Bearcats win 45-44. Big East Champs!

This was the best game I have ever seen in person.  UC overcame a shaky first half and mounted a stunning comeback to shock Pittsburgh for the Big East Championship and automatic BCS bowl bid.  There were a ton of UC fans in the stands, and nobody wanted to leave when the game was over.  A great scene!

Games of interest to UC

If UC wins at Pitt, they will go to a BCS bowl, that much is certain, but with a little help they could go to the national championship game.  The Bearcats are currently #5 in the BCS standings, behind Florida, Alabama, Texas, and TCU.   UC should move ahead of the loser of the Florida-Alabama game.  They also need the following:

• Nebraska over Texas
• Oregon State over Oregon
• Georgia Tech over Clemson
  

A Texas loss is required to get UC into the title game.  The other two games help UC's computer numbers.  UC beat Oregon State on their field, while TCU's biggest win is against Clemson.  The proper outcome of those two games might not be required, but they would help.  The dominos may start to fall tonight when Oregon & Oregon State square off with the winner going to the Rose Bowl.

Brian Kelly says he's staying, but does he mean it?

One thing that has amazed me during all the Brian Kelly to Notre Dame hoopla is the fact that Kelly has never said that Notre Dame is his dream job.  Yet most "experts" say that if the job is offered, Kelly would take it in a heartbeat.

Fueling the speculation is the fact that while other high profile coaches have come out and said they aren't interested in the Notre Dame job, Kelly has kept mum.  Until now.

On WEBN's Dawn Patrol Kelly responded to Wildman Walker's question about his status saying "I'm staying man, I'm staying, why would I go?".  Later he reiterates "I'm very happy in Cincinnati and our kids love it here, our family loves it here.  We're just going to focus in, obviously, on building this program, getting it bigger and better..."

So there you have it.  Either Kelly is really staying at UC, or he is flat out lying.

Historic rankings

For the first time ever, the Cincinnati Bearcats basketball and football teams are ranked at the same time.  The football team remains at #5, while the basketball team debuted at #22 in the AP after their strong showing in the Maui Invitational.  They were last ranked in January 2006.

The Bearcats first game as a ranked team was a resounding 94-57 win over Texas Southern at Fifth Third arena.  Unfortunately, only 6,825 attended the game.  Hopefully support for the program will pick up soon.

Thoughts on Illinois win

I had hoped to post this sooner, but with the holiday weekend, life has been crazy.  Hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend.

Go to any college sports website and one of the first three stories will be about Notre Dame and/or Brian Kelly.  It's crazy right now.  I'll have more thoughts on that in a future post.

Notes on the Bearcats 49-36 win over the Fighting Illini:

• On a cold, clear day, Nippert was full and at times very loud.  It was a good crowd.
• When they make upgrades to Nippert, I hope they consider better hot pretzel technology.  It seems like they either run out or serve them cold and mushy.
• Tony Pike looked great.  He has a great arm and nice touch.  His 59-yd touchdown pass to TE Ben Guidugli was made while running to his left and throwing across his body.  It was at least 40 yards in the air.  On another long pass to Mardy Gilyard, the WR had only about a half-step on the cornerback, but Pike hit him perfectly in stride. 
• Apparently all the TEs in the Big Ten do is run-block or at least it seemed that way.  Illinois had no clue how to cover Ben Guidugli in the first half when he had 6 catches for 144 yards and two scores.  Pike often found him wide-open.
• Mardy Gilyard passed Dominick Goodman for the all-time TD leader in UC history.  He showed great vision and the ability to break some tackles on his 90-yd kickoff return TD.
• How's this for spreading the ball around:  Tony Pike completed passes to 8 different targets, with Gilyard, Guidulgi, Armon Binns, & DJ Woods each catching 7 passes.
• I was surprised UC didn't run the ball more.  Before the bye week Brian Kelly said they planned to work on the running game, but Illinois has a weak pass defense and Kelly is the master of taking what the defense gives him.  It was nice to see senior John Goebel, who been hurt most of the year, get in the game and get a few carries.
• The defense is becoming a concern.  They gave up 36 points on 476 yards of offense and will need to tighten up versus Pitt.  This is despite forcing 7 Illini punts.  The problem is that the offense scores so often and so quickly that the defense is on the field a lot, giving the opposing offense many scoring opportunities.