One day until graduation

First, if you’ve missed any of the countdown, here’s a look at each day in the countdown:

No. 10- http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2011/06/10-days-until-graduation.html

No. 9- http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2011/06/nine-days-until-graduation.html

No. 8- http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2011/06/eight-days-until-graduation.html

No. 7- http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2011/06/one-week-until-graduation.html

No. 6- http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2011/06/six-days-until-graduation.html

No. 5- http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2011/06/five-days-until-graduation.html

No. 4- http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2011/06/four-days-until-graduation.html

No. 3- http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2011/06/three-days-until-graduation.html

No. 2- http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2011/06/two-days-until-graduation.html

Moment 1: “The Game” (Dec. 5, 2009)

It was cold and somewhat snowy when I opened the shades in the Pittsburgh hotel room I was sharing with fellow video team member J.P. Hummer. My dad had just texted me to say that he and my mom were up and headed to breakfast on a chilly morning.

I’d hoped for the best, but I knew it was going to be a tough battle. We were on the brink of a perfect season and a shot at the BCS National Title game. These were unforeseen and nearly unbelievable times in the Cincinnati football program. And I was in the center of it all.

We packed the meeting rooms up, and headed down to the buses to put away our things. In just hours, the ball would be kicked, and the 60-minute journey to perfection would be right in front of our very eyes.

Setting everything up at Heinz Field was just like normal: I headed to my endzone area, two guys headed to the TV truck, and John Sells, video coordinator, headed to his spot in the sideline video booth. Minutes later we all hooked up in the Heinz Field pressbox for breakfast.

WPTS Sport Director Jake Meyer, a good friend of mine, met me there. The previous night Jake and I hung out and watched the MAC title game, featuring a highly-touted Central Michigan squad, led by quarterback Dan LeFevour and head coach Butch Jones. The Chips defeated Ohio University, and little did any of us know the significance of that game at the time.

Jake and I made our way to the radio booth where I met his co-anchor for the day, Dan, who I’d talked to on the radio earlier that week when I was a live guest on Jake’s weekly sportscast on WPTS radio in Pittsburgh.

For three years I called into the radio show, live from practice. Dan and Jake asked me what it would take for UC to defeat the Panthers. When I got into the radio booth that morning to chat with the guys, Dan said, “The first one to 45 wins this game.”

Funny how things work out some times.

I headed down to the field to join my actual co-workers with about 45 minutes until kickoff. ‘If this is the biggest game I’m ever a part of,’ I thought, ‘I might as well go down on the field and soak in some of the atmospohere.’

I talked to some local news folks on the field, including WCPO sports anchor Dennis Janson, who was about to go live for a one-hour special preceding the game on ABC. DJ was one of the nicest guys I had the opportunity to work with at Channel 9, so I stopped by and said hello.

Oh, and then there was a game to be played. I found my way back up to my film booth, which was somewhat heated, but since we had the front windows open it wasn’t the warmest place in the world. However, I felt bad for the folks sitting out in front of us.

And I felt bad for my mom and dad, who, for some reason, got stuck in the very top row of Heinz Field. I thought my dad was kidding when he sent me a text that said, “Look out to your left. We’re in the top row of seats.”

Holy cow, they were. (“It was colder than hell,” my mom will still tell you)

When the game kicked off it was business as usual. Start recording, watch the play, stop recording. Repeat. It’s what I had done all season, nothing new.

Except the fact that what we hadn’t done all season was get beat, like a drum. We were tied after one quarter at 7-7, but in the second the Pitt Panthers decided that the Bearcats of Cincinnati didn’t deserve the perfect season we had our sights on. The rattled off three touchdowns and a field goal, and led 31-10 with 1:26 showing on the clock in the second quarter.

Brian Kelly, who had his sights on a job in South Bend, was suddenly looking like a normal human being, not the super coach that every national media outlet had made him out to be.

After the touchdown that put Pitt up 31-10 I received a text from John Sells, my boss. While I forget exactly what it said, the message basically said, “This one is over. We’re going to Charlotte, bye bye BK.”

I wanted to respond, but I just couldn’t think of anything to say.

And I didn’t have to say much, because seconds later the play on the field said it all.

Mardy Gilyard stood on the UC goal line with a perfect season in his hands. He received the kickoff, and the rest, as they say, is history. The play that saved the perfect season took all of 16 seconds. Gilyard covered 99 yards and sprinted into the endzone away from me for a Bearcat touchdown.

“Why are you so negative?” I immediately responded to Sells.

From there, the momentum shifted. But it wasn’t the final time momentum would shift in the game.

With 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter an almost perfect Jake Rogers missed a PAT attempt to bring UC within seven. The Cats trailed Pitt 38-30. (Highlights from ESPN.com can be seen here: http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=293390221)

With less than six minutes left the Bearcats had the ball on the one yard line. Zach Collaros, who had played masterfully in replacement of Pike when Pike re-injured his left arm earlier in the year, came in to run the UC offense on the goal line. He handed the ball on a read option to Isaiah Pead for six. We trailed by two.

And who stepped up on the two-point conversion? None other than Mardy Gilyard.

Pike flipped the ball to Gilyard for two points, and the score was tied with 5:46 left in the game.

Pitt’s Dion Lewis punched the ball in from five yards with 1:33 left on the clock, leading my counterpart at Pitt to look at me and say, “Damn, bro, this is crazy! I think we left you with too much time though.” There was too much time for Pike and Gilyard to tie the game and send it into overtime.

Enter Andrew Janocko, Pitt’s third string back-up quarterback, and PAT holder. Janocko bobbled the snap and Dan Hutchins couldn’t put the PAT through the uprights. Pitt still led 44-38, but they needed to keep UC out of the endzone if they wanted to keep their hopes of securing the Big East title alive.

But with 33 seconds left on the clock Pike stood behind center Chris Jurek with four wide outs to his left and Armon Binns to his right. Binns, a junior from Pasadena, Calif., was only looking at one cover corner on his side of the field.

I don’t normally do this, but I glanced away from my camera for a split second and looked down at the field. ‘Oh…my…God. He’s singled covered!’ I thought. ‘Throw it to Binns Tony, throw it to Binns. This is a touchdown.’

Pike got the snap and lofted the ball for the right corner of the endzone. It fell into the arms of Binns in stride. The crowd in front of me—mainly Cincinnati fans—was pumped.

Pike celebrates (Cincinnati Enquirer photo)

Jake Rogers came on and nailed the PAT, leaving my counterpart from Pitt to once again utter, “Damn bro. This has been one of the craziest games I’ve ever seen.”

I couldn’t agree more.

When Pitt got the ball back with 33 seconds remaining in the game, they had to throw the ball. Bill Stull was pinned on his own 18-yard line, and Bob Diaco, whose defense had been torched all day on the ground, sent out the best pass coverage guys he could get on the field.

Stull’s first pass dropped incomplete. His second fell to the turf, also incomplete. On third down he turned to Jonathan Baldwin, who had been a stud for the Panthers all season; that pass also went incomplete. With just ten seconds remaining, Stull dropped back with the game on the line.

The Cincinnati Bearcats celebrate after defeating Pitt in 2009 (Cincinnati Enquirer photo)

He was sacked by Alex Daniels to end the game. Someone in front of me popped a cork on a champagne bottle. The party was on.

I leaned out of the video booth and waved at my mom and dad. I got the thumbs up from my dad. We had done it, so long as Tony Pike didn’t give the next snap to Pitt and let them run it into the endzone.

Brian Kelly sent the offense out onto the field and Pike took a knee. The clock said 0:00, UC-45 Pitt-44. For the second straight year I was headed to a BCS bowl game as the Big East champion.

Kelly and Jeff Quinn share a hug after beating Pittsburgh. (Cincinnati Enquirer photo)

“Good luck wherever you end up,” said my counterpart from Pitt. “And represent [the Big East] well.”

“Same to you guys,” I said as we left the video booth.

I walked down a few steps and my mom and dad were waiting. I think my mom hit me numerous times saying, “I drove all this way and you guys almost lost!”

Almost.

I said goodbye to them and headed down the elevator toward the locker room to set my stuff in the equipment truck. The first person who greeted me was co-worker Joe Stanek.

The Big East champs hold their title in the locker room (from the Twitter account of Tom Gelehrter aka Tommy G)

He picked me up and gave me a huge hug. “Can you believe we did it!” he said, as excited as I was that we were a part of something so very special.

I’m not sure what my response was, but I know it’s almost unbelievable still. We were a part of one of the best college football teams in America that season.

And that, is the best moment I’ve ever been a part of in the past four years at UC.

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Disagreements? Comments? Concerns? Questions? Leave a comment below, and as always thanks for reading.

Check back tomorrow on graduation day for a special post. This has been a fun countdown to produce and organize. You’ve seen the good and the bad, the happy and the sad moments that I’ve lived through the past four years. These posts are only a small look into what I’ve experienced in the past four years, but it’s been a blast. I can’t wait to put some more memories in as I go through grad school. One more game like this one wouldn’t be too bad.

Have a good Friday.

UC bye week news and notes

The 10-0 Cincinnati Bearcats will take one week off from football this week, at least from playing a game. For the first time in school history (a phrase that has been used a lot the past three seasons in the Queen City) the ‘Cats won their first ten games. Ranked #5 in all three major polls (AP, Coaches, BCS) the Bearcats are now positioning themselves for an important showdown with Pittsburgh on December 5th.

But, next Friday the ‘Cats take on the Illinois Fighting Illini at noon. Enjoy your turkey and NFL on Thursday, wake up insanely early and get your Christmas shopping done on Friday, and then come home and enjoy some real good football from Nippert Stadium.

Here’s some other news and notes on the UC football team and program as we move through the bye week.

1. UC committed to Kelly? Yes…
The University of Cincinnati’s board of trustees yesterday announced that the university would be borrowing money for the Jefferson Avenue Athletic Complex. According to yesterday’s Cincinnati Enquirer report, “Under the financial plan prepared for trustees, UC would borrow $9.7 million and raise $2.1 million to build the fields this year. The bulk of the fund-raising would happen in 2012-13, when it would receive $5.2 million, and the entire project would be paid off by 2015.”

So this means that the indoor “bubble” will be ready to go for next season. It’ll keep me covered when it rains and when it gets cold. Oh, and make no bones about it, this move was more than just an initiative to help the school. The Cincinnati Enquirer also stated later on that, “the fields are a critical factor in UC’s strategy to retain football coach Brian Kelly.”

With sold-out games and a growing fanbase, UC is attempting to capitalize and build something that will keep Brian Kelly in Cincinnati

Notre Dame already has an indoor facility. Brian Kelly’s name has come up as a prime candidate for the Notre Dame job if much beleaguered head man Charlie Weis was to get fired this season

2. So what does BK think about Notre Dame?
Kelly says he’s flattered that he’s being considered for the job, but it doesn’t change how his team prepares week to week day to day. “As far as the rumors go, our kids really don't pay much attention to them, because I don’t” Kelly said. “I don't get distracted. We're humbled that our name is being associated with programs, but we don't really spend much time thinking about it. Our kids have become immune to it, as I have.”

Will Brian Kelly be leading UC next season? That's the million dollar question right now

It’s gotten to the point that I should just wear a shirt that says, “I don’t know,” on it and every time someone asks me about Kelly to ND, I should point at the shirt. Here’s an interesting thought about the Notre Dame job…What about Jim Harbaugh from Stanford? He can beat USC (as evidenced this past Saturday). I’m just suggesting it.

3. Running game needs to pick up steam
This week the UC offensive staff is working on beefing up the running game, which was a staple of the offense (in fact some would consider it was the only offense) under former Head Coach Mark Dantonio. Since Kelly has gotten to UC he has often talked about getting better on the ground. In the spring of 2008 he focused on short yardage situations. This spring he did the same. Now, with a bye week, Kelly and Offensive Coordinator/Offensive line coach Jeff Quinn are scheming ways to get the Bearcats to be more proficient on the ground.

“We’re spending quite a bit of time on some of the things we need to continue to work on, especially running the football,” Kelly said. “That’s going to be the secret to success in November and December. We still have some things to iron out.”

Isaiah Pead racked up 175 yards against West Virginia on Friday night

Kelly talked more about his practice schedule. Take note of what he says. “It’s so important that you really emphasize relative to practice that it’s quality not quantity,” Kelly said. “We’ve backed off our practices quite a bit. We’ve talked to the kids about giving us 1½ hours of locked-in focus. The word we’ve used is purposeful. You’ve got to have a purpose when you go out to practice.”

So far this year the Bearcats have produced quality and quantity on gamedays. Practice really does make perfect.

4. The UC defense should work hard on defending run
It’s no secret that UC has had a tough time defending the power running attack over the past few weeks. Both UConn and West Virginia ran for over 200 yards a piece on the Bearcats defense—which up to this point in the season had been quite strong. UC held prominent Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rogers to 73 yards rushing in game three.

UC's defense has had no trouble sacking quarterbacks. Here, Ricardo Matthews sacks West Virginia's Jarret Brown. UC is 5th in the nation in sacks, tied with USC

But, UConn’s Jordan Todman ran for 162 and West Virginia ran for 202 yards as a team against the ‘Cats last Friday evening. The more lingering problem for UC is that Pittsburgh is a power running team. They will line up, “Big Ten style”, as I call it, and pound it up the middle with freshman sensation Dion Lewis.

Lewis has run for 1291 yards this season, with an average of 5.8 yards per rush, and 13 touchdowns. Did I mention the kid is a true freshman? Only three times this season Lewis has been held to under 100 yards rushing (Navy, NC State, and Louisville). Perhaps those games hold the keys to stopping the best runner in the Big East this season.

Now, some will argue that the nation’s leading rusher, Ryan Matthews of Fresno State, also had a great day against the UC defense. Those are the same people who would forget that UC’s plan that day was to limit the big play ability of Matthews. Kelly’s plan that day was to play a lot of cover two, as he stated after the game, to give Marcus Barnett (the wideout turned cornerback for that game) some help in pass defense.

5. Big East replay catching grief for “questionable calls”
On Friday night in the West Virginia-UC game, the Bearcats faced first and goal from the one yard line. Zach Collaros turned and handed the ball off to Isaiah Pead, who dove forward for the endzone. He lost the ball, West Virginia recovered it, and the play was, of course, reviewed by the video replay booth.

It was determined by the booth that Pead stretched the ball across the goal line and therefore scored before he lost the ball. (This picture below, courtesy of the Cincinnati Enquirer, is as close a view as I could get my hands on…for now)

Let’s not forget that John McDaid and crew were officiating this game. McDaid might be the worst official in the Big East conference, and maybe the nation. Every time we get him, I cringe. McDaid had the UC/USF showdown in mid-October, the Pittsburgh loss (their only one this year) at NC State, and last season he had the Backyard Brawl between Pitt and WVU, plus the UC game one week later in Hawaii (one of the worst officiated games I’ve ever witnessed).

Maybe the Big East shouldn’t be worrying about their replay booth, and be more worried about who the man is on the field making the calls.

West Virginia fans note that they “lost the game” on this call. Brian Bennett, Big East blogger for ESPN.com, who was in attendance at the game, wrote, “Did those calls decide the game? No. I generally believe that one call, unless it's at the very end, should not be blamed for a loss. Teams have many opportunities to make up for such calls, and indeed, West Virginia got stopped on a fourth down deep in Cincinnati territory in the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers should only point fingers at themselves.”

But he wasn’t done there. Later on he wrote, “As to whether the Mountaineers would have won, my feeling is: score more points. West Virginia would have had the ball on its own 1. Who knows if Cincinnati makes a stop, gets the ball back and scores before halftime? Or maybe not. In the end, the Mountaineers had the ball inside the 30 and got stopped on fourth down. They lost by three. So they had plenty of chances after the call to win the game.”

Not too much to argue there folks. A lot of football left and WVU just couldn’t get it done in the second half. Call me myopic, but I agree with Bennett, and not just because it went for my team.
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Hope you’ve enjoyed some insight. I’ve gotta get back to homework, but later this week I hope to post a few thoughts on one of the most influential teachers I’ve had at UC, and possibly a little piece on why I love NASCAR so very much.

Have a good Wednesday all.

Competition heavy at UC for running back spot

The motto for this year’s running back corps at the University of Cincinnati should be, ‘You can never have too much of a good thing’. UC returns four players at the position who got snaps last season and one redshirt freshman who could contend for snaps this season. The real question right now is who will get to start when the Bearcats take the field on September 7th in Piscataway, and will he get a bulk of the workload?

The four players who saw action at the running back spot for last season’s Bearcat football squad were Jacob Ramsey, John Goebel, Isaiah Pead and Scott Johnson. They combined for 1,596 yards on 434 carries. Goebel and Ramsey got a majority of those carries and yardage. The senior Ramsey carried the ball for 152 times for 664 yards and two touchdowns while the junior Goebel got 133 snaps gaining 607 yards and seven scores.

Late in the season Isaiah Pead—then a true freshman—got his chance to show the UC coaching staff what he could provide. He ran the ball 30 times for 194 yards in seven games.

UC ranked last in the conference in rushing in 2008, and a less than stellar 95th overall in the nation with just over 117 yards per game. The offense averaged 3.6 yards per carry last season.

Kelly made it a point in spring ball to focus on running the football. Often times the spread offense he has employed since becoming Bearcat head man has become reliant on the pass, but Kelly believes that balance will provide this team with an opportunity to repeat as Big East champions.

After one spring practice he told UC beat reporter Bill Koch this: “We’ve got to get guys to stop reading their press clippings on how good they are and get us short yardage runs, too… We’ve got to be tougher. Offensively, we’ve got to be more physical and that’s really been the theme all spring.”

He continued, “It’s the maturation process. They all think they’re Barry Sanders and sometimes you’ve got to be just a grunt and lower your pads. They’re all strong enough. They’re all physical enough. They all bench 350 pounds. It’s just a mind-set. We’re teaching.”

Overall, Kelly was more than impressed with Isaiah Pead and Darrin Williams—who will be coming off a redshirt year—during the fifteen spring practices. He feels they fit his spread system better than Ramsey and Goebel, who were recruited by Mark Dantonio.

That’s not to say that Ramsey and Goebel have not adapted. In fact, during his first year at UC Kelly said Ramsey would be his go to guy midway through the 2007 season.

But, who will he go with this season?

A lot of ‘experts’ and writers feel that either Pead of Williams will get a bulk of the workload. Williams set records at Detroit’s Martin Luther King High School, where he rushed for nearly 6,000 yards during his career.

While that’s impressive, he’s going to have to compete with Goebel, Pead and Ramsey for the starting spot. And, if I’ve learned anything in my two years at UC, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. Kelly might just use all four of them.

We’ll wait and find out who gets a majority of the carries and who gets the start in less than a month when UC begins the defense of the Big East title when they visit Rutgers for a season opening conference matchup.