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.

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.

Cincy Committed to Kelly

If you are on Facebook check out this group called "Cincy Committed to Kelly". They are selling red towels that read the same at locations around Cincinnati, and around campus prior to games.

The description from the group page says:
We've all seen how great of a coach Brian Kelly is. Let's show our support for him! Purchase a Cincy Committed to Kelly towel! All proceeds of your $3 donation benefits the Jefferson Sports Complex and the Down Syndrome Association of Cincinnati.

Thanks to our sponsors. Towels can be purchased at the following locations:
- Montgomery Inn Montgomery
- Montgomery Inn Boathouse
- Holy Grail in Clifton,
- Nothing but Net on Mt Caramel Tobasco Road
- Willie's Sports Cafe in Montgomery
- Willie's Sports Cafe Covington
- Kuhl's Hot Sports Spot - 7860 Beechmont Avenue
- Planet Collectibles inside the Beechmont Mall

A post on the group page also indicates that there will be a "Brian Kelly" chant at the end of the 1st quarter of tonight's game vs. West Virginia. If you are there, join in!

Pike not ready, Collaros to start vs West Virginia

After stating on Monday that Tony Pike would start at QB for the Bearcats on Friday night against West Virigina if he was healthy, coach Brian Kelly announced today that Pike was not ready, so Zach Collaros will start instead. Since Collaros has played so well in relief, "it's allowed us now to set the bar a little bit higher for Tony in a sense that now we don't have to put him back there until he's 100 percent. He's not quite there yet." Kelly said.

Kelly said that Pike would get into the game is some capacity, but wouldn't disclose his role, saying he wanted to keep it a secret as "a tactical advantage." Regardless of who plays QB the Bearcats offense has operated at a consistently high level. For a team striving for a Big East title, undefeated season, and possible national championship game it's a nice problem to have.

Kelly to Notre Dame speculation heating up

I had hoped not to need to post about this at least until the regular season is over, but with Notre Dame's stunning loss to Navy last weekend, the speculation is heating up that Brian Kelly will leave Cincinnati to become the head coach at Notre Dame.

First, there is no guarantee that Charlie Weis will be fired.  He has done a good job of improving ND's recruiting, the results just aren't visible on the field.  Hopefully the recruiting success and perhaps a shakeup of the assistant coaching staff would be enough to save Weis's job.

Second, there is no guarantee that Brian Kelly wants to leave Cincinnati for any job.  True, there are many other schools seen as football elites, while the Bearcats are still trying to earn respectand build their program.  But Kelly has said that he enjoys building a program, that he enjoys marketing the program, and that he is happy with the support he has gotten from the fans and the administration.  If Kelly were to leave UC for ND, he would be walking into a high-pressure spotlight where he would be following in the footsteps of legends.  If he stays at UC, he can be the legend.  I wouldn't be surprised to one day see a UC game at Brian Kelly stadium if he sticks around.  That won't happen in South Bend.

There are a bunch of articles, blog posts, and message board threads popping up about this.  Here are a few:

Kelly could be Irish’s answer

Irish need to speed it up if they want to replace Weis

Notre Dame, Say Goodbye To Charlie Weis and Meet Brian Kelly

Pike to start versus West Virginia

At his Tuesday afternoon press conference, Bearcats coach Brian Kelly indicated that Tony Pike will start at quarterback for UC against West Virginia this Friday, provided that he is healthy.

Kelly said that it was a difficult decision, but that he chose Pike because his entire body of work outweighs what Zach Collaros has done in relief the past 3 weeks.

I agree with this decision to a point. On one hand, a starter who is performing as well as Pike was before his injury should not lose his job because of injury. On the other hand, the team is on a roll and very comfortable with Collaros. I would hate to see another QB change disrupt team chemistry. I don't think it will.

What I would love to see is an offense like Florida used to run with Tim Tebow and Chris Leak where both Pike and Collaros would share time behind center. This would force defenses to game plan for both quarterbacks and switch tactics on the fly. You could even line both of them up side-by-side in the shotgun. The defense wouldn't know who was getting the ball. If it was Pike, Collaros is athletic enough to be an effective receiver out of the backfield. If Collaros took the snap, defenses wouldn't know if he was going to run or pass.

Brian Kelly has often been called an offensive genius. I can't see him completely benching Zach Collaros with the way he's played and the versatility he brings to the position. We will find out on Friday.

Too close for comfort

UC escaped with a wild 47-45 win versus Connecticut on Saturday. In a weekend that saw #4 Iowa and #8 Oregon lose, Cincinnati was fortunate to get a win.

The atmosphere at Nippert stadium was excellent. As always, fans were asked to "come early, be loud, wear black" and they did all of those things. Playing in primetime on ABC made for an electric environment. However, as the game wore on and Connecticut kept coming up with big plays in the 2nd half, you could feel the energy ebb as fans grew nervous. After the game, it was reported, that Brian Kelly had to give his players a pep talk to remind them that they had won and should celebrate. Maybe the fans need a pep talk too. I've never seen a crowd depart a stadium in such a sullen mood after a win. Everyone has become so used to the Bearcats cruising to victory, that we weren't ready to enjoy a hard-fought win.

The UC offense was spectacular with 711 yards of total offense and no turnovers. Zach Collaros had a brilliant performance. Mardy Gilyard was unstoppable and Armon Binns continues to make teams pay for covering him one-on-one. Credit also has to go to Jake Rogers, who has been shaky at times. He was perfect and accounted for 17 points on 4 field goals and 5 extra points, some in pressure situations.

The defense looked good for a half, but Connecticut beat them up in the 2nd half. You have to give UConn credit--even down 20 in the 2nd half they never quit. This is a good team that has now lost 5 games by a combined 15 points. The Huskies have a huge offensive line--their smallest starter is 315 pounds--and a bruising fullback that wore down the smaller quicker Bearcats defense. Even from my seats in the upper deck I could tell that some of the Connecticut lineman were the size of a small mountain.

Even championship teams have some close games, and winning those games makes you better. "It was actually good for our guys," Kelly said. "Because we hadn't been in this kind of adversity all year." So now the players, and fans, have a short week to prepare for West Virginia on Friday, which struggled to get their offense going in a win over Louisville this weekend. I imagine it will be a spirited week of practice for the Bearcats. The close game against UConn should refocus the team and coaches, especially on defense, going into the final three games. It couldn't have come at a better time.

Observations from UC vs. Louisville

A few observations from the Bearcats big 41-10 victory over Louisville on Friday:

1. It was great to see Nippert stadium filled, but at times it didn't sound like it. The student section was crazy as always, but for having the #5 team in the country, the fans at times were quiet and seemed uninterested. Before the game I was watching the Ohio State game while downing pizza & beers at Papa' Dino's and was impressed that even after a loss to Purdue that took them out of BCS contention, the fans were still going berzerk. We need that fanaticism in Cincinnati.

2. I was very impressed with the UC offense without Tony Pike. Zach Collaros played an awesome game, going 15 of 17 passing. I was surprised UC didn't run the ball more. The RBs only got 19 carries, and most of those came after the Bearcats had the big lead.

3. I love the cozy confines of Nippert, except when I get out of my seat. The concession and bathroom lines are ridiculous. Any plans to expand the stadium need to include plans to exapnd these areas, because they can barely handle 35,000.

4. I was in the bathroom at halftime and someone started chaning "Who-Dey". Really? This goes back to #1 above. I know people are excited about the Bengals, but come on. You are at the #5 Bearcats game, and they are winning big against a hated rival. How about a "U-C" chant?

5. It was nice to see some of the reserves get some reps in. The Bearcat's depth and experience is a big reason for their great success from season-to-season under Brian Kelly.

Pike has surgery, not ruled out

Bearcats quarterback Tony Pike had surgery on his left, non-throwing forearm Tuesday morning to fix a metal plate that shifted after getting hit in UC's game against South Florida.

Despite that, coach Brian Kelly has not ruled Pike out for this Saturday's game against Louisville. Kelly said that they will work to keep the swelling down over the next 48 hours and then have Pike return to practice to see if he can play.

With this news, I would be absolutely shocked if Pike plays this Saturday. There is no reason to risk further injury and an extended absence for this game. If this were Pitt and the Big East championship were on the line, maybe. But not for Louisville.

Post-game thoughts on Cincinnati @ South Florida

It was a great win for the Bearcats, despite the injury to Tony Pike. As I said earlier, I think the ability to win without Pike showed the Bearcat's depth and versatility and the genius of coach Brian Kelly to succesfully adapt his offense to fit the situation and personnel.

I previously listed my keys to the game. So how did UC do?:

1. Take the crowd out of it--UC did not do a great job of this, as they even fell behind early. The crowd didn't quiet down until Zach Collaros stunned them with his 75 yard run, but then he charged them back up again with his interception. Despite the noise and frenzy, the Bearcats didn't get rattled.

2. Neutralize the pass rush--UC did a pretty good job of this. Bearcats left tackle Jeff Linkenbach held his own against George Selvie. Jason Pierre-Paul caused some problems, and of course Tony Pike took some hits.

3. Take what the defense give you--this is a Brian Kelly specialty. Mardy Gilyard was not a major factor in the game, instead Armon Binns had two TDs and is emerging as another nice weapon in the Cincinnati arsenal.

4. Get off the field--the Bearcats defense was hugely improved in this area. USF converted only 4 of 16 third downs and held the ball for only 28:42 versus UCs 31:18.

Scary Stat of the Week

Stewart Mandel writing his College Football Mailbag column a couple of weeks ago on CNNSI.com noted that Thursday night games have become a trap for highly ranked teams.

He cites the fact that since the start of last season, 8 favored teams have lost to the underdog, and 7 of those times the favored team was on the road.

He goes on to say "you'd be absolutely nuts to agree to play a Thursday night road game on ESPN" and asks "Why would any visiting coach in his right mind walk willingly into that death trap?"

Even though this suggests that history is against the Bearcats, it seems to me that over the past few seasons the team has performed incredibly well in nationally televised games. I was looking for a stat on this but can't find one, but did find that under Brian Kelly the Bearcats are 15-3 on the road and 14-3 in night games. Kelly will have the team ready to play, and won't allow them to fall victim to the Thursday night trap.

Brian Kelly on College Football Live

Here's another appearance by Brian Kelly while he was at ESPN studios. This one is on College Football Live.

Brian Kelly on ESPN First Take

You can also watch this here.

We got the Power

Rivals.com features several bearcats in their player power rankings.

Tony Pike is ranked #5 QB
Mardy Gliyard is #1 WR & #10 Special teams player
Alex Daniels debuts on the list as #25 DL
Brian Kelly is #7 Head Coach