Eight Days until graduation

Welcome back to the countdown and on the final day of undergraduate classes at UC I’ll take a look at a moment that’s more like a four-year list of memories.

Moment 8: “Higher Ground, Indiana”(August 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010)
Sure it’s longer than a “moment” but I make up the rules for my graduation countdown, and I’ve spent more time at Higher Ground in the past four years than I’ve spent at my house I think.

Camp Higher Ground, located just inside the border of Indiana, transforms from a Camp run by the Church of the Nazarene to a full-scale football camp in August. The UC Bearcats become the main tenant of the campus.

For two weeks the entire UC football program, that includes people like me, move every part of their lives out to Indiana for training camp.

It’s a time that both Brian Kelly and Butch Jones have used to promote things like togetherness, family, brotherhood and the tight knit community that a football team needs to become a championship winning football team.

I’m pretty sure that UC football wouldn’t be UC football without the Higher Ground experience.

Higher Ground is a place that you either love or you hate. I fall on the love side of the continuum, even though a two-week stay does become quite mundane by day 12 or so.

As a video staff, the past four years have been filled with football in the day and video games at night. And food, lots of food.

To say Higher Ground has the best food we get treated to all year might be offensive to my mom, and mothers everywhere, but this food at Higher Ground is darn good. Just ask anyone who has ever been there. In my informal polling of people who just come out and hang out for a day, the food is the most memorable part of the experience.

Even though I’ll be back for another round of the Higher Ground Experience this August, the past four years have been a blast. I’m looking forward to Higher Ground already.
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Join me tomorrow for the number seven moment in the countdown. There’s just over a week until graduation. The countdown is in full swing.

UC’s Anderson will transfer

Lost amidst all the NASCAR and A.J. Allmendinger blogs was the news that UC backup quarterback Chazz Anderson (whose legal name is Timothy Chazz Anderson) has decided to leave the Bearcats and transfer to another school.

In a report by Bill Koch of the Cincinnati Enquirer, head coach Butch Jones has stated that Anderson, a 2007 graduate of Pickerington Central High School just outside Columbus, will receive his UC undergraduate degree and head to Ohio Dominican to play and study to be a minister.

“Chazz wants to go in the seminary,” Jones told Koch. “That’s why Ohio Dominican is very attractive to him because they have a seminary program. He wants to go into the ministry.”

While I have yet to see any credible reports with any quotes from Anderson, I would believe this is 100 percent true. (In the article, Jones was “about 90 percent sure”)

A lot of people asked me over the past few weeks what I thought of Chazz Anderson’s departure. Let me tell you just how great Chazz is.

In four years of working with the Bearcat football program, I’ve come to know Chazz Anderson, and he is one hell of a young man. And while I certainly wish he would stay and continue his playing career as a Bearcat, I understand that he wants to play quarterback, and there’s just no room at UC for him on the quarterback depth chart.

In October of 2008, Anderson stepped into the starting quarterback role after Tony Pike broke his arm against Akron. He started against Marshall and Rutgers, leading UC to two important wins on the road to the school’s first-ever BCS bowl berth and Big East title.

Anderson makes a pass against Marshall in 2008 (File photo)

But it wasn’t just me that was fired up about the way Chazz handled himself and played against Marshall and Rutgers. My good friend and occasional blog contributor Jake Meyer was interested in Chazz’s play as well.

So on Tuesday, Oct. 16 of ’08, I wrote, “Jake was rather impressed with Anderson in the two games he watched him play. Maybe Jake will get to see Chazz tear up Pitt in a few years and say, ‘I told you so.’”

That won’t happen, but it didn’t stop Jake from commenting a few weeks ago about Anderson’s departure. “I was really impressed a few years ago when I watched those games,” Jake told me.

So was I.

Don’t get me wrong, I really wish there was a way for Bearcat fans to continue to see Chazz Anderson on the field next season. On top of being a pretty good athlete and decent football player, he’s one of the nicest guys off of the field.

I’m certainly going to miss the interactions I’ve had with Chazz over the past four years, but I will probably always use him as a shining example of the way a player should act—both on and off the field.
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The most obvious story that this has created is ‘Who is the new No. 2 quarterback?’ Right now, it’s a wide open race between Brendon Kay, Jordan Luallen and Munchie Legaux. And I’m sure we’ll know before the Bearcats take the field against Austin Peay on Saturday, Sept. 3.

Have a great Tuesday.

Signing Day a day of (silly) hope for college football fans

Is there really anything more absurd than grown men waiting on a piece of paper to shoot out of a fax machine? In my humble opinion, it’s tough to find anything crazier.

Maybe watching a groundhog pop out of the ground?

Well, if you’re a fan of college football you ignored our good friend Phil today and instead waited for National Letters of Intent to pop out of your school’s fax machine early this morning. No shadows, no winter or spring predictions, just young men signing to play college football at the school of their choice.

For many it is a formality. Signing on the dotted line finalizes a verbal commitment given to coaching staffs during the regular season, or in early January. For some others, though, signing day is a day to make a choice.

I could care less.

Cincinnati signed 24 new players on Wednesday, and everyone was fired up about it. I get it, I get it, new blood in the program is fun and those recruiting guys (Like ESPN’s Tom Luginbill) somehow get a day’s worth of TV programming out of it.

But does it matter? If you ask me, not really. If you ask Butch Jones, UC’s second-year head coach, today isn’t the day to rank his class.

“Everyone wants to rank recruiting classes,” said Jones. “The real rankings (of the class) should occur 1-2 years from now.”

In Brian Kelly’s first year at Cincinnati, his class of 2007 (which included highly underrated video star, well, maybe you know him as your fearless blogger) was ranked 80th by Scout.com. However, an under-the-radar prospect from Pasadena, Calif., may have made the biggest splash in the past four years at UC.

Remember when, with 39 seconds left, down six to Pitt in 2009, Tony Pike dropped back to pass? Even if you don’t remember the details, you’ll surely remember the guy who caught the ball.


Along with Armon Binns, quarterback Zach Collaros and offensive linemen Sam Griffin and Alex Hoffman were all a part of that first class.

In 2008 and 2009, the UC Bearcats had the 51st best recruiting class in the nation. Players like running back Isaiah Pead (2008) and linebacker Maalik Bomar (2009) have made an impact for UC in the past few years.

Even though Jones and his staff had to scramble last year, UC still ranked 52nd in the nation. This year, however, with one full season under his belt, Jones and the football staff at UC have compiled the highest ranked class in the school’s history.

The class was ranked 41st at last check, bolstered, no doubt, by Harrisburg (Pa.) running back Jameel Poteat. Poteat de-committed from Pittsburgh after Dave Wannstedt stepped down as head coach.

For a full list of signees, as well as video highlights of the signees and the day’s events, go check out GoBearcats.com (http://www.gobearcats.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/11-cinn-signing-day.html)

It was a fun day no doubt for those coaches who recruited these young men the past few months.

We’ll really find out how good these guys are in a few years. Maybe by then Signing Day won’t be as hyped as it is now. I have a feeling that’s just an ephemeral wish from me.

2010 in Review

I love Cincinnati, but forgive me if I seem spoiled by saying after the past few years, this New Year’s Eve in the Queen City will be disappointing. Two years ago we rang in the new year in Miami, and last year it was one wild party on Bourbon Street (which I watched from my hotel room—I wasn’t about to venture down into that craziness) in New Orleans.

So, this year won’t be quite the scene it has been in the past few years, but nonetheless it will be another night to ring in the next year, and hopefully 2011 will be just as much fun and just as exciting as 2010.

There were plenty of highs and plenty of lows, and if you followed the blog, you know most of the upcoming story, but stick around. There are a few good new gems I’ve got planned, including a quick preview of 2011.

As Celine Dion once sang, “God bless us everyone, the good and the bad, the happy the sad.” Whether the moments were happy or sad, good or bad, they were one thing: memorable.

The first day of the year might be remembered by UC football fans as light years ago, and I understand how it feels that way, but the thrashing UC took at the hands of Florida was actually within the calendar year of 2010. The Sugar Bowl was exciting—if you were a fan of the Florida Gators, led on the field by Tim Tebow for one last hurrah.

Well, at least I got to see the greatest college football player of our generation play.

As we rolled toward February, the NASCAR season took over, and what better beginning could you ask for as a NASCAR fan than on day one seeing 51-year-old Mark Martin claim his first Daytona 500 pole?

It was an all Hendrick Motorsports front row in Daytona (Getty Images)

Everything seemed to be going well until that pothole got a hold of the season’s biggest race, turning the 500 into a twice-delayed race on Valentine’s Day. Even though it was sad to sit through almost as much time in delays as we did during the race, it was pretty neat to see Jamie McMurray win.

Rolling into March it was time to begin basketball season, and although my brother and I wanted to win more than one game, we only had the opportunity to win one. Another season starts up in about a month, and we’ve promised to be the best dressed coaches in the league. Let’s see how many wins that gets us.

Also in March of this past year, I began the second internship of my career, this time with FOX19, the city’s smallest TV station. The guys in sports there were more than glad to have me around and we had some good times covering everything from the Reds to the Bengals and the Cyclones. I enjoyed hanging out with Brian Giesenschlag, our producer Rufus, Zach Wells and Dan Wood, and even enjoyed the trip to Indy where Rontina McCann and I worked on some NASCAR coverage together.

We’ll see what 2011 brings, especially with the invite from the guys at Channel 19 to come on back any time I wanted to in order to help them out and get more experience.

Here I am interviewing Elder volleyball player Steve Kent after Elder won the 2010 state title in volleyball

April and May were full of local sports and spending nights at Channel 19, as well as full of school work. As June rolled in, I knew it was going to be one crazy month.

We had football camps, the Nationwide (nee Busch) Series race at Kentucky Speedway, and even a change of address for the UC football video office. To say it was a whirlwind would be an understatement. After finishing camp films, we got the notice from Butch Jones that we’d be moving into his office, and he’d inhabit our much larger office.

It turned into a month-long project for us, moving bits and pieces of our computer equipment into our new, much, much smaller office.

That was compounded by the low point of the year, as I have mentioned numerous times. The July 7th death of my grandfather made the whole year turn on a dime. Even as we moved along throughout the year, there was always that little part missing.

But, not to make it all turn out to be doom and gloom in the month of July. Sure, the summer’s most prominent month began in a rather depressing way, but it ended on a happier note for myself with the trip to Indianapolis, Ind.

My dad and I had a great view of the 2010 Brickyard 400

If you missed any of my Brickyard coverage, you missed a lot of fun observations and stories about the enjoyable weekend in Speedway, Ind. Jamie McMurray won again, and it was fun seeing Mark Martin run well again.

August is normally the least busy month on the blog, and that’s because I’m stuck in West Harrison, Ind. at Camp Higher Ground going through two practices a day with the UC football team. This year was no different, and we were busier than ever this year with the new coaching staff.

The football season began on Labor Day weekend, and from September on it was fourteen weeks of football, football and more football, with some schoolwork sprinkled in here and there. Even though the season was a disappointment, our video looked great.

And on one windy day in South Bend, Ind., the whole perception of my job was thrown into the national headlines. On October 27th tragedy struck the Notre Dame football program when student videographer Declan Sullivan was killed when the scissor lift he was filming practice from fell.

Everyone I ran into in the days following the incident said the first thing they thought of was me. During our game against Syracuse that Saturday it was the topic of discussion between the two film staffs from UC and Syracuse. At least it was in my lift in the endzone at Nippert Stadium.

We also hung the above banner on our lift and it stayed there throughout the season. It certainly wasn’t the way we ever wanted our job to come to light, and the publicity from the incident in South Bend was quite interesting to read. After all, in three seasons with Brian Kelly, nothing of the sort ever happened to me or any of my co-workers, which was interesting. Even though no official sanctions have been handed down yet, it will be a story I’ll keep a keen eye on.

The disappointing football season ended in the most insane weather I’ve ever filmed in here in my four years in Cincinnati. Inches upon inches of snow fell as Pittsburgh’s Dion Lewis torched the UC defense for 261 yards and four touchdowns.

Jordan Stepp of UC stopped Dion Lewis on this play. It was a rare sight in the snow (Cincinnati Enquirer photo)

It was an entertaining game to film, and the addition of my dad on the lift (it was senior day, and we assumed, incorrectly, that we’d be shown on the video board. Instead the “thank you” to the football staff that was given was rather quick and no one was shown on the video board, much to the dismay of my dad, who hung out on the lift for the entire game) made the game so much more fun, although my counterpart from Pitt made the game enjoyable as well.

All of this added up to a few weeks of vacation in the final weeks of December—after recruiting and our banquet work was finished—and plenty of blogs for you to read.

As we head into 2011, there’s plenty of NASCAR, college football and other things to be covered here. Basketball season will begin, I’m still refereeing volleyball, and who knows what else is in store in 2011. We’ll see what the biggest part of the year holds for us, my expected graduation in June.

Until tomorrow, or next year, have a good day, a safe night and Happy New Year!

The year in (local) sports

I love family parties. The opportunity to sit back and talk to family members is something I really enjoy. However, I hate answering one question: “What are you going to do after your graduate?” My response is normally, “I don’t want to grow up and get a real job,” but if push comes to shove I guess I can’t be a Toys R Us kid for my entire life.

Of course you read that paragraph thinking, ‘Where’s he going with this?’ and I don’t blame you. One of my courses of action after I graduate is to get into covering local sports with one of the TV stations I have interned with. So why not take a look at 2010 in local sports?

I enjoy every level of sports in Cincinnati, from high school to college to professional sports, but I obviously keep more of an eye on certain sports than others. My apologies to those teams that I seem to not care as much about. Better step up my game if I want a job in this city I guess.

Yesterday Cincinnati-area radio personality Mo Egger posted on his blog about the year in local sports. His thoughts were pretty good, and might I add that I have enjoyed four years of sitting behind Mo on flights to out of town games. He’s always a fun guy to listen to, and enjoys joking around on flights. He’s also a guy who really tells it like it is about his local teams.

Here’s Mo’s blog if you haven’t seen it yet: http://www.1530homer.com/pages/mo.html?an=2010-HAPPENED

So, with some memories of my own, here was the 2010 year in local sports.

The Moeller basketball team made a run at their fourth state title since 1999. Their state final four game and state title game was the first thing I got to cover in my spring internship with FOX19. Moeller won the state semi-final game against Cleveland-area Mentor High School, but fell, and fell hard in the state finals to Jackson High School. The Polar Bears beat Moeller 57-34.

I also thoroughly enjoyed watching the Cincinnati Cyclones win the 2010 Kelly Cup, their second title in three years. Both as a fan and as a guy who got to cover the Cyclones, it was a fun run. The Clones may be Cincinnati’s best kept secret, and the marketing they’ve employed over the past few years have made their games more exciting than they used to be. Dollar beer nights and other fun giveaways have made the Cyclones a fun night out with friends.

Of course I love to tell people about the biggest news that only I seem to care about in this city: NASCAR is coming to town (kind of). With the summertime announcement that Bruton Smith was finally making every Cincinnati-area NASCAR fans’ dream come true—bringing the big boys of the Cup Series to Kentucky—I was more excited than I thought I’d be. There’s 50 plus days until the Daytona 500, and a little over seven months until the Sprint Cup Series goes under the lights in the Bluegrass State.

My money is on Joey Logano, and I have three years of experience to back me up on that. Logano completed the three-peat at Kentucky by winning the pole and the Nationwide (nee Busch, hey, old habits die hard) Series race in Sparta. Anyone want to bet against me on that?

Reds fans—who were used to having nothing much to root for after August—saw their Reds make a run at the playoffs, and one player win the MVP. Although the Reds fell apart after they won the NL Central, the way they clinched was nothing short of awesome.

A homerun by Jay Bruce to centerfield was one of the coolest moments I had seen in quite some time, and although I’m not a Reds fan, I was thrilled to see the hometown team in the playoffs, even though they fell short.

After the summer swelter goes away, Cincinnati area sports fans start thinking this is the year the Bengals make that elusive Super Bowl run. Even with the city in Reds fever, the Bengals found a way to make headlines of their own. This year, with the addition of superstar wideout Terrell Owens, most Bengals fans thought their team would be unstoppable. Not so much.

The Bengals turned into the “Bungals” as the season rolled along, and fans have become disgruntled once again. I honestly don’t follow much NFL ball, but it’s so entertaining to open the Cincinnati Enquirer every day and read the angry letters to the editor about the Bengals. Kinda makes me wish I was more of a fan of some NFL team. It would make this more fun.

The biggest surprise of this sports season locally was the absolute failure of the UC Bearcat football team to repeat as Big East champions for a third year. Sure, not a whole lot of “experts” (real or perceived) expected UC to win the Big East, but no one, no one, expected to see this much of a failure by the Bearcats.

Next year is a new year, and that’s how UC football fans should look at it. Plus, Mick Cronin has the basketball team playing well, so that’s a plus for Bearcat fans.

Without reading Mo’s blog I would have completely forgot what Mo called “The Worst TV Sports Move” of the year, even though it happened right in front of my eyes. Egger said FOX19 letting go of Zach Wells was the aforementioned “Worst Move.”

In my six or so months of hanging out at FOX19, I got to know Zach, and learned a lot from him. I’m glad he got to stay in the city (he’s now working at WKRC, Channel 12) and so we all get to hear from one of the most fun guys I’ve worked with in my two internships in as many years.

One of my favorite Zach Wells memories wasn’t of the advice he gave me (and Zach was willing to give me advice, and lots of useful advice to boot) but of the day I walked in to the station and he looks at me and says, “You know what we need to do to get fired up this evening?” I gave him a quizzical look, and said, “What?” He made a few clicks on his computer and within seconds was blaring Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer” from his speakers, complete with Zach playing the air guitar.

We had fun that night, and I would enjoy working with Zach Wells in the future if I had the chance to do so. After all, it’d let me cover local sports, kind of like this blog post attempted to do.
To borrow a line from Zach Wells, “It’s time to turn out the lights on another edition” of the local sports blog here. Join me tomorrow for a final look at the year, and possibly a little look ahead to 2011.

Former Miami (OH) coach Haywood in at Pitt

Is the Mid-American Conference the Big East’s feeder program? These days it sure feels like it. Brian Kelly, Butch Jones and now Mike Haywood have all come from the MAC and become head coaches in the Big East.

Kelly may have been the best coach in the past five years in the Big East, winning Big East coach of the year honors in each of his three seasons at the helm of the Cincinnati program. Jones has had a rough time taking Kelly’s success and building on it, but promises to bring back the magic that Kelly began.

So, what’s Mike Haywood’s plan? The former Miami (Ohio) head man told ESPN.com’s Brian Bennett, “We’re just looking forward to doing the best job we can so we can develop our team and compete for the Big East championship each year.”

He also told Bennett about his first team meeting, where he told the Panther players, “I’m here for you. The most important thing for you to do is do a great job studying for finals. The second most important thing is to go out and practice well each day so you can provide yourself an opportunity to be successful in that bowl game on the 8th, so you can send Coach Wannstedt out with a win and at the same time win one for the University of Pittsburgh.”

Haywood is familiar with the Western Pennsylvania area, having recruited there when he was at Notre Dame as an assistant under Charlie Weis. He also signed two players out of Gateway High School last offseason to play for him at Miami (OH).

And, Haywood is also familiar with the Big East, having lost two games in two seasons to Cincinnati. This year was especially lopsided, with the Bearcats—a team that went 4-8—beating the eventual MAC champions 45-3 at Nippert Stadium.

In fact, Bennett yesterday wrote, “In Haywood, [Pitt] got a guy who has two years of head coaching experience and a 10-15 career record. Not exactly someone who gets people rushing out to renew season ticket orders. A natural reaction followed: They fired Wannstedt for this? For a guy whose team lost 45-3 to Cincinnati in October?”

Ron Cook, from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette said, “Really, is it so wrong to give Haywood a chance?”

I guess we’ll find out. Haywood “changed the culture” at Miami after going 1-11 in his first season in Oxford. He engineered the largest turnaround in the country this year by leading Miami to nine wins and the MAC title. Players had to sit in the front of their classes. Haywood had 6 a.m. practices and workouts. Players wore shirts and ties on gameday, all promoting Haywood’s no-nonsense style of coaching.

Will it work at Pitt?

I think we need to give Haywood a chance, like Ron Cook pointed out. Last year at this time Cincinnati was a-buzz with Butch Jones fever, happy that a man wanted to come to Cincinnati and “not just preach family, but live it.”

One thing is for certain, if you want my opinion. The 2011 UC-Pitt game, well, it could get real ugly, real quick. 45-3 wasn’t a fluke. Hopefully for Pitt Panther fans, Haywood isn’t a fluke either. But if you’re a fan of UC, this could be a great hire.
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Brian Bennett also linked a story from Pittsburgh that talked about a Pitt recruit who is now starting to switch his mind about signing with Pittsburgh in February. Jameel Poteat, a running back from Harrisburg’s Bishop McDevitt High School, hasn’t ruled out Pitt but told reporters he was unhappy that the school parted ways with Dave Wannstedt as their head coach. “Pitt was my first love, but they let my man go,” Poteat told the Post Gazette. He said Cincinnati is now his No. 1 choice. We’ll see where Poteat signs on Signing Day.

A season of discontent

One year ago on a chilly Thursday evening in downtown Cincinnati the Westin Hotel had the attention of the entire nation. Why? The University of Cincinnati football banquet was at the hotel, which overlooks Fountain Square, and head coach Brian Kelly was all but on his way to South Bend, Ind. to become the next head coach at Notre Dame.

At least the banquet won’t be uncomfortable this year. My, what a difference a year makes.

The team that Kelly left in the Queen City for Butch Jones seemed stacked offensively, and while another Big East title seemed slightly out of reach for the third head coach in five seasons, a good bowl game certainly wasn’t out of sight.

Injuries piled up, turnovers and penalties killed the Bearcats, and a less-than-experienced defense meant that the team that one year ago was celebrating a perfect season, would be home for the holidays at 4-8.

But I offer this solace to Bearcat fans, it could have been worse. Statistically speaking, UC and Texas both tied for the worst turn around. UC’s eight-game drop tied Texas’ (who went to the BCS National Title game last year) meteoric fall.

The only team that experienced a bigger fall from last season? Central Michigan, where Jones left last year. The Chippewas went 12-2 last year and 3-9 this season, a nine game turn around.

So, here’s a look back at the season, as unmemorable as it might have been compared to the past few seasons…

Part 1: (@Fresno State, vs Indiana State, @ NC State and vs Oklahoma)
The first third of the year was rather tough, and any expert could have predicted a 1-3 start for UC. However, it would have been tough to predict what happened late on a Saturday evening in Fresno, Calif. On a kickoff return in the third quarter, senior wideout Vidal Hazelton, a transfer from USC, tore his ACL, a season-ending injury.

Fresno State was the sight of more than one loss for the UC football team this season. The game was a loss and the loss of Hazelton impacted the season remarkably.

Already short on wide receivers (freshman Dyjuan Lewis and transfer Kenbrell Thompkins were both declared ineligible before the start of the season), Butch Jones and staff had to scramble to figure out how to deal with the Hazelton injury.

During practice for the Indiana State game, running back Isaiah Pead went down with a slight leg injury, rendering him out for the game against the Sycamores.

Needless to say, UC was in need of some good luck, and none could be found. The offensive line struggled early on too, and Zach Collaros was often running for his life against Fresno and NC State.

The atmosphere at NC State was unbelievable. The game, however, was, well, not so much.

Even though UC lost 31-29 to Oklahoma at Paul Brown Stadium, the team seemed to be turning a corner. DJ Woods and Armon Binns were very productive at wide receiver and John Goebel and Darrin Williams had subbed nicely for Pead.

So, even with a 1-3 start, the UC Bearcats were looking good headed into the first bye week of the year.

Part 2: (vs Miami (OH), @ Louisville, vs USF, vs Syracuse)
Two rivalry games opened up the second portion of the UC season, and these two games started the progress back to where most experts thought the Bearcats would be. Isaiah Pead rushed for nearly 200 yards in one half against Miami, and Armon Binns made the future MAC champion secondary look silly. UC kept a strangle hold on the Victory Bell with a 45-3 win.

The road trip to my favorite stadium in the Big East, Papajohn’s Cardinal Stadium, one week later also proved to be a good one for UC fans. The Friday night showdown in Louisville was a shootout between two first-year head coaches, Jones and Louisville’s Charlie Strong. The Cards jumped ahead early but were unable to hold on to the lead and Armon Binns once again led the UC brigade, scoring three touchdowns. DJ Woods added two of his own, and UC won 35-27, keeping the Keg of Nails for the third straight year.

The newly renovated Papajohn's Cardinal Stadium

Then came the downfall. After two big wins against two rivals, the wheels began to fall off for the Bearcats. Facing a South Florida team at home and a resurgent Syracuse team at the end of the month, the UC Bearcats began a plunge that would ultimately prove too costly to overcome.

The USF game was close, even to the end, but Zach Collaros ended up hurting his leg on one of the final possessions of the evening for UC and backup Chazz Anderson couldn’t lead UC down the field in the closing seconds. The 38-30 loss snapped a 13 game Big East winning streak, and was the first UC loss in Nippert Stadium since Nov. 17, 2007.

Anderson had to start against Syracuse one week later and the surging Orange won big. UC had trouble holding onto the ball, giving Syracuse short fields to work with offensively, and the Orange, who have been in the cellar of the Big East the past few years, beat the two-time defending Big East champs 31-7 in front of a less-than-enthused home crowd.

A record of 2-2 in the second session of the season dropped UC’s record to 3-5, and meant that in order to make a bowl, the Bearcats would have to win three of their final four matchups.

Part 3: (@West Virginia, vs Rutgers, @UConn, vs Pitt)
A tall order faced the UC football squad after their last bye week of the season: go to Morgantown, West Va., and beat the WVU Mountaineers. Easier said than done, but if anyone knows what gameday is like in Morgantown, it is former WVU wide receivers coach Butch Jones. Now, on the opposite sidelines for a game against the school he spent two years coaching, Jones was overpowered.

Butch Jones was on the opposite sideline of the West Virginia sideline where he spent two years under Rich Rodriguez as a wide receivers coach.

West Virginia forced the Bearcats to put eight times and the UC offense was horrid, going 0-for-13 on third downs. West Virginia took down the Bearcats 37-10. But, a bumbling Rutgers squad came to Nippert one week later, and offered some relief for UC fans.

An offense that sputtered against WVU clicked against Rutgers. Zach Collaros threw for 366 yards and four touchdowns, while Pead racked up 213 yards and four scores on the ground. It was a total offensive blowout, and UC doubled up Rutgers 69-38. One down, two to go to make a bowl game for UC.

Unfortunately, the trip to Hartford, Conn., spelled the end of the hopes and dreams of UC fans for going bowling anywhere. The eventual Big East champs rolled over the Bearcats at Rentschler Field, winning 38-17. Although UC had chances to score and pull close, the defense couldn’t stop running back Jordan Todman, who ran for 175 and three scores. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” was the theme song of the moment, and what awaited UC and Pittsburgh the next week was a true winter wonderland.

The Rent: Home of your Big East BCS representatives in 2011

Snow fell at Nippert for the final game of the season between Pitt and UC. The matchup decided the Big East’s BCS berth one year earlier and this year was nothing more than a fight to see if UC could end the season on a good note. Dion Lewis wouldn’t let that happen.

Lewis, the star sophomore, ran for 261 and four scores in the snow, but was overshadowed in the game by the UC mascot. The UC mascot was detained for throwing snowballs into the student section, and a backup mascot (a “Next Mascot In,” if you will) was in place for the second half of the game.

What a way to end the season. The 28-10 drubbing wasn’t enough to keep Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt’s job, as I wrote about yesterday, but it was more than enough to leave a horribly sour taste in the mouths of UC fans who were sucking down packets of Sugar one year earlier.

What a turn around, what a season. Injuries, turnovers and inexperience all translated to a 4-8 record, worse than even the most negative side of yours truly could have imagined. But, I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts on what a season it was as the month goes on. This was just an on-the-field look at what occurred. For more musings and thoughts about the season and my career (so far) check back.

I’ve got plenty of blog posts planned for this month. Follow me on Twitter for all the postings (@adamniemeyer). Have a great day.

Opinions on Wannstedt's resignation at Pitt

With the surprise announcement that Dave Wannstedt would be stepping down as Pittsburgh Panthers head coach yesterday, I began to think. Is college football turning into a “What have you done for me lately?” world?

In some ways, it already is. In fact, in the NFL, coaches are being fired one year after getting deep in the playoffs (see Minnesota Vikings and former head man Brad Childress). Insanity? I think so.

The biggest problem with all this is the quick, sudden turnover. If athletic departments sign coaches to five year contracts but realize three years in they aren’t getting anywhere, they’re left with huge buyouts and contract obligations to head coaches (who have smart lawyers). Likewise, when coaches decide to leave programs for better jobs (see Brian Kelly) money that changes hands from one school to the next gets very messy.

How many head coaches is Notre Dame currently paying? Three or four? All I know is, the way it’s heading, one-year head coaching contracts might not be too far away.

Wannstedt’s case is particularly stunning to me. The man known to some as “The ‘Stache” just completed a 7-5 season where the Panthers shared the Big East title with West Virginia and UConn. In 2007, Wannstedt was a hero in the city of Pittsburgh—the prodigal son who returned to coach his alma mater, knocking rival West Virginia out of the national title game by defeating the Mountaineers in Morgantown.

Ironically enough, the last Big east co-champion team to lose their head coach was that 2007 West Virginia team. In a messy divorce, Rich Rodriguez left his hometown team and headed to the greener pastures of Michigan, a place where he now sits in hot water after not exactly meeting expectations.

Wannstedt had “the team” this season, picked by sportswriters and experts to win the league title, but the Panthers disappointing showing left many fans unhappy. Cincinnati was picked to finish second, and ended at 4-8, but no one in the Queen City (except for maybe some of the most fanatical followers of the Bearcats) is calling for head coach Butch Jones to resign. Why is that?

Wannstedt fell victim to the “what have you done for me now” theory. Pitt fans are growing restless and want to see a winner. I just hope they don’t bring in a new head coach that fails worse than Wannstedt. Because then, no one will be happy, everyone will be angry, and a new head coach might be brought in, just because Wannstedt’s replacement couldn’t get it done. Now.

Thoughts or opinions? Leave ‘em in the comments section. Have a good one.

Post #400: Country Roads, take me home…

In 2008, my 50th post was about Rentschler Field at the University of Connecticut. Now, 350 posts later, I’m writing for the second time about Milan Puskar Stadium, home to the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Almost heaven, West Virginia, blue ridge mountains, Shenandoah River

In 2008, fans streamed out of the stadium in the fourth quarter. In 2010, fans streamed out of the stadium in the fourth quarter, but this time, they were happier than they were two years earlier; their Mountaineers were winning, and winning big.
Life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze

As we got off the buses outside Milan Puskar, one student trainer sitting in front of yours truly noted, “This is nuts. I’ve never seen so many people tailgating.” Welcome to Morgantown.

Country roads, take me home, To the place, I belong, West Virginia, mountain momma, Take me home, country roads

Although the stadium wasn’t packed to capacity—and why would it be for two teams that were coming off of two-game losing streaks?—it was still loud and proud, just as I expected it to be.
All my mem’ries, gather ’round her, Miner’s lady, stranger to blue water, Dark and dusty, Painted on the sky, Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye

I did enjoy the new “sound effects” that the WVU athletic department chose to employ for this game (and presumably they’ve been using them all season). Before certain UC drives, the voice of Steve Carell, who played Brick Tamland in the hit movie Anchorman, would scream one of his funnier lines from the movie: “LOUD NOISES”. I loved it.

Country roads, take me home, To the place, I belong, West Virginia, mountain momma, Take me home, country roads

As for the game, well, let’s not talk about that. I’m not sure even the most negative of UC fans could have predicted a fall off quite this bad for the team that went 12-0 last regular season. Before the season all eyes were on Jones, who has done this before, taking over for Kelly at Central Michigan and winning two MAC titles as head man in Mount Pleasant.

I hear her voice, in the mornin’ hours she calls to me, The radio reminds me of my home far a-way, And drivin’ down the road I get a feeling’, That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday

Now, it’s three wins in three games for UC to be bowl eligible. No matter what happens in the end, I’ll have photos and more from Milan Puskar Stadium. Did I mention the WVU band? How could I not?

They might be one of my favorite bands in all of America, for only one reason…

Country roads, take me home, To the place, I belong, West Virginia, mountain momma, Take me home, country roads

Take me home, country roads...

Hopefully I have more opportunities to go visit Milan Puskar. It’s definitely one of the more fun places to visit it the Big East conference: win or lose.

Big East football schedules: Week 7

Week seven sees two ESPN primetime games for the Big East. The UC Bearcats love ESPN in primetime, and will battle for yet another rivalry trophy for the second straight week. This week also marks the beginning of Big East play for UC, Louisville, Pitt, and West Virginia. UConn has the week off.

Here’s week seven.

Week 7 Big East Schedule
Thurs., Oct 14-West Virginia vs USF
Fri., Oct 15-Cincinnati at Louisville
Sat., Oct 16-Pittsburgh at Syracuse
Oct 16-Rutgers vs Army

AN: The one and only trip I’ve made to Louisville for football was on a rainy night in mid-November on the day before I turned 20 years old. The end result was a lot of wet clothing and a trip back to Cincinnati with the Keg of Nails in our possession for the first time since 2002.

I mentioned in the week one preview that Charlie Strong, the former Florida defensive coordinator, and new head coach for the Cards, has built a strong program up in the short time he’s been running the show in Kentucky’s most populous city. And the early season results are certainly showing that "The Ville" is getting better.

So, this game scares me a little bit. I’m just not sure that Louisville has the fire power they need to overcome all the playmakers that UC has, but in a game that will be played at the renovated PapaJohns Cardinal Stadium, anything could happen, as we nearly found out in 2008.

Strong has already shown the UC players he can coach a darn good team, but will he be able to translate success against the Brian Kelly system into success against the Butch Jones system? To say I’m 100 percent certain UC will win this game would be a lie, but I am confident that this game should, should go in favor of the Bearcats. But don’t be surprised if the game is closer than you think.

JM: Pitt’s coming off a close loss at Notre Dame last weekend and looks to even its record at 3-3. In my opinion, this is a must-win game. Syracuse has its first legitimate shot at a bowl game since 2004 and is coming off its biggest win of the season last week against USF.

Pitt showed some progress against the Irish, with Tino Sunseri showing some improvement and the offensive line appears to be getting its act together. This will be a nice test for the Panthers as they go against a decent opponent, but one with less talent, that they should be able to beat. Beating Syracuse would be a good confidence booster and would kick off the Big East slate the right way. I like Pitt in a close one.

AN: Obviously the best game on the schedule has to be the battle between USF and West Virginia on Thursday night in Morgantown. USF has beaten the Mountaineers in ’06, ’07 and last season, and in 2008 they lost by a touchdown in their last visit to Milan Puskar Stadium. These two teams have had some epic battles in the past few seasons, and I expect this season to be the same.

"Almost heaven..."

With Skip Holtz running the show in Tampa, the USF Bulls might be in better shape than many think. In 2008, West Virginia was primed to win a Big East title behind the likes of Pat White and Noel Devine, but in game two of Bill Stewart’s first season, the Mountaineers were walloped by East Carolina 24-3 in Greenville.

The head coach of ECU that year? Skip Holtz. Now, Holtz and the ECU Pirates traveled to Morgantown last season and lost 35-20, but at least Holtz knows he has beaten West Virginia, and will know just how intimidating Milan Puskar can be for opposing teams.

JM: Well, I guess that leaves the Rutgers-Army game as the only other game on the docket. Rutgers has looked good at times and is coming off a win against UConn, but is still inconsistent. Army, like Syracuse, has a decent shot to get to a bowl game this season. The Black Knights run my favorite offense (as well as Adam’s favorite) the triple option, which can be a tough matchup for any team. I think Rutgers should win this game, but don’t be surprised if Army pulls off the upset.

AN: I do love the option.

Thanks for joining us, and stay tuned for another week of Big East football here on the blog. Next week you’ll get a little taste of the renovated PapaJohns Cardinal Stadium with some photos and a short recap of the Louisville/UC tilt. Til then, enjoy a weekend of football.

Big East football schedules: Week 4- “Showtime”

Maybe it really is all about “The U”…




The final weekend in September is the premier weekend for college football for the Big East. This week presents the conference with a chance to prove itself against the biggest guns of college football, and once again prove that the Big East is definitely worthy of its automatic BCS bowl bid.

The Big East’s best teams play marquee opponents from the ACC, SEC and Big 12 in four matchups during the final weekend of the season’s opening month. Without further delay, here’s a peek at “Showtime Week.” Note that Louisville has the weekend off.

Week 4 Big East Schedule
Thurs., Sept 23- Pittsburgh vs Miami (FL)
Sat., Sept 25-Connecticut vs Buffalo
Sept 25-Cincinnati vs Oklahoma
Sept 25-USF vs Western Kentucky
Sept 25-Rutgers vs North Carolina
Sept 25-West Virginia at LSU
Sept 25-Syracuse vs Colgate

AN: Jake, the Panthers start with the most recent Big East conference team to play for a national title, “The U”, Miami of Florida, in primetime on Thursday night.

JM: Miami leads the all-time series between these two former Big East foes 21-9-1, with the last meeting a Hurricanes victory in 2003. The last time Pitt beat Miami was in 1997, when Miami was reeling from NCAA sanctions received for the program’s conduct during the Dennis Erickson era.

While this Miami team is not as talented nor as intimidating, they are still a good football team, and were the preseason favorite to win the ACC and considered a dark horse national title contender. Miami is in the heart of a tough non-conference schedule, highlighted by its last game in Columbus against Ohio State. But the Hurricanes lost that game and now sit at 1-1 and are looking to bounce back.

Meanwhile, Pitt finds itself in a similar situation. High preseason expectations had Pitt fans thinking Big East title or maybe even a national title shot. While the Big East title is still very much in reach, that long-shot national championship dream is gone following an opening night, overtime loss. The Panthers’ record now sits at 1-1 as well following a week two win over FCS New Hampshire.

Needless to say, this is a huge game for both teams as each tries to get its season back on track. A win for either team would go a long way toward building momentum heading into the conference slate. This should be a very hard-fought and entertaining football game.

Another big opportunity for the Big East to net a marquee win takes place two days later down the Ohio River in Cincinnati.

AN: Bob Stoops brings his Sooners to Cincinnati, and all I can hear is, “Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain.” This is a return game for the 2008 trip that saw Oklahoma lay a 52-26 whipping on the Cincinnati Bearcats in Norman. Thankfully Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham have left the Sooner squad, but Landry Jones and DeMarco Murray are still around wearing the crimson and cream.

It’s practically impossible to pick against the Sooners, and through one half in Norman two seasons ago the Bearcats hung with Oklahoma. But in the end, Oklahoma is Oklahoma and they’re pretty darn good. It’ll take a nearly perfect game from the UC Bearcats to defeat one of the nation’s premier programs. And even then, the chances of winning aren’t horribly high.

Ah, "Ginormatron", what a sight. That thing is big folks...real big

That being said, this Oklahoma team has struggled at home against Air Force and Utah State. So if the “right” Oklahoma team shows up, UC could keep it close for a little while. Even though everyone chalks this game up as a loss, the “any given Saturday” rule says Butch Jones could get his biggest win this weekend by defeating the Sooners.

Jake, the ACC isn’t done with the Big East after your Thursday night game. Rutgers invites North Carolina to Piscataway, and West Virginia travels to Baton Rouge to play the LSU Tigers in “Death Valley.” So, which game is more intriguing to you? The ACC/Big East battle or the chance to prove the Big East is a big boy against an SEC power?

JM: I’m really looking forward to that West Virginia matchup. As the only undefeated team in the Big East to have beaten another BCS conference team (last week’s win vs. Maryland), West Virginia has to be considered the favorite to win the Big East. While West Virginia will not be favored to win, they do have the talent to pull off the upset—a win the Big East desperately needed.

This is also a big game for LSU, which had a sub-par year last season and head coach Les Miles may be on the hot seat if he can’t return the “Bayou Bengals” to the top-10. I like LSU in this one, but WVU will give them a game.

AN: Six weeks ago we could have argued that the Rutgers/North Carolina tilt would have been interesting on paper, but thanks to the NCAA, that game might not be as exciting. It’s tough to disagree with the West Virginia/LSU matchup though, and I agree with you Jake, the Big East needs this win.

West Virginia beat Georgia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl, and not to brag or anything, but Butch Jones was coaching for the Mountaineers in that game. Maybe West Virginia will come out in “Death Valley” and play like they did last week in the first half against Maryland. That’d make it a fun game, and a competitive game if you ask me.

Also of note, former UC offensive line coach Jeff Quinn, who is now head man in Buffalo, leads the Bulls into the place where Quinn last lost a regular season game—Hartford, Connecticut to play the UConn Huskies. Quinn and numerous other former UC assistant coaches will be the focus of our next Big East weekly schedule preview.

Beautiful Hartford, Connecticut

Week four has the potential to be a big week for the Big East, but it also has the potential to be embarrassing for a league that needs to still prove itself to the outside world.

Check back for week five of the Big East schedule preview a little later next week. Thanks for reading as always.

Carter Finley Stadium: The Best in four seasons

Oh what a night.

In four seasons traveling across the country, I’ve been everywhere, man. But if I was asked to pick a favorite road venue in those four seasons, it would be tough to pick against North Carolina State’s Carter-Finley Stadium.

Between the first and second quarter the NC State crowd took part in some card tricks. It was pretty cool

I loved Oklahoma’s atmosphere, and 85,000 screaming “BOOMER, SOONER” was an awesome time, but 55,000 screaming “WOLF…PACK…WOLF…PACK” was also pretty impressive. The stadium was also beyond impressive.

It was military appreciation night and everything was great from the huge American flag, to the flyover to the fireworks...everything was top notch in Raleigh

I’ve been to at least five pro football stadiums, and none of them are as nice as Carter Finley Stadium if you ask me. The pressbox was top notch, and the pre game meal was fantastic. Although the game didn’t turn out quite as UC fans would have expected, I couldn’t have been more pleased with the stadium. I can’t say it enough, it was amazing.

This is the wide view from up above...where the eyes in the sky watch the game

The pressbox and luxury suites as viewed from my endzone filming area

And where was I stuck, and I use that term loosely, filming the game in the endzone, was part of NC State’s football facility. The building with coaches’ offices, a weight room, and a lot more was one of the best football facilities I’ve ever seen. Not that I’ve seen a lot, but this place was very, very nice.

Right above the NC State logo is where I was stationed for the national butt whooping the UC Bearcats received. I was right outside the NC State coaches' suite, and it was pretty sweet

And that wolf howl you heard probably 150 times if you were watching on ESPN was one more added reason that Carter Finley is one tough place to play. Especially on a Thursday night in front of a very hostile crowd.
On Saturday night at 6 p.m. it’ll be the 1-2 Cincinnati Bearcats down on the riverbanks of the Ohio River taking on the Oklahoma Sooners. For more about the 2008 matchup between the two schools, check back later this week. I’ve also got a few more posts cooking up for this week, so come on back and check it out.

Fresno State stadium photos

The fourth west coast swing in as many years for the UC football team ended in a way that no other west coast game had. A trip to San Diego State in 2007 resulted in Brian Kelly’s fifth straight win to open his first campaign as Bearcat head man.

In 2008 the regular season finale was on the way out West coast in Hawaii, a game that saw UC trail until a late-game flurry of points put the Cats ahead for good. Last season the Bearcats took the Oregon Trail to Corvallis and beat the Oregon State Beavers.

This year it was a new coach, new team and a new result.

But I’m not here to chat football (surprisingly so) but more so about the interesting set up of Fresno State’s stadium. And of course, to show you what you missed by not traveling out to California with me and the rest of the football team.
The stadium at Fresno State is basically built from the ground up. The field is lower than everything else. It’s an interesting set up that allows the noise to be funneled down to the field. It also helps the scoreboard at the end of the stadium to be up not as high.
So I was stuck up on that big beautiful blue monster, and had to climb a ladder to get up there. What a fun time it was to hang out in the night sky in Fresno…until the second half of the 28-14 loss.

I enjoyed the atmosphere that Fresno State’s fans brought out to the game. I compared the area the teams had to walk through to Gasoline Alley on Brickyard 400 weekend. Security personnel held up ropes preventing fans from running across where the teams walked down to the field, but let fans walk across the walk way to get to the other side of the stadium when everything was clear.
And the people there are so nice. Well, some of them. I enjoyed getting asked where Brian Kelly was, and where Notre Dame was by each and every Fresno fan dressed in red. I’m sure it won’t be the last time that happens.

In exactly one week it’s another road stadium, and another fun trip to what should be a hostile environment in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Bearcats take on NC State, and former Elder Panther Jeff Rieskamp (more on that next week). Pictures and more will follow. Stay tuned.

Big East football schedules: Opening Week

In 2009 the Big East football schedule opened with what many considered to be a bang of a game between Rutgers and Cincinnati in Piscataway. That was until Brian Kelly unleashed offensive weapons Tony Pike, Mardy Gilyard, Isaiah Pead and even sprinkled in some wildcat with Travis Kelce to turn what was supposed to be a bang into a dud of a game by halftime.

Isaiah Pead's sick juke-stop against Rutgers all but put the game away before halftime in last season's Big East opener on Labor Day (Getty Images)

The Bearcats pulled out to a 30-7 lead by the halftime gun and eventually put up two more touchdowns and a field goal in a 47-15 rout of the Scarlet Knights.

The Cincinnati Bearcats took the lead in the Big East and never looked back from there en route to its second straight title and a berth in the Sugar Bowl. And while Brian Kelly has since moved on, his predecessor, Butch Jones (who also followed up Kelly at Central Michigan in 2007) will look to get the Bearcats off to another hot start this year, but on the left coast this time.

Joining me, your effervescent blog host, in looking at the 2010 Big East schedules in week by week increments is the Sports Director for WPTS Radio in Pittsburgh, and a great friend of mine, Jake Meyer. He joined in the 2009 Big East schedule previews last March, and I’m happy to have him back.

Jake: Thanks Adam, glad to be back talking about college football, and in particular our home conference, the Big East. Last year was an exciting season that, as predicted here, came down to the final week of the season as our two schools matched up in what was without a doubt the game of the season in the Big East.

AN: And the best part about doing this schedule analysis now, rather than in March, as we did in 2009, is that we’ve had some time to see spring practices and hear about many teams on each schedule. Last year we were pretty accurate in saying that Pitt and Cincinnati would duke it out for the Big East title. How accurate will we be this year?

This was the scene in the UC locker room after the Pitt game (Courtesy of Tom Gelehrter, TwitPic.com)

Well, here’s the week one schedule for each Big East team. We’ll take a special look at Pittsburgh and Cincinnati along with one particular game that piques our interest each week.

Week 1 Big East Schedule
Thurs., Sept 2- Rutgers vs Norfolk State
Sept 2-Pittsburgh at Utah
Sat., Sept 4-USF vs Stony Brook
Sept 4-Louisville vs Kentucky
Sept 4-Connecticut at Michigan
Sept 4-West Virginia vs Coastal Carolina
Sept 4-Syracuse at Akron
Sept. 4-Cincinnati at Fresno State

AN: Jake, let’s start with the game second from the top. It’s your Pitt Panthers traveling out west to the newest Pac 10 (Or is it called the Pac 12 now?) member Utah—who is still playing in the Mountain West for one last year.

JM: This is a very difficult opening-game test for the Panthers, as Utah is coming off another very successful season, going 10-3 last season. Meanwhile, Pitt has some serious holes to fill on both sides of the ball, beginning at quarterback where redshirt-sophmore Tino Sunseri is expected to take the reins. Sunseri saw limited playing time last year, but will be starting his first game at Utah.

Playing in front of Sunseri is an offensive line that will have to replace the center and both guards. Coming out of Spring camp, Dave Wannstedt was very non-committal about who the starters would be. Right now the favorites to win those jobs would be Chris Jacobson at left guard, Greg Gaskins at right guard and former walk-on Alex Karabin, with Jacobson being the only one with any starting experience (2010 Meineke Car Bowl vs. North Carolina).

On the defensive side of the ball, Pitt loses both cornerbacks and middle linebacker Adam Gunn from last season, but the replacements appear to be ready to step in following Spring practice.

It’s rare to see a BCS conference team open the season on the road, especially when that opponent, at least for one more season, is a non-BCS team. Pitt will have to plug those holes and be fully prepared to play this game or they will be starting the season 0-1.

Now let’s take a look at the Cincinnati Bearcats, who will head to Fresno to play Pat Hill’s Fresno State Bulldogs.

AN: Last season Fresno State came into Nippert Stadium, and although Brian Kelly wasn’t too fond of playing out in Fresno, he said he would gladly do so because the game was scheduled before he became head coach of the Bearcats. Therefore it was scheduled before Butch Jones settled into his office (then moved down the hall into a larger one) in Corryville.

This year the Bulldogs won’t have Ryan Mathews to lead their rushing attack. In ’09 Mathews made Bob Diaco’s 3-4 defense look silly, rushing for 145 yards on 38 touches. The Bulldogs totaled 290 yards but fell just short, losing 28-20. Instead, Robbie Rouse and Michael Harris will take the ball.

Every fan and family member I see asks me, “So, how’s the team? Is the offense going to be ok?” Of course the offense will be the focal point this year, but Tim Banks’s defense will be tested in week one out in Fresno. If the Bearcat defense, making the switch back to a 4-3 base defense, can hold their own against the Fresno State run, the ‘Cats should, should be all right.

But, I wouldn’t be honest if I told you I wasn’t a little skittish heading into this game. To open on the road is a challenge, especially with a brand new coaching staff and new offensive and defensive schemes. However, if anyone has shown they can take what Brian Kelly has built and continue his success, it’s Butch Jones.

Butch Jones has been a one man ball of energy since showing up in Corryville preaching his family attitude. So far, players have bought in. Can Jones win a game on the field?

I have a feeling this game will be tight, but it’ll be the talent of the Big East, along with the playmakers on the UC offense (and UC could arguably have one of the best offenses in all the land this year) that will pull the ‘Cats ahead in the end.

So there’s a look at the two-time defending Big East champions and the guys who are probably going to be favored to knock UC off the throne. Jake, which week one game interests you the most beyond the two matchups we’ve just profiled?

JM: Well, I’ll be very interested to see what happens when UConn heads to the Big House in Ann Arbor to take on Michigan. Michigan’s struggles under former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez have been well documented and this is a pivotal year for him and his team. UConn has experience knocking off struggling all-time top-10 teams on the road, having last year beaten Notre Dame in South Bend. A win could set up a very nice season for UConn, and could hasten Rodriguez’s exit. I would have to favor Michigan in this game, but I’m not really sure how that team is going to play this year and UConn is more than capable of pulling off the upset. Adam, what game are you looking forward to in week one?

AN: Obviously the eyes of all media types will be on Butch Jones, who follows Brian Kelly, again, but what about Charlie Strong, who had the opportunity to whoop up on the Bearcats as Florida’s defensive coordinator in the Sugar Bowl? And I feel Strong’s debut will be anticipated a whole heck of a lot more than South Florida’s new head man Skip Holtz, especially since Strong has brought in a decent recruiting class and is playing a decent opponent in Kentucky. Strong and the Cardinals may not necessarily win, but a solid showing against the Wildcats will certainly put Strong and the Cards on the right path to rebuilding, and Louisville hopes Strong can take them there.

Kelly takes the reins of the Fighting Irish on Saturday against Purdue (Cincinnati Enquirer)

JM: It’s interesting that out of the three new coaches in the Big East this year, the one who has had the most positive impact so far is Charlie Strong. He’s brought in a solid recruiting class and may finally get Louisville back to respectability. I don’t know if that is a testament to Strong and his ability, the strength of the Louisville program name to recruits or simply a major indictment against the job Steve Kragthorpe did there. The other new coaches in the Big East, Jones and Holtz, have yet to distinguish themselves from their successful predecessors.

AN: That’s all for week one of the Big East schedules. Only hours until the pigskin starts in the college ranks, and I, along with Jake, can’t wait to bring you more about the Big East as the weeks go on.

Thanks for reading folks.

2010 Brickyard 400: Better than ever

When my dad and I pulled back in to Cincinnati at midnight on Sunday evening, I had to take a few seconds to truly appreciate what had just happened to me since I had left home on Friday morning.

And even though I thought the 2009 Brickyard 400 was the best time I’d ever had at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during NASCAR’s weekend in Indy, I think 2010 might have surpassed it.

A panoramic view of the field before qualifying on Saturday

I got to do more work for the TV station that credentialed me (and that is WXIX, aka FOX19 here in Cincinnati-check out the sports main page: http://www.fox19.com/Global/category.asp?C=4219&nav=menu63_4) and had more fun conversing with various media types and assembled NASCAR team personnel than I expected to have. I hope you enjoyed reading my stuff, but of course there were a few things that I left out. So here are my thoughts on the weekend…

The people here sure are nice
First off, I’ve never met friendlier people than the folks who work for Hendrick Motorsports, more specifically, the GoDaddy.com team. And I’m not even talking about the driver or the media relations representative yet. As I was patrolling the garage area at IMS around 11 a.m. on Friday, one member of Mark Martin’s team noticed (not my Big East championship ring, oddly enough) but the camera that I had.

He asked me about it and we had a nice conversation about his fishing trips with his friends and how he records the fun on a small camcorder, nothing as professional as the $4,000 hunk of plastic, metal and more that I was holding.

But it wasn’t just him. Of course Mark Martin and Kendra Jacobs were both amazing and awesome to work with. Mark was even willing to talk to me about Kendra one-on-one after his official media time, which I shall discuss in a few.

And beyond the folks on the No. 5 team, almost everyone I had an interaction with was super friendly. From the hotel staff I dealt with to the track security people at IMS (don’t mess with the yellow shirts!) to restaurant waiters in Shelbyville, Ind., everyone I met with was so unbelievably friendly.

As I told my dad, “Are people just being really nice right now, or is it just my ‘I’m on a vacation and having the time of my life’ attitude?”

He said, “Probably a little of both.”

“It’s wearing on everyone”
If you missed my story on Kendra Jacobs, Mark Martin’s media relations director, you missed a pretty good insight into the woman who gives us—the fans of Mark Martin—constant updates via her Twitter page on the “behind the scenes” dealings of the No. 5 team. (The story is here: http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2010/07/kendra-jacobs-media-manager-and-top.html)

I had an opportunity on Friday afternoon at Indy to hang out in the No. 5 team hauler and chat with Kendra, not only about racing, but as we walked back to the media center, about a multitude of things—including my Big East championship ring, which Kendra referred to as “badass”.

The one thing that we spent the most time discussing was Mark’s tirade about media speculation. (For my report on FOX19.com, check here: http://www.fox19.com/Global/story.asp?S=12861787) I told Kendra that I’m more than a media member, but, as she knew, I’m a lifelong fan of Mark Martin.

“It’s wearing and I just talked to Dale Jr.’s PR rep, who’s my best friend, and I said, ‘I’ve never felt like a worse PR person. Because I feel like I’m losing control.’ I need to get a better grasp on the situation rather than just getting frustrated by it,” she told me.

Mark Martin is asked questions by assorted media members, including the guy in green holding the camera on the right side. Standing next to me, wearing the black hat, is Kendra (IMS Photos)

I replied that I understand her position and since I see it as a fan and a member of the media, I wanted to walk over and tell some of the more accredited media members who were asking Mark that I’m getting tired of their “coverage” of the “story”.

“It’s wearing and it’s nice to see that Mark’s fans recognize it’s wearing on him,” Kendra then told me.

And I couldn’t have agreed with her more.

Oddly enough, we shared numerous laughs about our similarities. When I asked Kendra which media center she liked the best, she said Indy. “I actually really like the media center here at Indy, and it’s kind of for a funny reason,” she said. “First of all there is a ton of room, which is really nice, but also because they serve red cream soda on the third floor.”

I laughed because I too, enjoyed the red cream soda in the media dining room. Kendra said she graduated from Ashland University which is located in northern Ohio. And she originally wanted to be in sports broadcasting, but she has a phobia of microphones. “I’d get really nervous. I don’t know if it was a mental thing or what, but, my counselor suggested, ‘Maybe you should get into something that’s a little less stressful.’”

Luckily for me, I do not have a fear of holding microphones, and my work from Indy should be completed soon. Unfortunately it won’t be online, but my latest report about the Cincinnati Bengals training camp is (which can be found here: http://www.fox19.com/Global/story.asp?S=12903145).

But the best comment I got about Mark from Kendra was about Mark’s proposed future in Formula 1. “Mark and I go back and forth about it and everybody who knows Mark knows he’s very humble,” he said. “He’s never going to say, ‘Yeah I’m good at that.’”

And being a fan of Mark Martin, I knew exactly what she meant.

This one was (more) special
When people ask me why I love going to Indianapolis, why I love making the two-hour drive up Interstate 74 from Cincinnati to the capital city of Indiana, why I love going to Speedway, Indiana to watch NASCAR’s stars drive in circles, and why I love this weekend of the year more than any other time (including even Christmas), I have one complicated, but easy to understand, response: I get to hang out with my father, and it’s fun.

But this year was very important, and very special. Everyone knows that my Brickyard 400 countdown was put on hold at the beginning of the month when my grandfather passed away at age 87. Knowing that we’ve been through a lot this past month, let alone this past year, made our time on Sunday that much more important, that much more fun, and that much more cherished.

They weren't bad seats at all

When I am asked about the important times in my life I don’t mention graduating high school, or my first three seasons at UC with football. Instead I mention weekends in late July and early August that signal the end of summer vacation and the beginning of school and football. It’s about more than spending time watching cars drive in circles though.

It’s about family, time with dad and my brother and time to talk about anything and everything under the sun—even when we’re sitting under the sun. As Jamie McMurray mentioned on Sunday, “Getting to win the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 means more to me this year than making the Chase. This year or in 10 years, the guy that won that race one time everybody will talk about. The guy that finished third in the points, nobody cares,” the race winner said.

I won’t remember much about some of these weekends in ten or twenty years, but hopefully my dad and I, and maybe even my children will all team up and go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway then, and make memories that will literally last a lifetime.

McMurray happy with win
There was no happier man last Sunday than Jamie McMurray. After winning the Brickyard 400 he had the largest smile on his face, and kept laughing throughout the 35 minutes he spent answering questions from the media.

The funniest part was when McMurray had to answer the question about if it would have been any different had McMurray not left Chip Ganassi’s team to drive for Roush Racing in 2006. “We’re not dating,” he said. “I mean, we’re not.”

He also mentioned something that I absolutely loved. “I'll tell you something that Chip said to me right before I got in the car,” he said, mentioning his owner, who was sitting to his right. “He said, ‘Let’s go out and do this thing’. I said, ‘I'll give you everything I got’. He said, ‘I know, that's why I hired you. I believe in you. You go out and do your best, that will be enough.’”

McMurray’s best has put Ganassi in a place all by himself in auto racing. He’s won the Daytona 500, Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 all in the same year. “Is it surreal? Yes,” he said. “From where we were a while back, people had Jamie written off, people had us written off. But I think what I said once before, a semester at sea for Jamie. He couldn't have come back a better person. We had grown as a team and he had grown as a driver.”

When one member of the media gathered in the Economaki Press Conference Room asked Ganassi what he would tell a group of business students, Ganassi said, “Hard work, passion and sacrifice. That's what I'd tell ‘em. Does that answer it?”

The writer responded, “That’s not going to fill up much column space,” to a chorus of laughter from all gathered.

Ganasssi continued, “You got to work hard at what you want to do. You got to work hard at it. It's the only way I've figured out how to do it: work hard at it. You got to turn the other ear to a lot of things and turn your head to a lot of things and keep focused on what you're trying to do. Stay on your plan. I can't tell you how many times, I mean, we've been staying on our plan for a long time, how we go racing week in and week out. We've been staying on plan for a long time. So you got to sacrifice. You can't listen to other people. You got to make sacrifices. You have to pick and choose sometimes, make a call, A or B, X or Y, make a left or right.”

“Those are tough calls you have to make. But you have to plan your work and work your plan and have some passion about what you're doing. You have to love what you're doing. I love what I'm doing.”

And Kendra Jacobs told me the same thing on Friday afternoon. She mentioned that she has the constant pull of trying to start a family or continue with her current job. “I just turned 31 and I’m like, ‘OK, I’ve got to decide what I’m going to do’ and it’s a really tough choice because I love my job, I love what I do and I think I’m good at it,” she told me. “I’ve done it for nine years, I think I know what I’m doing and I’m afraid to start over at something else because I’m afraid I’m not going to know what to do or I won’t be good at.”

Mark Martin concurred when I asked him about Kendra. “She’s so friendly and outgoing and she’s very dedicated. She loves what she does and she’s been a part of motorpsorts her entire life. That makes it great,” he told me.

“You always do a great job when you have a passion for your job.”

They sound like they’ve been chatting with Butch Jones, head coach of your two-time defending Big East champion Cincinnati Bearcats.

Mark Martin: “The Man” does it again
It never fails. Every time I hear Mark Martin speak, I can take something away from him. It rarely has anything to do with racing, and almost everything to do with life. He lives right, he does it right, and the respect he earns is well deserved, even if he doesn’t think so.

After qualifying third on Saturday, Mark sat down and chatted with some assembled media members in the Press Conference Room. One asked him what he would tell Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski about their ongoing spat “I don't have any dog in that fight at all,” he responded. “I do appreciate the respect that I'm given, and I also acknowledge that I probably get more than I deserve.”
Always humble, too humble in fact, as Kendra pointed out to me on Friday afternoon.

And, as fans, we’re always proud to hear Mark Martin talk about us, as he did on Saturday morning. “These guys are digging and they're digging in and we're making progress and we've got more in front of us,” he said about his team, before saying, “So kudos to them, and I just want to thank all my race fans out there for keeping the faith. I feel like we're on our way back to contention form like last year. I hope so.”

And we do too. Mark Martin gave us another reason to be great fans last weekend. He once again was very approachable and took time out to talk to me about Kendra, even after being hounded for ten minutes about his future. It was yet another amazing Brickyard 400 weekend, and although I’m still tired and recovering from the long, long weekend one week ago, I’m ready for the 2011 Brickyard to get started.

What about some humor to close it out? When Mark Martin was asked about why Chevrolets were so dominant at Indy, Mark said, “Mine was fast. I don't know what to say about the rest of them.”

If he’s fast, he’s happy, and when Mark Martin is happy, his fans (including those that double as sports reporters for Cincinnati-area TV stations) are happy too.

A huge thanks goes out to everyone who made last weekend happen. An especially large thank you goes out to FOX19 Sports Director Brian Giesenschlag and our sports producer Rufus, who worked with Indianapolis Motor Speedway to get me a credential.
I also have to thank Kendra Jacobs and Mark Martin for once again being approachable and open to discussing numerous things throughout the weekend. I’m looking forward to 2011, as I already said. Hopefully it will be just as full of memories as this year was.