Questions and Answers

UC doesn't tip off until Saturday, and in the meantime, I'll answer all the burning questions about UC and other things. Mainly UC things since this is a Cincinnati Bearcats blog. Maybe THE Cincinnati blog. After all, former Cincinnati great DeJuan Gossett follows us on twitter. DeJuan is 9th in tackles in UC history, and 2nd in solo tackles. He has incredible taste in who to follow on twitter. What does this have to do with questions? Shut up jerk, we're getting to that right now.

What are the odds that Cincinnati goes to the NCAA tournament?

Look, it's only February. We have many more games left in the regular season, and the Big East tournament. Anything can happen in New York City. I'm at the point where I'm getting a little tired of the negativity. Instead of looking at the schedule and counting the losses, we are going to look one game at a time. We need to chill.

You have said that Mick Cronin has had the pressure start to build under him. Does he make it through the off season if UC doesn't play in the Big Dance?

I'm going to say yes. UC would have to finish .500 or worse for there to be any justifiable reason for Mick to go. He came to UC with nothing. He has built UC to a contender for the tournament. Some of the fan expectations are a little too high, because there was nothing here 4 years ago. That said, Mick hasn't won a single game in March, including a disgusting loss against DePaul in the Big East tournament. The offense is absolutely awful. It needs to be changed next season. Hell, it needs to be changed tomorrow. Some people are questioning UC's conditioning. But, I think if UC is close to the tournament and end up in the NIT, he deserves to come back.

Speaking of leaving, what are the chances Lance Stephenson hangs around next year?

I think Born Ready is 70-30 to coming back. His jump shot has been horrible, especially from 3. That type of thing is going to keep him a little low on draft boards. Lance passes really well, and has started vacuuming up rebounds. The big problem lately has been Lance not getting himself involved in the offense all 40 minutes. He disappeared against Louisville, and he disappeared yesterday. We need 33 to be the player we know he is the whole game.

What's up with Deonta Vaughn? 

Nothing, he's chillin. But really. It's interesting that you asked that, because coming tomorrow, we are going to break down what's up with Deonta Vaughn. It's your lucky day.

Are any Bearcats going to the NFL combine?

Yes. Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard were invited, and you can watch them run, and catch and throw on the NFL Network in a couple weeks. I know I won't.

Are the Bearcats going to be on ESPN next football season?

At least once. The Bearcats are traveling to North Carolina State on Thursday, September 13 for a nationally televised showdown. In the last 4 seasons, UC hasn't lost on ESPN Thursday night. UC beat USF twice, and Oregon State once. Hopefully they are on more national games this season. They do play Oklahoma, so that will be on ABC or something.

It's Rivalry Week on the 4 letter, what do you think the best Big East rivalry is?

You have your Syracuse-Georgetown, Syracuse-UConn, your West Virginia-Pittsburgh, Seton Hall-Rutgers, Marquette-DePaul I guess, Louisville-Cincinnati, but I'm going to say South Florida-St John's. When I think of great Big East basketball, I think of those 2.

Be honest.

Syracuse v. Connecticut is my choice.

Back to football. How awesome is Zach Collaros going to be? 

Very awesome. Butch Jones has tons of weapons coming back on offense, with Vidal Hazelton, Collaros, Isaiah Pead, DJ Woods, Armon Binns, and what have you. The Brian Kelly Machine should roll on, but as the Butch Jones Awesome Squad. Yeah, I had nothing there, but from now on, the offense is going to be called the BJAS.

What do you think about Brian Kelly being named the Ohio football coach of the year?

Yawn, that's what I care. Why are these awards still going on? It's February. Even baseball doesn't stretch his award season as much as some of these football awards. Let's wrap this award stuff up in December, or after the national title game guys. Come on.

Was this very successful?

Hell yes it was.

Tomorrow we break down Deonta Vaughn and his up and down senior season. Thanks for reading.

Oh Say Did UC?

Time to hit up the Cincinnati news on this Friday afternoon. Just a quick site bit, the Louisville preview for the game Sunday afternoon will probably go up tomorrow. If it somehow doesn't, it will be up Sunday morning well before noon. Quick fact that will be be in the preview. The Bearcats have played the most, and won the most at Freedom Hall more than any Louisville opponent. Plus, the Cats won the 1962 National Title in Freedom Hall. Let's hit some news.

• I can't find anything on the status of Lance Stephenson. Since Born Ready was labeled day to day, I expect him in the lineup Sunday at noon.
• Speaking of Lance, here is an SI article that (coughhackcough) Paul Daugherty wrote. This is like a week old, but I'm pretty sure I didn't post a link and I know you get all your UC news here. Right? Say yes for my fragile ego. 
• This article from CNati questions if Jaquon Parker is the missing piece. I hope that he can step in and play the point, and that would be huge. I'm not totally against giving Cashmere Wright another look in spurts. I'm all for Parker starting Sunday.
• Louisville was taken down by Seton Hall last night in a nightmare scenario. There was some controversy at the end. Jerry Smith made a 3 with .7 remaining. As Seton Hall was set to inbound, there was a whistle and the player with the ball took 2 steps on the court. All the players turned towards their benches, so that could be chalked up to confusion. However, Seton Hall's inbounds pass was tipped back out of bounds. The inbounder would run the line, an absolute clear violation, and Seton Hall would inbound and make free throws. Youtube: here. 
• The Wall Street Journal decided to have their yearly piece about how awesome the Big East is. Worth a read, or otherwise I wouldn't have linked to it. 
• Luke Winn writes a great Power Rankings on SI every Thursday. UC isn't mentioned, but it's one of my favorite reads of the week. Good job Luke.

That about does it on the basketball news. Let's hit the gridiron.

• Another SI bit. Stewart Mandel, from Cincinnati, did a report card of the coaching hires. Spoiler alert: Butch Jones got an A-. Louisville's Charlie Strong got the best grade, A+, and South Florida's Skip Holtz received an A-. Big East AD's are hitting it out of the park this year on paper.
• Dyjuan Lewis, a 4 star receiver from Indianapolis, recommited to Cincinnati. Nice job getting him back Butch Jones. Great decision Dyjuan.
• Here is a slightly dated Big East recruiting breakdown. Lewis answers a question asked in the piece, and is UC's best recruit. 
• QB recruit Luke Massa is being wooed by Notre Dame. The St. X star said "Then (on Thursday) Notre Dame offered (a scholarship). I was definitely pretty excited. Who wouldn't be excited about an offer from Notre Dame? I'll be visiting there Jan. 30, and then make my decision after that." Great. Sounds like he might be going.
• Alex Daniels and Aaron Webster were named to the Texas vs. The Nation all star game. Good for them. 
• Mel Kiper has his rankings up. They are insider so no link. Tony Pike fell out of his top 5 QBs. Mardy Gilyard is his 4th best WR. Armon Binns is 2 on the list for next year.
• Our main man Josh Katzowitz has an interview with Butch Jones up on GoBearcats. 

Finally, Brian Bennett at ESPN's Big East blog has a shit load of UC related things. You should read his blog, but then forget about it when I link to stuff about it. The following bullets are all his.

• Big East games of the Decade: UC v. Pitt #3. UC vs South Florida from October 2007 #9.
• Coaches of the Decade: #1 Brian Kelly. Don't boo or get angry, just let the last BK mention be a good one.
• Programs of the Decade: UC #5. Top 4: Miami, West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh.
• Half Decade Team: WR Mardy Gilyard, OG Trevor Canfield, CB Mike Mickens and P Kevin Huber.
• Big East Game of the Year: 

1. #7 Cincinnati vs West Virginia. 
2. #5 Cincinnati vs Connecticut
3. #1. Cincinnati at Pittsburgh

That didn't end confusingly at all. Thank you so very much for taking the time to read the blog. Shout out to whoever read this in Belgium. Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the Louisville preview. It won't be up in the morning, probably the afternoon. There will be the normal quick result post and the full reaction Monday. As for the rest of the week, I'm not sure. The Cats don't play until the next Saturday, so if you have any ideas for what you want me to write about, leave a comment. 

Florida 51 Cincinnati 24

All photos from the Enquirer

When I wrote the preview for the Sugar Bowl, I said that one of the 3 possibilities for the outcome of this game was a Florida blowout victory. Sadly for the Cincinnati Bearcats and the fans, that was the case. The Florida Gators curb stomped the Bearcats all over the SuperDome to win the Sugar Bowl 51-24. In case you missed it, relive it in the live blog.

The story of the game was Tim Tebow.

And Tim Tebow.

And Tim Tebow.

Did I mention Tim Tebow?

In his last game in the blue and orange, the 1 time Heisman winner and 3 time finalist put a whopping 533 yards of offense on the Bearcats. 533! Tebow was phenomenal through the air going 31-35 for 482 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran for 51 yards and a touchdown. It was all out domination by Tebow and his teammates. It was like you were playing NCAA 10 on easy mode, or against a DII school. I've never seen a quarterback dominate so much. In fact, no player has put up that many yards in a bowl game ever. His 31 completions and 482 yards are Sugar Bowl records. It was his last game as a Florida Gator, and it was great to be a Florida Gator Friday night.

The Bearcats had nothing going on Friday night. After a penalty stopped the first drive, Florida marched down the field and scored on a Tebow touchdown to Aaron Hernandez, who had 9-111 and torched UC all night. The Bearcats blocked the extra point. That was the only first half highlight. After the second drive failed, the Gators got a field goal. UC needed to do something here down 9-0, and when they didn't Tebow and the Gators marched down the field and got a TD pass to Deonte Thompson. The first quarter ended with Florida having 159 yards and UC 19. A 3 and out, and Florida would score in about a minute as Emmanuel Moody walked in from 6 yards out. Down 23-0, the Cats had a scoring drive. Jake Rogers, who did a wonderful job punting putting 3 inside the 20 with a 42 yard average, hit a 47 yard field goal to get the Cats on the board. The UC 'comeback attempt' didn't last long. Tim Tebow hit Riley Cooper (7-181) with a 80 yard touchdown pass where Cooper blew by whoever was supposed to be covering him, and the rout was on in full. Tebow was 18-20 297-3 TDs in the first half. It was a show.

This was an utterly disappointing effort on the biggest stage of the season. The Bearcats had a magical 12-0 regular season, and ended in a way that will sadly tarnish the season. You can blame Brian Kelly. You can blame Jeff Quinn. You can blame Butch Jones for not coaching. You should not blame the players. They tried the whole game, they just didn't have the talent, or the game plan. There were no adjustments by the offense. There sure as shit weren't any adjustments by the defense. The Cats played the same way all 4 quarters, and you really have to blame the coaching staff for not setting things up better. The same goes for the offense. We all knew Brian Kelly had a lot to do with the offensive machine, and it showed Friday night. Jeff Quinn was in over his head going up against Urban Meyer. After UC was shut down the third time, it was over. The Bearcats couldn't stop the Gators, and falling behind 23 was the death knell. It was a terrible, terrible way to go out. Andre Revels said this after the game. "Don't take anything away from our credibility. Our record speaks for itself." I agree with that statement. People are going to say, "how were they #3?" "This team could have played for the National Title?" And to that I say fuck you. The Bearcats had a great, great regular season and their worst game in years against an elite team who took advantage of every failed drive, who had a QB have the game of his life, doesn't change that. I think they wouldn't have gotten so disheartened after 3 drives in the National Title game. They definitely wouldn't have had a lame duck coaching staff. Some of that, ok most of that, is anger about the outcome. But, I don't think you can discredit going undefeated because of 1 game. A game that everyone decided meant nothing beforehand. I doubt Iowa, or Georgia Tech, or Boise State, or TCU is going to take this much a beating if they get blown out, but oh well. We had a great season, and we'll always remember it.

A final note on things. I kind of liked the white helmets. They did give off a stormtrooper  look, and that's never a good thing. Stormtroopers weren't good warriors. Isaiah Pead ran hard. He had 48 yards, and he earned every one. Tony Pike was alright. He a couple of drops hurt, and he didn't have a game from hell like the Orange Bowl. Tony went 27/45 170 3 TDs. There was nothing going downfield. Would have liked Tony to be more accurate. 3.8 an attempt is bad too. Armon Binns made a spectacular touchdown catch. He was running towards the corner of the end zone, Pike threw it to the pylon. Binns leaped left and turned all the way  around to his right to pull it in. Great catch. Binns had 5-29. Mardy Gilyard set a Sugar Bowl record for return yards with 209. He also tied the school record for catches. He may have broken it, I'm not sure, I didn't see anything official. He had 7-41. Mardy took a lot of hits. He also laid out Florida stud linebacker Ryan Stamper on a nice block. Tough way to go out 1. The defense played in the game. 659 yards, a Sugar Bowl record, is fucking embarrassing. I blame the system more than the guys on this one though. Florida took advantage of every opening and there was always someone open. This one made me, and Tony Pike, a sad Panda.