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.

15 days until graduation

The countdown is getting smaller, and it’s hard to not think of one of the best moments in recent UC football history when you think of the number 15.

With less than a minute left on the clock at Heinz Field, Tony Pike, a hometown kid from Reading High School, stood behind center Chris Jurek with four wide outs to his left, and then-junior Armon Binns alone to his right.

Tony Pike (Cincinnati Enquirer photo)

A perfect season was on the line.

Pike throws (Cincinnati Enquirer photo)

I never, never say this before the ball is snapped, but I quickly glanced away from my camera screen and said to myself, ‘This is a touchdown.’

Binns lays out to make the catch (Cincinnati Enquirer photo)

Pike got the snap, lofted the ball toward the goal line, and the rest is history.

Pike celebrates (Cincinnati Enquirer)

I hope to come up with a top-ten list of college memories, and I’d have to tell you that this moment might be really, really high on that list.

So here’s to No. 15, Tony Pike, as a Bearcat, and the fact that in 15 days, I’ll be able to walk across the stage and call myself a graduate of UC.

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.

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.

Big East football schedules: Week 11

A lot of fans think that referees like to pander to the best teams in the league to ensure that the best teams in the conference represent the conference in the BCS. Ask West Virginia fans about November 13th 2009, and almost every Mountaineer fan will tell you that referee John McDaid (a favorite of yours truly and my guest blogger) handed a victory to the UC Bearcats by overturning an obvious fumble by Isaiah Pead in the endzone, resulting in six points for the Bearcats.

ESPN replays showed the ball crossing the goal line. Decide for yourself
So, 365 days later WVU fans will get their shot to avenge a loss in 2009, and an overtime loss to the UC Bearcats in 2008. That ’08 game shifted the title of top dog in the Big East to Cincinnati from Morgantown, and now Bill Stewart has his shot to regain the power in the conference from former West Virginia wide out coach Butch Jones, who now leads UC.

Talk about storylines. Here’s week 11:

Week 11 Big East Schedule
Thurs., Nov 11-Connecticut vs Pittsburgh
Sat., Nov 13-West Virginia vs Cincinnati
Nov 13-Louisville vs USF
Nov 13-Rutgers vs Syracuse

AN: As much as I’d love to continue talking about UC and West Virginia, and one of the most dangerous venues in all of sports—Milan Puskar Stadium—I have to turn it over to Jake. Pitt and UConn have similar “pro style” offenses, so on Veteran’s Day in Hartford, Conn., who takes the “W”?

JM: Well, Pitt’s “pro-style” offense has been improving from week to week this season and is starting to get back to the effectiveness that Pitt fans enjoyed last year with Bill Stull at the helm. Meanwhile, UConn’s offense has been a mess all season they’ve gone through several quarterbacks and still cannot find a viable passing game.

UConn can run the ball however with a talented running back, Jordan Todman. The combination of a good night from Todman and a solid performance by UConn’s defense could be enough to beat the Panthers, but I don’t see that happening. Pitt has made too much progress this season and controls its own destiny for a BCS bowl bid.

Honestly, one of my biggest concerns this week is the weather in Hartford. Around this time of year, Connecticut becomes basically a frozen hell, so some intense weather conditions are very possible and could play a major factor in this game.

AN: I look forward to going to Milan Puskar Stadium every other year because it is full of rabid, passionate Mountaineer fans. And as crazy as it sounds, it’s one of the coolest gameday atmospheres I’ve ever encountered (second to Oklahoma and NC State). Last year Isaiah Pead, Zach Collaros and Tony Pike all combined to put UC up 24-14, and a late WVU touchdown made it 24-21, but it was all too little too late for the Mountaineers. UC moved to 10-0, and asserted that the Big East title moves through Cincinnati, not Morgantown.

Speaking of Pead, the then sophomore running back rushed the ball a career high 18 times for 175 yards and one touchdown against West Virginia last year. The 3-3-5 “Stack” defense that Rich Rodriguez made so popular was torched by the UC offense, which never was known for its run game prowess under Brian Kelly.

If anyone knows what the atmosphere will be like in Morgantown, it’s Butch Jones who was the wide receivers coach for Rodriguez in 2005 and 2006. Will that experience translate into a win for UC? With so many injuries on both sides of the ball for the Bearcats, it’s tough to say if it will.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bill Koch, Collaros is expected to start after resting up during the UC bye week last week. A fully healthy Collaros and an offensive line that dominates the questionable scheme West Virginia runs will lead to a Bearcat win. Anything else may effectively end UC’s chances of even going bowling this holiday season.

Jake, I know you’ll have a free Saturday to watch Big East football. What stands out to you?

JM: Rutgers vs. Syracuse stands out to me because the Orange have a chance to lock up their first bowl game bid since 2004. However, the Orange may have seen any hopes of a Big East title go out the window in last week’s loss to Louisville as Syracuse is now a virtual two games back of Pitt.

AN: And beyond our trip to Morgantown, I want to keep my eyes stuck on the Pitt-UConn game on Thursday night. As an Elder Panther football fan from the early part of the decade, I’m used to seeing pound-it-out, power football. Jake, you can attest to the likes of Kyle Koester and Bradley Glatthaar pounding the ball behind those big offensive lines that we had in the early 2000s.

JM: Back in my day, we didn’t have these fancy spread offenses. If you wanted to win, you ran the football. Man, those were the days…

AN: So the “power” rushing attack that both teams will employ may look boring to the fans who love seeing the ball fly through the air, but I’ll definitely tune in to see some old-time football. I’d say the over/under on how many times each team runs “power” is 50. Over or under Jake?

JM: I’ll take the over. We’re in for a little good, old fashioned caveman football.

AN: I do think that the Pitt Panthers have a little more balance on the offensive side of the ball, but I think this game will be an epic Big East battle. Even though West Virginia couldn’t pull it off in Hartford, I believe the Panthers win, and keep the stranglehold on the Big East title.

Big East football schedules: Week 9 and 10

“Bottom line: this just isn't a good year for the Big East and there's no standout team. But if you want to watch a wildly unpredictable league race where things change just about every week, keep watching.”—Brian Bennett, ESPN.com Big East blogger (October 24, 2010)

Week nine and ten are combined here on our look at the Big East football schedules. Week ten is light on play with only half of the conference in play, and one game is a Wednesday night primetime showdown between two teams with a bye in week nine.

The week nine and ten schedules are below.

Week 9 Big East Schedule
Fri., Oct 29-Connecticut vs West Virginia
Sat., Oct 30-Pittsburgh vs Louisville
Oct 30-Cincinnati vs Syracuse

Week 10 Big East schedule
Wed., Nov 3-USF vs Rutgers
Sat., Nov 6-Syracuse vs Louisville

AN: OK, let’s start with week nine where both UC and Pitt are in action. Jake, the last time Louisville visited Pittsburgh, it ended in ugly fashion, with the Panthers winning 41-7. Will this game be any different?

JM: Pitt’s had two straight blowout wins to begin Big East play, beating Rutgers last week and Syracuse the week before. Louisville appears to be a somewhat improved team this year, but Pitt still has much more talent.

After the rough start the Panthers got off to, they have rallied back and have played much better football the last three weeks, beginning with the loss to Notre Dame in South Bend. I like Pitt to win again this week to move to 3-0 in Big East play.

While Louisville has struggled some this year and is probably not headed to a bowl this season, I like the direction of their program. Charlie Strong will have the Cardinals in position to compete for the Big East title in the next few years.

How are your Bearcats going to fare against the resurgent Orange, Adam?

AN: The last time Syracuse visited the Queen City the Big East championship trophy was in the building, and after starting on off on a 7:34 scoring drive, the Bearcats never looked back, and won 30-10. Doug Marrone’s crew defeated West Virginia in Morgantown last weekend but quarterback Ryan Nassib was less than efficient in the win, completing only 5 of his 15 pass attempts.

Even though Pitt is the technical front runner of the Big East conference at this point, Syracuse is the highest rated team (at #29 in the AP Poll). This game is an elimination game of sorts in the conference. Winner lives to fight on, and the loser needs a lot of help to get to a BCS bowl.

With UC’s uncertainty at quarterback (Zach Collaros is being listed as day to day with a leg injury) and already depleted wide receiving corps, this game could be a ball control game. Syracuse would have the edge if that were the case. Their offensive line and running backs Delone Carter, Antwon Bailey and Prince-Tyson Gulley cold allow the Orange to control the clock and the game.

Jake, a few games to look at here over two weeks, and both UC and Pitt have byes in week ten. Any particular game in this stretch catch your eye as must-see TV?

JM: I’ll be interested in that UConn-West Virginia game. After last week’s crushing loss to Syracuse, the Mountaineers have to right the ship quickly to stay competitive in the conference title hunt. A second straight loss in conference play would really put WVU in a hole, one that will be difficult to dig out of.

UConn was the trendy pick to win the Big East in the last couple of weeks before the season started. I’ve never been particularly high on this team, and they have proved me right so far. In the words of Denny Green, “They are who we thought they were.” UConn still has a shot at the Big East title but really needs a win this week and will have to do it without quarterback Cody Endres, who was kicked off the team this week. Zach Frazer will be back under center, leading an anemic Husky Offense.

Adam, what games are you watching these next two weeks?

AN: I’m honestly going to be watching that Wednesday night game next week between Rutgers and USF. After watching USF methodically dismantle the two-time defending champs in front of my very eyes this past Friday night, I’m interested to see how Skip Holtz and the Bulls rebound. Plus, it’ll be nice watching some TV without political ads for the first time in months.

And honestly, I haven’t seen much of Rutgers, but I watched part of their game against Army, and if USF can stay balanced and run the football, I like Skip Holtz and the USF Bulls to pull off the win. The Bulls need a lot of help to make it to a BCS game, but all they have to do is keep winning.

So just keep watching folks, as Brian Bennett suggested. The Big East is like the box of chocolates that Forrest Gump opines about: “You never know what you’re gunna get.”

Big East football schedules: Week 6-“Opening Week”

Week six is the beginning of the Big East title chase as four Big East schools begin their quest to knock off the Cincinnati Bearcats and become Big East champions.

But it’s also the first Big East test for the two-time defending Big East coach of the year—Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, who welcomes to South Bend the last Big East team he faced, Pittsburgh. I know Jake is itching to talk about his two favorite teams, so here’s the schedule.

Week 6 Big East Schedule
Fri Oct 8-Rutgers vs Connecticut
Sat., Oct 9-USF vs Syracuse
Oct 9-Louisville vs Memphis
Oct 9-Cincinnati vs Miami (OH)
Oct 9-Pittsburgh at Notre Dame
Oct 9-West Virginia vs UNLV

AN: I can already hear the call, “Live from Notre Dame Stadium, fulfilling a lifelong dream, this is WPTS Sports Director Jake Meyer.” Does that sound accurate to you?

JM: Yeah, that’s about right. I’m really looking forward to calling this game and can’t wait for Saturday. This is a very interesting matchup of two of the biggest underachievers in college football so far this year. The Panthers have won the last two meetings between these teams, including a four-overtime win at Notre Dame Stadium in 2008. Pitt’s struggles have been much documented in this forum, and they will face another tough test this week.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame has is still a work in progress. There’s some serious growing pains going on in South Bend as QB Dayne Crist’s play has been inconsistent so far as he learns Brian Kelly’s offense. However, Crist is a very capable passer and has some tremendous targets to throw to in wideouts Michael Floyd, Theo Riddick and T.J. Jones as well as maybe the best tight end in the country in Elder alumnus Kyle Rudolph.

Pitt’s defense is facing its fifth straight opponent who runs some variation on the spread offense and Pitt has struggled to stop the short passing of these teams. The onus in this game will be on Pitt’s secondary, namely cornerback Antwaun Reed and Ricky Gary, with the latter struggling mightily at times. One interesting position of note is the weakside linebacker position, where strong safety Dom DeCicco will get the start for the second straight week.

DeCicco’s presence should provide a boost to a linebacker corps that has struggled in coverage against spread teams and has trouble running with the wide receivers they are often forced to cover. Pitt’s run defense has been solid, but their ineffective pass defense makes it hard for the defense to get off the field. Look for Pitt to try to pressure Crist with Jabaal Sheard into making poor throws.

Defensively, Notre Dame has improved over last season and is a better unit than they are given credit for. The Fighting Irish held a lackluster Boston College offense to 13 points last week, six of which came after the Irish turned it over deep in their own territory. ND’s defense is led by sophomore inside linebacker Manti Te’o, who recorded 21 tackles in a loss to Stanford two weeks ago. Pitt may struggle to run the ball against the Irish defense, despite the presence of your favorite coordinator Bob Diaco and his 3-4 scheme. If Pitt can’t run the ball, Pitt will not win this game. Tino Sunseri has struggled mightily at times, but has also shown flashes of potential. However, at this point, he is not ready to carry the offensive load for Pitt, especially given the shaky pass protection Pitt’s offensive line has provided him.

Since I’m calling the game, I won’t make a prediction on the winner (you know, that whole journalistic integrity thing), but I will give two key matchups. First, it’s Dayne Crist versus the Pitt secondary. Can Pitt cover well enough to break up ND’s passing game? Second, it’s Dion Lewis, who returns after missing last week with an injury, and Ray Graham, who rushed for 277 yards in Lewis’ place last week. Pitt has to get those two guys going early.

Adam, how do you think your Bearcats will fare in the Battle for the Victory Bell?

AN: All in all, it was a little rough for UC last year in Oxford, but there were two shining stars in the Battle for the Victory Bell in ’09. Armon Binns had a coming out party, leading UC with five catches for 83 yards and one score, and Jacob Ramsey became only the second player to rush for over 100 yards in the Brian Kelly era. Ramsey rushed for 103 and three scores on the day, and became the first Bearcat since Butler Benton rushed for 100 plus against SEMO in 2007.

The Battle for the Victory Bell is UC’s first rivalry game of the year, and Butch Jones has made it a point that one of the program’s goals is to, “Beat our rivals.” I have a feeling that only Miami grad Ben Roethlisberger could help the Redhawks in this matchup, and even then it’d be tough for UC to lose.

However, Miami played it close with Florida in week one, and although they got demolished by Gary Pinkel’s Mizzou Tigers two weeks back, they could be a dangerous team. Just not as dangerous because UC will be able to use a loud and raucous crowd to gang up on Miami.

Which game other than the Pitt/ND game do you have circled on your calendar Jake?

JM: Well, it’s not a great schedule in the Big East this week, but the best game on the slat is that Rutgers-UConn game. UConn had very high preseason expectations which have been dampened somewhat after an opening week loss at Michigan. Meanwhile, Rutgers is struggling despite its powder puff schedule, losing at home last week to Tulane. Ouch. Both teams need a win to open conference play. I think UConn wins.

AN: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m definitely going to tune in to the Panthers and Fighting Irish. As intriguing as Rutgers and UConn could be on a Friday evening, nothing will be better than seeing Dion Lewis make Bob Diaco look silly again. On national TV, too.

Pitt’s power rushing attack made the 3-4 scheme Diaco uses look like Swiss cheese at Heinz Field in early December last year, as we all can attest to. As long as the grass isn’t too high (and with Kelly calling the shots with an uptempo offense, I doubt it will be) at Notre Dame stadium, Lewis and Ray Graham should have a field day. Even though Pitt has struggled this year, and Notre Dame’s defense has looked OK, I’m standing by that statement.

I liked Brian Kelly, but watching the Panthers run rampant on the Fighting Irish in 2010 will be a highlight worth replaying over and over and over again. Hopefully that will happen.

Week 5 in the Big East: Tune Up Week

Only five Big East teams are in action on week five of the college season, and the two-time defending champs have the week off. So this will be light on the UC coverage, but my thoughts on this week are definitely satiated with some UC flavor.

Week five features a bye on the schedule for Syracuse as well as Cincinnati and West Virginia. Here’s a peek at week five for the Big East member schools

Week 5 Big East Schedule
Sat Oct 2-Rutgers vs Tulane
Oct 2-USF vs Florida Atlantic
Oct 2-Louisville at Arkansas State
Oct 2-Connectict vs Vanderbilt
Oct 2-Pittsburgh vs Florida International
**Oct 2-Buffalo at Bowling Green (MAC)**

AN: This week, Jake has to take an approved break to work on school projects, so I get to talk about Pitt and one more game, all by my lonesome.

But, before we get to head coach Mario Cristobal and his Florida International Panthers (and sophomore linebacker Larvez “Pooh Bear” Mars) into Heinz Field for a little gridiron matchup, ESPN.com Big East blogger Brian Bennett leaves us with this comment.

“You can’t call Week 5 “Showdown Saturday” or “Monster Saturday” or anything like that in the Big East,” he wrote. “It’s more like, “Tune-Up Saturday”

So, conventional wisdom tells me Pitt should roll, as well as Rutgers, USF and Louisville. But conventional wisdom has been wrong this year for fans of the Big East. Two-time defending Big East champ Cincinnati is 1-3, Pittsburgh looked bad last week on national TV against Miami, and Rutgers has had a stagnant offense this season.

Dave Wannstedt told the media yesterday in Pittsburgh that shuffling the offensive line came after some big time meetings with his players. “We’ve had some serious heart-to-heart conversations with some players. Let’s watch the tape: who is producing? Who is getting the job done when the lights come on? That’s the point that we’re at right now with everyone. We have to be very honest about it and play the best players that will give us the chance to win at this point.”

I have a feeling that the FIU game will give Wannstedt and the Panthers to get their feet under them and let their “new look” O-line get some time to jell on the field.

As I mentioned in our last preview, Buffalo actually might as well be a Big East team. Look at the coaching staff former UC offensive coordinator, and now Buffalo Head Coach, Jeff Quinn has put together in upstate N.Y.—his offensive coordinator is former UC quarterbacks coach Greg Forest, and his defensive coordinator is William Inge, former UC linebackers coach.

Former graduate assistants Marty Spieler and Mike Daniels now coach tight ends and running backs respectively. Adam Shorter, who was a GA under Quinn in 2007 and also played for UC, is coaching the o-line, and Ernest Jones, who once coached the running backs at UC, is coaching defensive backs.

Got all that?

Well, even if you don’t just keep in mind that Buffalo’s coaching staff is full of former UC assistants. With the UC bye week, I was hoping to have the time to travel to Bowling Green, Ohio to watch the Bulls take on the Falcons. Unfortunately, with a Saturday morning practice, it seems that I won’t be able to get to see the Bulls in person.

That doesn’t change the fact that I’m certainly a Buffalo Bulls fan this season, and as long as Quinn and Forest, et al, are running the show in Buffalo.

And, I picked that game because, with no offense to any of the Big East teams, this week is rather bland on scheduling. But, as Bennett said, the Big East needs a tune up, and what better way to tune up than with some bland opponents.

I hope you enjoy the fifth week of college football, and keep your eyes and ears pinned here for the week six preview coming up in the next seven days. Thanks for reading.

Big East football schedules: Week 2

(Coming soon...Fresno State photos)

The college game is known for great in-state rivalry games, and although Jake and I may never see our teams play their biggest in-state rivals (Ohio State for UC, and Penn State for Pittsburgh) on a regular basis, week two for the Big East features two in-state “rivalry” games.

Here’s the week two schedule, and all eight Big East teams are in action.

Week 2 Big East Schedule
Fri., Sept 10- West Virginia at Marshall
Sat., Sept 11-USF at Florida
Sept 11-Syracuse at Washington
Sept 11-Cincinnati vs Indiana State
Sept 11-Connecticut vs Texas Southern
Sept 11-Pittsburgh vs New Hampshire
Sept 11-Louisville vs Eastern Kentucky
Sept. 11-Rutgers at Florida International

AN: Jake, other than the two in-state games, and Syracuse’s travel to Washington, this week pretty much looks like a Big East scrimmage week. Your thoughts on Pitt’s matchup with the UNH Wildcats…

JM: Adam, you know how much I dislike playing 1-AA, I mean FCS, teams especially when that matchup happens after week one. I can deal with a week one scrimmage, as it can help ease the team back into playing competitive football but after then there is nothing to gain. The only thing this game can do is hurt Pitt. They will be expected to win, and if they don’t will be the subject of much hand-wringing and ridicule.

That being said, I see no way Pitt loses to UNH. Not only is UNH an FCS team, they aren’t even one of the best FCS teams. The real drama in this game will be seeing how many points Dion Lewis and crew can put on the board as Pitt will roll in this one. Adam, how bad of a beat-down are the Bearcats going to give the Sycamores?

AN: OK, so I hate to do this, but last year in late August Indiana State lost to Quincy 26-20. One week later Quincy got steamrolled by Southeast Missouri State 72-3. In Brian Kelly’s final home opener as Cincinnati head coach, the Bearcats took SEMO for their own 70 point excursion, defeating the Redhawks 70-3.

My point being, if UC doesn’t beat Indiana State, who only has won one game in three seasons, by at least 50 points, then something is wrong. It’ll basically be a scrimmage for the ‘Cats in Butch Jones’s first home game as head coach of the two-time defending Big East champs.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that it’s also a homecoming game of sorts for Jesse Minter, who coaches defensive backs for the Sycamores. Minter, the son of former UC head coach Rick Minter, was a graduate assistant under Brian Kelly for two years (2007 and 2008) on the defensive side of the ball. And Rick Minter will be coaching at Indiana State as well.

Jake, which game in week two strikes you as a must see?

JM: Country roads, take me home to… The West Virginia Coal Association Friends of Coal Bowl. Trailers and Shanties all throughout West Virginia will be home to folks glued to their black and white television sets and/or transistor radios to follow this recently re-ignited in-state rivalry. West Virginia has dominated the series, going 9-0 all time and should be expected to do the same this year.

The game is in Huntington, at Marshall’s Joan C. Edwards Stadium which could potentially be a problem for the Mountaineers as they leave Morgantown for the first time in 2010. New Marshall head coach Doc Holliday has extensive ties to WVU having graduated from there in 1979 and having spent more than 20 years of his career as a coach there. Maybe in the future Holliday’s squad will have a chance against the Mountaineers, but not this year. Expect WVU to win and win big. Adam, what game has piqued your interest in week two?

AN: Well, as much as I love John Denver’s “Country Roads”, the Citrus State showdown between USF and Florida will quickly test the mettle of Skip Holtz’s USF squad. Florida will have John Brantley IV at quarterback replacing the all-time great Tim Tebow.

Fun news of the day...You can now follow Tim Tebow on Twitter (or you can just stick to following me @adamniemeyer)

USF walked in to Doak Campbell Stadium last year and beat the Florida State Seminoles 17-7, which made the Bulls claim they have made it as one of the “Big 3” in Florida. If USF wants to keep claiming they’ve arrived as a big time Sunshine State program, they’ll need to beat Florida. And if they want to know how likely it is that they’ll defeat the Urban Meyer led Gator squad they should ask their Big East brethren Cincinnati.

Maybe folks remember watching the Sugar Bowl. Or maybe folks turned it off at halftime when the game was all but over with the Gators leading the Bearcats 30-3. Either way, I don’t see USF heading into the Swamp and getting the “W”, unless of course they can find a way to summon Tim Tebow to play for them.

And that’s not happening.

Week two looks to be a rather bland week with more than a few schools taking on cupcake opponents, but football is football, especially in the Big East. Join us for week three of the Big East schedule preview early next week. Thanks for reading as always.

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.

Expansion? Who cares?

All the rage in college football these days is talk of Big Ten expansion. In fact, without it, I’m relatively sure ESPN would be looking for actual stories to cover right now in college football. Instead, everyone is talking expansion, and the probable demise of the Big East conference.

I’m not having any of it. And neither is Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt.

He met last week with in-state comrade Joe Paterno to discuss Pennsylvania high schools adapting a new practice policy and announcing that the two schools would be hosting high school coaches for clinics.

According to the AP report, “Wannstedt declined comment when asked afterward of rumors that Pitt is a possible Big Ten target. Wannstedt said he has had ‘zero’ discussions about the issue and that any talks would be taken up by school administrators.”

This weekend Tom Luicci, of the New Jersey Star-Ledger wrote an in-depth piece about Rutgers joining the Big Ten. Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano took the same route as Wannstedt. “I hear the talk just like you do,” Schiano told Luicci. “But I don’t know anything more. A lot of powerful people are making statements that would lead you to believe maybe. I don’t know.”

On ESPN’s “College Football Live” on Friday afternoon analysts debated hypothetical expansion situations. Four teams from the Big East—Connecticut, Rutgers, West Virginia and South Florida—were wrapped up into a larger Atlantic Coast Conference. Two, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, left for the expanded Big Ten. Cincinnati and Louisville were the only two Big East teams to not make a new “super conference” according to the show.

Pat Forde, ESPN.com analyst spoke via phone on the show and noted that Cincinnati and Louisville own three of the past five Big East BCS bow berths, and felt it a little odd that the two schools would be left out of expansion of any kind. Boise State was another perennial contender that would be left out of a “super conference”.

Why should Big East schools want to stay in the eight-team league? Easy, just ask Notre Dame head man Brian Kelly, who, numerous times during his three-year tenure at Cincinnati, noted that the Big East was the easiest conference to win. In order to win and go to a BCS bowl, he’d note, all you had to do was win seven games, and there was no conference title game.

So, why should schools from the Big East want to jump ship to go to a conference where they’d have to play seven games and a conference title game? Money, money, money.

Big Ten teams earned an enormous sum of $22 million per team last season. The Big East earned $33 million by itself, and $20 million of that came from basketball deals. So, for Rutgers, Pittsburgh and other schools named in the hypothetical Big East expansion talk, money literally does talk.

Who will bite? Who will remain in the Big East? Will the Big East fold? Where will UC end up? Where will West Virginia go?

Want my thoughts? Who cares? A poll on UC’s student-run newspaper, The News Record, wanted to know where UC would end up after the Big Ten raided the Big East and the Big East ceased to exist? Four options: the ACC, a redesigned Big East/Other, the Big Ten or Conference USA.

Forty percent of those who voted (59 students) say Conference USA. Thirty percent said a redesigned Big East or other, and 27% said the ACC. Apparently the sky is falling down in Bearcat land.

Just don’t tell Athletic Director Mike Thomas that. “It’s difficult to speculate on what will happen,” he told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bill Koch a few weeks ago. A lot of “experts” think college football is headed to four 16-team “superconferences” to decide the national title. Thomas thinks UC would be one of those 64 teams.

If you came here looking for my opinion, well, you already got it: Who cares? When a co-worker of mine came into the office and said, “Bring back Rick Minter, we’re going to be in Conference USA,” I was shocked. I asked, “What the heck are you talking about?” He responded, “The Big Ten is going to raid the Big East and we’re done.”

Well, glad to know people who work on BCS level football teams are thinking the same thing. Hey, call me back when things actually happen. Maybe then we’ll do some talking. Until then, let’s sit back and talk about football—not hypotheticals.
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Sooner or later I’ll begin looking at the Big East football schedules. This year I have decided to offer last year’s guest blogger, and WPTS Sports Director, Jake Meyer another shot at looking at Big East football. We’ll be looking at each team here shortly. When I have the dates, you’ll know. Thanks for reading.

Big East bowl lineup includes UC-Florida

On Monday October 20th I posted that there was a pipe dream shot that the University of Cincinnati Bearcats would end up in New Orleans, Louisiana playing former Bearcat Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators. (http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2008/10/could-this-happen.html)

Fourteen months later, I have a dream come true.

I have so many reasons why this game will be so darn exciting, the least of which is the video tape I have of Meyer proclaiming that UC was a “bull**** program” when he played there. I’m sure Kelly and his staff will use these sound bites as inspiration for a team that is headed to its second straight BCS bowl game.

UC is 0-1 against the Gators all time, losing 48-17 on October 20th, 1984. Yes, that was 24 years before I posted that I’d love to see the matchup. Sometimes even weird things come true. More on this bowl game throughout the month of December.

Other Big East teams going bowling this season include:
-Konica Minolta Gator Bowl: West Virginia (9-3) vs. Florida State (6-6)
I’m thinking West Virginia will be a little bit too much for Florida State, but FSU will be playing in their last game with legendary Bobby Bowden as Head Coach. By the way, for what it is worth, South Florida defeated FSU and West Virginia this season. So in the common opponent theory doesn’t make much of a difference here.

-Meineke Car Care Bowl: Pittsburgh (9-3) vs. North Carolina (8-4)
Pittsburgh—as you may know—was very close to being in the Sugar Bowl yesterday. Unfortunately they’ve fallen to the Meineke Car Care Bowl. This matchup should be an interesting battle between two former pro coaches, and two similar pro offenses.

-Papajohns.com Bowl: Connecticut (7-5) vs. South Carolina (7-5)
UConn might be the story of the year this season and they’ve rallied behind each other since losing corner Jasper Howard midway through the season. They’ll get to play the Gamecocks of the SEC in Birmingham. Everyone who isn’t wearing maroon and white will be pulling for the Huskies in this one, myself included.

-St. Petersburg Bowl: Rutgers (8-4) vs. Central Florida (8-4)
Rutgers got blown out by Cincinnati to start the season and made their way up the ladder from there. Central Florida played Texas, and that’s about all I can tell you about them. This game is early on in the bowl season and Rutgers will look to freshman sensation quarterback Tom Savage to lead them to another bowl victory.

-International Bowl: South Florida (7-5) vs. Northern Illinois (7-5)
USF was looking at a possible BCS berth in early October, as they sat at 5-0 on October 3rd. Then they lost to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Miami (FL) and UConn. Even though they beat West Virginia and a lowly Louisville team, it wasn’t enough for USF to get a good bowl. Instead the kids from Tampa get a road trip to lovely…Toronto? What should be an easy win could be a tough game for the Bulls who may be less than inspired to be in Toronto.

Bearcats improve to 12-0; win Big East Title in thrilling 45-44 win over Pitt

I’ve never been so dumbfounded in my life. Have you ever seen a game that was so back and forth, dominated by turnovers and odd plays? Two missed PATs, a kickoff return for a touchdown, heavy snow, a packed Heinz Field.

What more could we ask for?

A Dion Lewis run put the Panthers up 44-38 with two minutes left. Andrew Janocko mishandled the snap and was stopped short of the goal line. Tony Pike and the Bearcats responded, as they have all season. Pike to Gilyard, Pike to Woods, Pike to Binns for six.

Jake Rogers, who earlier missed a long field goal and a PAT of his own, put the ball between the uprights with 33 seconds left to put the ‘Cats up 45-44. The UC defense nearly picked off three Bill Stull passes before getting a game clinching sack on fourth down. All Pike had to do was genuflect to run out the last three seconds and the UC team stormed the field, donning brand new blue hats that proclaimed “2009 Big East Champions”.

How sweet it is…Sugar? Oranges?

It was a game that still has me shaking my head. How did that happen? How did we look shaky at times and come back from a deficit of three touchdowns at one point?

Early in the game it looked to be a shootout between Pike and the UC receivers and the freshman sensation Lewis. Lewis finished with 194 on a Big East record 47 carries and he scored three touchdowns for the Panthers who may end up in the Meineke Car Care Bowl or the Papajohns.com Bowl.

Pike threw for 302 on 44 passes. Pike threw an uncharacteristic three picks on the day. It was a tale of two different Tony Pike performances though. In the first three quarters Pike had flashes of last season’s Orange Bowl where he threw four picks.

In the first 45 minutes of play Pike threw 29 passes, completing only 11 for 174 yards. In the fourth quarter though, Pike turned it on, throwing only four incompletions, going 11 for 15 for 128 and the game winning score—a 29 yard strike to junior Armon Binns.

On that play UC lined up with four receiving options to Pike’s left, and Binns on his right. Pitt decided to roll their safety to the four wide side, leaving Binns one on one with defensive back Jovani Chapel. Binns blew by Chapel and Pike hit him.

It was almost surreal. But even more surreal was winning the game, driving home to see the throngs of students who were lined up to greet the players, and catching the final quarter of the Nebraska-Texas game. Most experts agreed that if Texas won, they’d be playing for the national title on January 7th.

Texas of course needed a last second 46 yard field goal to beat the Cornhuskers. Now Cincinnati and TCU will need help from the human polls and computer polls to leap the Longhorns to go to the BCS National Title Game. That game is played in Pasadena.

Armon Binns’s hometown of course? Pasadena, California. And with one catch Binns gave UC a shot to go there and play for all the marbles. We’ll see if voters agree tonight. (If not, I’ve got a little Nostradamus for you…You wouldn’t believe what I said 14 months ago, and how it has come true this season)

2007 trip to Pittsburgh hands Bearcats second straight loss

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is the Big East getting ‘dissed’ again?

After blowing his motor yesterday and retiring from the race, Denny Hamlin said, “It’s like we take one step forward and two steps back.” While Hamlin was discussing his run for the title being over in this season’s NASCAR Chase, his comment holds true for one set of teams in college football: the Big East conference.

I guess I have to keep spending time defending my conference here, in the hopes that someday someone will see it and give us a glimmer of respect. But until then, let’s reason about the BCS. Mike Huguenin of Rivals.com said this early this morning about the Big East conference’s chances of getting two teams into the BCS.

“Not to be indelicate, but the BCS bowls don't really want the Big East champ, so why in the world would they want the Big East's No. 2 team?” he wrote. Let’s continue with his wisdom, sad, but probably true.

“Right now, Pittsburgh looks as if it will be the No. 2 team. The probability is extremely low a BCS bowl would extend a bid to a 10-2 Pitt team. If Pitt wins the league, the probability is exceedingly low that an 11-1 Cincinnati team would get an at-large bid. The call: Cincinnati (the champion) to the Fiesta Bowl.”

Well, let’s hear it for Huguenin who has decided to go against conventional logic and put the Big East Champ in the Fiesta Bowl. But, let’s get serious for a second, that will never happen. The Fiesta Bowl would more than likely take Texas Christian (TCU) over Cincinnati because TCU is closer to Tempe, Arizona and they’ll bring more fans.

As you know, more fans mean more money.

Every other bowl projection I’ve read at this point says the champion (and every outlet says that will be Cincinnati) will play the second place SEC team in the Sugar Bowl. That’s fair being that the Sugar Bowl has last pick of BCS eligible teams. Basically, everyone knows that the Big East is pretty weak.

Everyone but Bearcats wideout D.J. Woods, who earlier this week stated, “I guess you have to be a big school surrounded by a big stadium.’’ Truth is, you might have to be. But, here’s a good question for the “experts,” if Pittsburgh, a school with multiple national titles and numerous NFL alums is in the top ten on Dec 5^th, why do they not have an opportunity to play for an at large berth in the BCS?

The simple answer: National perception. On Saturday morning before our kickoff I talked with my counterpart at Syracuse, R.J., who mentioned that the Big East is getting little love. “It’s bull****,” he said. “You guys are getting screwed by the system. It’s like they’re treating this conference like we’re a mid-major.” Which is the exact phrase fellow video guy Joe Stanek used hours earlier while we sat and watched West Virginia play South Florida in the hotel.

The Big East, a mid-major. Nothing sounds better than that, I say, sarcastically of course. Brian Kelly doesn’t agree. “Now we’re two thirds of the way through the season. We’re sitting at 8-0 and we’ve got a month to go. We’re in a pretty good position over the next four weeks. If we win four games, we’re going to go somewhere neat.”

As Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer noted last week, “True enough, and those wins over Top 25s West Virginia and Pitt would get the Bearcats just high enough to chant “We’re Number Three!” if they win their BCS bowl game.

The sad thing really is, he’s telling the truth. But for now, we sit back and wait, because it’s all moot if either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati loses before December 5^th. And right now, the Big East needs all the help it can get for perception, so let’s hope that doesn’t happen.