bye week. Pittsburgh however, had other plans. With head coach Dave Wannstedt sidelined with a torn Achilles, and coaching from the pressbox, the Panthers rallied to a 24-17 win after trailing 17-10 at halftime.

The first offensive play of the game for UC was a Ben Mauk 55-yard scamper. My thoughts, ‘This one is going to get ugly, in a hurry.’ But it didn’t. Pitt pounded the UC defense with two sensational running backs—LaRod Stephens-Howling and LeSean McCoy.

Stephens-Howling and McCoy both rushed for over 100 yards, the first time a Pitt team had done that since November 5ht of the 1988 season. When this information flashed across the video board I said, “That happened ten days before I was born.” My counterpart from Pittsburgh said simply, “Wow. That was a long time ago.”

Heinz Field at noon on Saturday, where better a place to be? This was one view of the pregame warmups before the 2007 noon kickoff between the Panthers and Bearcats

Brian Kelly put the onus squarely on his shoulders for the second straight loss in as many weeks. “What you saw out there was a poorly coached football team and that stops and starts with me,” he said. “We were poorly prepared and we didn't execute in any facet of our game... I hold myself accountable for the game today.”

Knowing how tough it is to beat Pittsburgh at Heinz Field should provide the Bearcats with a little incentive this weekend. Knowing that the game isn’t all about the River City Rivalry trophy as much as it is about the Big East Championship trophy should motivate these Bearcats to play even harder.

Remembering what happened in 2007 should motivate Kelly and the ‘Cats to make sure to play a full sixty minutes of football. That would prevent comments like this from Kelly. “Our football team did not play up to its capabilities today,” he said after that game. “That was a sloppy game by a poorly coached team. It stops and starts with me and I deserve all the criticism.”

The trip to the City of Three Rivers was my first visit to Pittsburgh. Pitt week is a very interesting time around here. If you read my Big East schedule previews you might remember why. Tomorrow I’m going to attempt to break down the difference between quarterbacks in this matchup. On Thursday you might hear me on a radio near you. More details to come, have a good day.