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.

Sugar Bowl-ed Over

That was my hacky attempt at a headline that people will use as Cincinnati went down in flames to the Florida Gators 51-24. There will be a write up tomorrow morning, and then a basketball preview around 2. This one sucked. Right Jeff Quinn?

Getty Images/Matthew Stockman

Sugar Bowl Live Blog: #3 Cincinnati Bearcats v. #5 Florida Gators

Welcome to the first ever live blog. Depending on how the night goes, it could be the last. It probably won't be.

Pre-game
8:36- The Cats come out in all white. First time ever for white helmets. They don't look as ridiculous as Florida's fail helmets did. Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick and Fox are getting their mouths warmed up for the 3 and a half hour Tebow/Meyer blow job. The Gators come out in their classic home unis.

8:41- Dennis Haysbert is doing the coin toss. President Palmer better flip a UC logo or we'll know the world is full of evil. Oh, it's a traditional coin. And Florida wins. Dennis Haysbert does not seem to give a shit and might be hung over from last night. UC will get the ball. And here's another commercial.

8:45- The obligatory Urban Meyer interview. Pretty sure he's not going to answer a real question Chris Meyers.

First Quarter
15:00- Mardy Gilyard takes the kick return to the 26 for a 18 yard return or so. Pike and co march on the field. I'm very nervous a pick 6 is coming.
14:50- And the first pass is complete. Exhale
14:40- Ben Guidugli a first down catch. And a personal foul. UC to the Florida 42.
13:56- Ramsey gets the first carry and there's a hold. I'm not going to blog every play, don't worry. Just this drive probably. Maybe. I'm very nervous.
13:23- Incompletion and a 2 yard run. This is not going well.
12:52- Rainey does nothing with the punt. Florida will start at the 18. Get ready for the Teblowing.
12:10- Tebow's first pass to Riley Cooper gets a 1st down across the 30. It's going to be interesting if the defense can get pressure.
11:48- Tebow's first run goes nowhere. Alex Daniels made the stop.
10:20- The Gators convert a 3rd and 8. Hernandez has 2 catches. He's the man the Cats have to stop in the passing game.
9:29- Tebow completes another one and is 5/5 41. Not the best start. Demps for 5. The defense needs to not give up 7.
8:23 Tebow goes down.  Alex Daniels son. 3rd and 9 for the Gators. And it's converted to the UC 21. Whoever 6 is needs to be covered.
7:08- There was a whistle blown and UC stops paying attention. Tebow runs to the 4. That was questionable.  Demps is hurt.
6:13- Tebow to Hernandez and he got the ball over the goal line. You can never show the Demps injury again  Fox. Extra Point blocked! Walter Stewart jumped over the snapper and blocked the kick!
Florida 6 Cincinnati 0
6:13-Gilyard breaks the return to the UC 45.
5:24- Halfback throw back pass almost gets a huge play to Guidugli. A Pike sneak on 3rd and 2 does not work. Why not bring in Zach if they are going to do that?
4:48- Punt taken by Rainey across the 19. Come on D. The offense needs to keep going and not stall at midfield
3:40- Tebow down the middle to Nelson to the UC 40. This is not good. The Cats are giving up huge plays.
3:15- Like this 25 yard pass to Hernandez. Tebow is 9/9. Not great. There is a block in the back on Florida. thank god.
2:10- Tebow thrown down for a loss. 3rd and 16 at the 35. Tebow completes to Cooper to the 23. Not enough for a 1st down. Field goal attempt coming.
1:20 Sturgis makes this one from 40.
Florida 9 Cincinnati 0
1:20-Mardy can't do much with the return only to the 23.
:07- Pike is sacked on 3rd and 12. This is officially not good.
End Quarter 1


15:00- Jake Rogers blasts one 59 yards to the Florida 36. Let's see if there is a stop coming.
14:20- Florida has 165 yards to UC's 19 after Moody catches a 7 yard pass for a first down. Tebow still perfect.
13:14- UC can't stop Florida. This is like the Pitt game, except there are less signs of hope.
12:32- Tebow throws his first incompletion. Drew Frye got a good lick in.
12:28- UC stops a Tebow sneak on 3rd and 1. Florida is going for it. And Tebow runs for it. The chances of winning this game are looking pretty slim. This was the worst case scenario
10:24- Andre Revels blows up an option hand off. Another Gator is hurt, this time a lineman. It's 3rd and 6 or 7 and UC needs this stop big time.
10:10- Tebow hits Hernandez and he rumbles down to the 7. JK Schaffer can't cover him.
9:07- Deonta Thompson makes a great catch on a pass Tebow throws to the corner of the end zone. At least we'll always have the win over Pittsburgh. And we don't block this extra point
Florida 16 Cincinnati 0
9:07-Mardy not returning the kick as the Gators kick away from him. Williams' return was to the 28. Pike is sacked at the 22. This is pretty suckalicious.
8:06 Binns can't hold on to a long pass by Pike. Rogers put the pun to the Gator 34.
7:46- Tebow stays on fire and flips one to Rainey who gets to the 45 of UC and is horse collared. Great.
7:30- Tebow throws a dart to Hernandez to the UC 6. This is a slaughter. No signs of stopping the Gators.
7:05- Emmanuel Moody walks in from 6 yards out.
Florida 23 Cincinnati 0
7:05- Total yards 267-11. 11 fucking yards. Embarrassing. UC will start at the 28 again
6:24- A first down! Celebrate the small things peeps
5:26- Guidulgi makes 2 catches for another chain mover. It only took being down 23 for the offense to move the ball.
5:08- After UC gets the ball to the UF 34, Isaiah Pead gets chippy when he thinks he got hit out of bounds and there's a personal foul. Jesus.
3:52- On a 3rd and 15, Jacob Ramsey catches a pass for 12 and is shoved by Hicks of the Gators for a 15 yard penalty to the 28 and first down. Best Cats drive of the day. That's saying little.
3:23- 3rd and 10 and Pike overthrows Guidugli. Rogers is coming in for a 47 yard FG. It's good
Florida 23 Cincinnati 3
3:11- Tebow throws to a wide fucking open Riley Cooper for an 80 yard TD pass. Official embarrassing.
Florida 30 Cincinnati 3
2:12- Armon Binns makes his first catch. For nothing, but it's a catch
1:32- Carlos Dunlap blows by the offensive line and sacks Pike. 4th sack of the night for UF. Sigh
:49-A Tebow run and pass put the Gators at the UC 30. A rare Tebow incompletion. 18-20 307 3 TDs for the star.
:14- Nelson makes a grab to get UF to the 23. 3rd and 3. Tebow throws it away.
:08- Caleb Sturgis out for the field goal attempt from 39. He missed it.
:04- Ramsey runs out the half with a 10 yard run.
HALFTIME: FLORIDA 30 CINCINNATI 3


This was the ultimate nightmare scenario for UC and the fans. Just horrible


Third Quarter
15:00- Rainey takes the kick to the 45. Great start. Here are the stats

• Rushing UC -5 Florida 63 
• Passing UC 60 Florida 320
• 1st downs Uc 5 Florida 18
• Yards a Play UC 1.9 Florida 9.1

Yikes.
13:45- A couple first down completions and a loss of 4 and Tebow throws a strike and Florida is down to the UC 11. Tebow has 356 yards, a career high.
12:39- Brian Billick fucking sucks. I hate his arrogant fuck face. And him responding to the producers on air.
11:39- 3-7 at the 8 and Tebow runs for 6 1/2. Florida going for it.
11:13- Emmanuel Moody walks in for this second score after Tebow pitches on a speed option. The domination continues. Drink your drinks Cincinnati fans, this one is over. And sad.
Florida 37 Cincinnati 3
9:49- DJ Woods gets his first catch. The referee talked fast on the Florida declined penalty. He wants the game to be over. Me too. Me too.
8:43- Pead a strong run to the Florida 38. He should have gotten more carries. Quinn doesn't love him like BK did apparently.
Butch Jones is being interviewed. He says this has been a good time to evaluate the program and recruit. He said he wanted to stay out of the way of the seniors for their big moment. He has taken the time to get the coaching staff, which probably won't be most of the men coaching tonight. After the comma were my thoughts. He wants to continue the process and win more Big East titles. He adds UC needs to do a better job at tackling, and making plays on offense. Duh.
6:05- Pike runs on 3rd and 5 to the Florida 15. The Bearcats finally enter the red zone. Speaking of red zone, it's the deodorant I wear. You should try it.
5:24- Pike almost picked and DJ can't recover to make the catch. 3rd and 10 at the 11.
5:19- Woods makes a 9 yard catch. 4th and 1. Jeff Quinn and his gold chain are going for it.
4:46- Touchdown Marcus Waugh from Tony Pike. Waugh was lined up at fullback. He was really happy to score. I was too.
Florida 37 Cincinnati 10
3:34- Florida has a 3rd down. UC needs to get off the field, and Riley Cooper makes a catch to the UC 49. He has 128 yards, and more because Tebow hits him deep again. Good coverage, just a great catch to the 5.  6 for 174 and a TD. Domination
2:06- Tebow can't find an open receiver, but runs in for the score. 8th game of the year with a passing TD and rushing TD. He has been phenomenal.
Florida 44 Cincinnati 10
Tim Tebow has broken some records in this game. He is 28-31 435 yards 3 TDs and a rushing TD. The 28 and 435 are Sugar Bowl records. He has 471 total yards, which is a bowl record. For every bowl. He passed Vince Young's 467 in the Rose Bowl. It's been remarkable. He might be the greatest college quarterback ever.
Pike is 19-30 110 1 TD. Hooray
:21- UC faces a 3rd down. Pike airmails DJ Woods.
Total Yards UC 139 Florida 507
:06- Jake Rogers pins UF back at the 4. He's had a good game
:06- Tebow still in the game. Tebow stopped for a loss and Davis gets up and does the Gator Chop. That's fucking stupid. You are down 4 fucking 4 to 10. 44 to 10. You have done jack fucking shit tonight. You have no right to taunt. Grow the fuck up man. Come on.
End 3rd Quarter


4th Quarter
14:18- UC forces a punt and a Florida 3 and out for the first time this game. I'll stick with this until the bitter end if you do people.
14:05- Pike still in and slings one to Mardy. Cats to the Florida 41. Quick pitch to Pead for 12. UC still not to 200 yards offense. It's going to suck writing a write up on this one.
11:45- The Cats have 4th and 1 at the 19. Pike sneaks to the 16 or 15. First down.
10:21- First and goal for the Cats at the 4. Pike overthrows Mardy. I'd like to see #1 get a score tonight. He has taken a beating
10:16- 2nd and goal- Pike has a pass intended for Pead in the flat batted down.
10:11- 3rd and goal- Under center and Pike throws one to the end zone. Armon Binns turns in mid-air to make a jumping catch for 6. Nice grab.
Florida 44 Cincinnati 17
10:04- Tebow still in the game. Florida runs on first down. Tebow busts a huge run on second down and does a Gator chomp and fires up the crowd. As if they needed it. 49 yards rushing, 491 on the game.
8:54- Tebow throws to a wide open Rainey. Over 500 yards. 475 for Tebow.
I don't care about running up the score. Cincinnati can't stop them if they run it or if they throw it. Just keep the clock running
7:06- Chris Rainey hurdles Battle and the Gators score from 7 yards out. Meyer and Tebow hug, and that's probably it for Tim.
Florida 51 Cincinnati 17
6:53- It's the Wild Kelce. Travis has a nice run on first down
6:34- Out of the Wild Kelce, UC runs a reverse pass from Pike and Gilyard can't make the catch because he was face masked.
5:41- Mardy can't hang on to a screen at the UF 24. He's had a rough night. 3rd and 10 coming up. John Goebel catches a dump off and falls down after a yard. 4th down coming.
4:54- Pike hits DJ Woods and DJ gets down to the 1. People sent me condolences messages on twitter. That's how bad this has been.
4:33- Darren Williams gets a rare carry and fumbles. But, he falls on it at the 5. 2nd and goal. UC running the clock
3:43- Pike is pressure, but rolls out of the pocket and completes to Alli for a touchdown. Nice way to end it for the offense
Florida 51 Cincinnati 24
3:35- Tebow takes a snap before he goes out to a rousing ovation by the Florida and hopefully Cincinnati faithful that's left. Thom says the tears are coming. I hope so. Cry baby gonna cry? Cry baby cry!
2:29- Some Gators back I never heard of, Gillislee, breaks a 52 yard run. Pretty sure they won't go for 2 to break 60. Alex Daniels limps off.
1:14- Florida running the last couple plays of the game. Urban Meyer gets the gatorade bucket, but Fox cuts away right before he gets hit. The Gators run a dive up the middle, and the Sugar Bowl is finally over.

Final score: Florida 51 Cincinnati 24 MVP: Tim Tebow

Sugar Bowl Preview: #3 Cincinnati Bearcats vs. #5 Florida Gators

There will be a live blog starting at 8:30. Check back all night. What else do you have to do?
I'm pretty tempted to write "it's Florida, you know who they are," but that just won't do. The mighty Florida Gators storm into New Orleans' SuperDome to play the Cincinnati Bearcats. Some are calling it the Urban Meyer Bowl since he attended UC. But, it became the Urban Meyer Bowl with the news last week that he was quitting, and then staying at Florida. Throw in the fact it's Tim Tebow's last game in the orange and blue, and it's going to be a symphony of Florida blowing on Fox tomorrow. The Bearcats lost Brian Kelly after it was announced they would play in the Sugar Bowl. New coach Butch Jones decided to stay out of coaching and let interim coach Jeff Quinn handle things. But, Quinn took the Buffalo job making things more confusing. With the Meyer stuff the last week, no one has talked about UC. So why even show up ya know? That was in sarcastic font because I think the 13 point underdog Bearcats can show the world something tonight. Let's compare the foes after the jump.

Urban Meyer stepping down at Florida

NOTE: Urban Meyer is not leaving Florida. He's taking a leave of absence. But, still coaching the Sugar Bowl. And may still coach next season. It's an odd situation to say the least. (12.27)

(AJC.COM)

In news that rocked the college football landscape, Urban Meyer will coach his last game at Florida January 1 against the Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl. The reasons for Meyer leaving are said to be health related. It's not known at this time if it had anything to do with his hospitalization after the SEC championship game. Meyer had a piece in SI where he said he had a cyst on his brain, but it wasn't life threatening. I have seen this mentioned a few times on a few sites, but no one really knows what's happening.

To repeat, Meyer will coach against Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl. This adds a huge layer to the game Friday. The Sugar Bowl is racked with coaching turmoil, from Cincinnati having Brian Kelly leave, to Butch Jones being coach and not coaching, to Jeff Quinn accepting the Buffalo job, and now Urban Meyer is stepping down from Florida. Here is what Meyer had to say about everything in a released statement by Florida.

“I have given my heart and soul to coaching college football and mentoring young men for the last 24-plus years and I have dedicated most of my waking moments the last five years to the Gator football program,” said Meyer. “I have ignored my health for years, but recent developments have forced me to re-evaluate my priorities of faith and family.”

“After consulting with my family, Dr. Machen, Jeremy Foley and my doctors, I believe it is in my best interest to step aside and focus on my health and family.

 “I’m proud to be a part of the Gainesville community and the Gator Nation and I plan to remain in Gainesville and involved with the University of Florida.

“I’m very appreciative for the opportunity I’ve had to be a part of a tremendous institution – from Dr. Machen to Jeremy Foley and the entire administrative staff at UF. I’m also very thankful for the chance to work with some of the best assistants in college football and coach some of the best college football players and watch them grow both on and off the field as people. I will cherish the relationships with them the most.”

 And here's AD Jeremy Foley, by the Palm Beach Post (HT: Alligator Army)

“Coach Meyer and I have talked this through and I realize how hard this was for him to reach this decision,” Foley said. “But, the bottom line is that Coach Meyer needed to make a choice that is in the best interest of his well being and his family. I certainly appreciate what he has meant to the University of Florida, our football program and the Gator Nation. I have never seen anyone more committed to his players, his family and his program. Above all, I appreciate our friendship.”

UC Game of the Decade

(Credit: The great, great Warming Glow)

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone who reads this blog. Thanks for reading. This post is going to combine some news, and a preview of what's to come on the site for the rest of the year. This one has flown by hasn't it? Let's hit this with bullet points, because everyone likes them right?

• New Cincinnati football coach Butch Jones has hired his offensive and defensive coordinators. Offensively it's Mike Bajakian, who last held the job at Central Michigan. There are co-defensive coordinators, Tim Banks and John Jancek. Banks was also at Central Michigan a season a go. Jancek was at the University of Georgia, where he was also a co-ordinator. Nice to see Coach Jones getting some quality people in here. 
• Current Cincinnati interim coach Jeff Quinn has taken the head coach job at Buffalo. He will still coach the Sugar Bowl. The Sugar Bowl is being a big clusterfuck coach wise. With Brian Kelly leaving, and Jones not having much of anything to do with the game, and now Quinn is out getting other jobs. It's a very weird situation. And it's one that I don't think is going to have the best of benefits for the Bearcats. Although, an article was written here about how the team is staying focused with all the turmoil. 
• There will be a Sugar Bowl preview on New Year's Day. Depending on my fluctuating plans, there may be some live blog action. 
• The basketball team is done for the next week, but there will be a preview on Wednesday and a write up of the UConn game either Wednesday night or Thursday. Best idea, just click refresh a whole lot. 
• Speaking of hoops, the school announced a reward system for students who attend games. Depending on the attendance on some of the conference games, there is going to be an attendance article. 6,000 fans is pathetic. Get out there students, you can win season tickets for football next year. 

I'm going to do a little something special the next week. I'm going to roll out a list of the best players of the decade for basketball. Why not one for football? Because the list would be everyone from the last 2 seasons. I remember going to Nippert and running around the area around the stadium and not caring about the game. My friends and I would always move close to to the bench of the visiting team, because our tickets were always on the visiting side. But all that changed. The past 3 seasons, the Nip has been full. It was remarkable watching UC-UConn get top billing on ABC on a Saturday night over Oklahoma-Nebraska. UC played a prominent game the day after Thanksgiving. And a road game at Pitt that the whole nation watched. It was truly the best time to be a UC fan ever. Here are the winners for coach, player, and team of the decade.

Football coach of the Decade: Brian Kelly

Football player of the Decade: Mardy Gilyard

Football team of the Decade: 2009.

Finally, the game of the decade. Not just for football, but for all Cincinnati sports. The 45-44 win over Pittsburgh to win the Big East title.

Oh Say Did UC?

The day of the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati de facto Big East championship game, some Big East bloggers came up with names for fake UC blogs. One of them, was Oh Say Can UC. In this post where I link stories from around the world about UC, I'm going to take that name and tweak it. Will I come up with a better name soon? Maybe. 


Today was a slow news day, so every sports site came out with their All American teams. Mardy Gilyard landed on a bunch of these lists. The AP had him second team. The Sporting News had Mardy on the 2nd team and linebacker Andre Revels on the 3rd team. Rivals had Mardy 2nd team WR and kick returner. Jeff Linkenbach was 3rd team at offensive line. SI had Mardy 1st team as All Purpose.

Jeff Quinn had a Sugar Bowl press conference today. Some highlights (from Lance McAlister's twitter) Picture courtesy of the AP.

• All scholarships offered will be honored...nobody has reneged that i'm aware of
• message doesn't change...just comes from different voice
•  I stand before you as the next man in.....this is the senior's football team..we need them to step up and lead, be mature...i trust them
• nd came looking for bk...he wasn't searching out other places
• we gave brian the menu and he had a feel for what he wanted to do...that sheet is the work of me and the off coaches

In that same vain, Brian Bennett at ESPN conducted an interview with Quinn. Here is part 1. And part 2.
Cory Giger wrote an article about the Big 10 expanding. His suggestion: Cincinnati. Nippert Stadium is really small by Big 10 standards. They would probably have to build a new stadium, or play at PBS or something. I'm not really sure how that would work. 
Rounding around to basketball, the Bearcats ranked 25 in the AP poll and fell out of the ESPN/USA Today top 25, but were the top team receiving votes. 
The great, great, great Rush the Court blog was at the Crosstown Shootout Sunday. Along with their excellent game coverage, there was this fantastic article by John Stevens about his experience. I recommend this highly.
Also, the very, very good Pat Forde wrote about the game on ESPN.com, calling it one of America's great rivalries. 
There was a very handsome man who wrote about the Shootout as well. 
That's all for today. Look for the UAB breakdown tomorrow, and then a write up on Wednesday night/Thursday. Thanks for reading. 

Goodbye Brian Kelly, Hello....

(photo courtesy of the AP/Keith Srakocic)
Everyone knows the news that the best coach in Cincinnati history took a lateral move today and went to Notre Dame. Brian Kelly has nothing but the fullest of my respect for what he's done here. He has shaped the coarse of Cincinnati football for years to come. He took a basketball school and made it a football school. Some of that has to do with UC basketball fans being front running jagoffs, but Kelly helped turn the tide. As good a coach as Mark Dantonio is, he would have never lead fucking Cincinnati to the Orange Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. (Quick side note. Cincinnati has sold out all of their allotted Sugar Bowl tickets. Kudos UC fans. Start supporting basketball front runners.) Words can not express what Brian Kelly and his offensive machine have done for the university and for the fans. Thank you Brian Kelly, I hope you go down in flames. Seriously, fuck Notre Dame. Like we needed anymore reasons. 
That brings us to the second part of the post. Who should the new Cincinnati coach be? Lance McAlister reported, and then redacted, a post saying Kerry Combs would coach the bowl game. I'm 1,000,000% certain Kelly won't coach the Sugar Bowl. I believe I said it already. But, that doesn't answer who the coach should be. Lance and Bill Koch offered up their replacements. Both had Skip Holtz, Butch Jones, Jeff Quinn and Chris Peterson. Lance also threw in Kevin Sumlin, Al Golden, Pat Hill, Turner Gill, Brady Hoke, Kerry Combs, Tommy Tuberville, Phil Fulmer and Jeff Jagoffazinski. Let's assume these are the 10 candidates. I will rank them in the order that I want to see them here coaching.

1. Chris Peterson, Boise State coach. Chances: 1%. I have no idea why he would leave when he can go undefeated forever and be the greatest coach in Boise history. He can probably go to Michigan if they fire Rich Rod next year.
2. Turner Gill, Buffalo coach. Chances: 58%. Buffalo had a down year, so this one could be a reach. However, I fell in love with Turner Gill last season and thought he was the man for Auburn. I think he is the hire if the Cats can't get Peterson.
3. Butch Jones, Central Michigan coach. Chances: 63%. He had one of the best statistical QBs in NCAA history in Dan Lefevour. He runs a similar system to the one that we had this year, and I think he could make Zach Collaros a superstar. If I didn't have irrational TG love, Jones would be #2.
4. Kevin Sumlin, Houston coach. Chances: 32% I don't see him making the move. He has a high powered Houston offense, but they are a system team, and I'm not sure that he would be the right fit here. I don't see that system working. 
5. Jeff Quinn, Cincinnati assistant. Chances: 20% For continuation, it would be nice if he came along, but I can't see it happening. I think he's going to join Kelly in losing at Notre Dame
6. Skip Holtz, East Carolina coach. Chances: 74%. I think Holtz is going to be the choice. I'm not really sold on him, but he is winning at ECU, and if you can win there, you can win anywhere. I liked what I saw in the Conference USA championship game. They play Arkansas in a bowl game that I don't remember the name of, and if they win, I think he should get the job. If you can beat an SEC team with ECU, you deserve a BCS job. 
7. Tommy Tuberville, No Job. Chances: 40% yeah a round number. I think TT would hold off for a job in the south rather than come to Cincinnati. He is the most interesting coach for the situation. He can recruit, or hire people to recruit, and he should have won a national title. I think this should be the first offer, and when he secretly turns it down or shows no interest, move on to Holtz or Gill. 
8. Kerry Combs, assistant UC. Chances: 16% He would jump on the job like a dude on prom night. He was the coach at Colerain a few years ago, and although they won, he's not exactly a young fresh coach. If he beats Florida though, he moves up to #7. In all seriousness, if he coaches and beats Florida, I hope the university doesn't Bill Stewart him into the full time job. That would be stone to drag UC right back to wherever they were before Kelly brought them to the top.
9. Phil Fulmer, No Job. Chances: 50% I think fatty Fulmer would jump at the job like it's a cheeseburger. I don't want him to be the coach. I think he's a terrible coach in the modern age. During the 90s, he was a great coach. In the 00s, he sucks. He lost to fucking Wyoming with Tennessee. Wyoming's QB played at Indiana State this year and was the shittiest QB I saw play. And I watched Will Stein. 
10. Jeff Jagoffzinski, No Job. Chances: 0%. He's a jerk off. 

Brian Kelly: Should he stay or should he go?

Everyone and their brother knows that Brian Kelly looks to be on his way to South Bend. I can't imagine the Randy Edsall talk being anything more than a smoke screen or a negotiating ploy. As much as I love what BK has done for the university and want him to stay, I think that if he's going to take the Notre Dame job, he should leave immediately.

There are a majority of people out there who think that he should stay and coach the Sugar Bowl, but I'm not one of them. They say that Kelly leaving immediately would be a sign of disrespect and a slap in the face to his players. Some people out there have already started calling Kelly a jerk, even though as of this post, he is the coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats. I can see their reasons why. Brian Kelly coached the team all season. Brian Kelly got them to an undefeated season, a Big East championship, and the Sugar Bowl. To leave them now, that would be betrayal. It would be stabbing the players who worked so hard for him all season in the back. If Kelly left, he would be showing no gratitude to the University for giving him the chance to coach in the Sugar Bowl, and the opportunity to be the coach at Notre Dame. To that, I say hog wash.
Brian Kelly should not waste another minute being the Cincinnati head coach if he accepts the offer from Notre Dame. As exciting as the prospect of playing in the Sugar Bowl is, it's a meaningless game. They aren't playing for the National Championship. If they destroy Florida, they won't be voted #1 by the AP and be a split champion if Texas beats Alabama. The AP didn't even vote them above TCU. They would only have a chance to move ahead of TCU if they dominated the Gators, and there isn't that great a chance of that happening. When Kelly left Central Michigan, he cut and ran before their bowl game to coach the Cats in their bowl win over Western Michigan. His assistants stayed at Central and coached the team in the bowl before coming to Cincinnati. That is a likely scenario if Kelly is to leave now. I can't see the university hiring a new coach before the end of the year, so one would assume that the assistants would take over. Jeff Quinn has been around long enough to handle things. Plus, it would give us all a great look to see if he would have what it took to become the new Cincinnati coach. Without getting into a coaching search post, I think that Quinn has to be one of the top candidates if Kelly were to leave. The school has never made a big splash hire, and Quinn would bring continuation to the situation. That is, unless he sucked and we could find this out first hand if he were in charge and the team played well in the Sugar Bowl. I hold this philosophy for all coaching changes. Just today, Louisville hired Charlie Strong, the defensive coordinator from Florida. Strong will split duties between Florida and Louisville until after the Sugar Bowl. I've written out Sugar Bowl so much that I'm starting to hate the game. It's going to be SB from now on. It probably should have been that way 5 minutes ago. Back to Strong. As a Louisville fan, I think he should dedicate this time to being the HEAD coach at Louisville instead of an ASSISTANT coach at UF. It takes time to put together a staff and start to rebuild the crumbling program. And his first month is going to be splitting duties. In one sense it doesn't matter because as long as comes off like he knows what he's doing like he did at the press conference today, Louisville fans are happy that Krag is gone. I think Strong should cut bait at UF and go to UofL even more than I think Kelly should potentially go to ND. To use this analogy, think of Kelly and UC as being boyfriend and girlfriend. If you were breaking up, would you rather her leave as soon as she came to the decision that she was going? Or would you rather her wait a month because it was your anniversary and you wanted one big, final celebration? When it comes to heart break, I want it quick. Thanks for the great work you did making UC football relevant for 3 years, now don't let the door hit you on the way out.