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Chick Ludwig covers the Cincinnati Bengals. He also writes about his other passions: college football, basketball and golf.Home > Blogs > Chick Ludwig At Large > Archives > 2009 > January > 02 > Entry
The UC Bearcats have a long way to go
LUDWIG AT LARGE
IS CONVINCED THAT
DOLPHIN STADIUM
IS CURSED & HAUNTED
IT’S WHERE THE BENGALS
LOST TO THE SF 49ERS
IN SUPER BOWL XXIII
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin_Stadium
You learn a lot about college football teams in bowl games.
And here’s what we learned on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009, while we ate our cabbage rolls, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes:
The Cincinnati Bearcats have come a long way, but still have a long way to go before they get recognized as a player on the national stage.
Their meltdown in a 20-7 loss to Virginia Tech in the FedEx Orange Bowl told me they weren’t ready to play and screamed that they didn’t belong in a BCS game.
Now they know how the Buckeyes felt the past two seasons.
UC couldn’t throw, catch, run, block or tackle with any consistency. What surprised me most was that coach Brian Kelly didn’t pull quarterback Tony Pike (four interceptions) for at least a series.
Kelly used five quarterbacks to go 11-2. He used one to finish 11-3.
The turning point wasn’t Pike’s pick in the end zone (UC should’ve been ahead at halftime, 10-7, instead of being down at the break, 10-7). It was Mardy Gilyard’s TD catch. Instead of acting like he had been there before, Gilyard beat his chest with his fist until bruises formed, and the Bearcats celebrated like high-schoolers who were on TV for the first time.
A lesson learned: When you can’t run the football and you’re forced to become a one-dimensional passing team, you’re as good as dead.
Now can we please remove the “Genius” label from Brian Kelly’s resume? Thank you.
Other thoughts: The South Carolina Gamecocks were undisciplined and poorly coached by a guy (Steve Spurrier) who acted as though he’d have rather been on the golf course … Penn State did what was expected. The Nittany Lions traveled 2,245 miles, took their Big Ten butt whippin’ and went back home … The Clemson Tigers had better athletes than Nebraska, but the Cornhuskers played harder and smarter … Michigan State tried getting cute with a fake punt and the Georgia Bulldogs made the Spartans pay.
Today’s Picks: I like Texas Tech in the AT&T Cotton Bowl, Kentucky in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl and Utah in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The Utes are very, Very, VERY underrated.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: College football
Comments
By Nick
January 2, 2009 4:31 PM | Link to this
Chick, You have got to be kidding me with the Utah pick. I will bet you an ice cream sunday that Utah gets beat by atleast 10 points. Utah is a nice cute story but they don’t have near the talent as an Alabama. Blow out here we come.By photoman
January 2, 2009 5:10 PM | Link to this
Our Chickster reported “…It was Mardy Gilyard’s TD catch. Instead of acting like he had been there before, Gilyard beat his chest with his fist until bruises formed, and the Bearcats celebrated like high-schoolers who were on TV for the first time”. This man could be the Bengals replacement for COC when MG is ready for the draft. It’s a “Cincinnati” thing these players think they have to do with a TD. (Chickster, I was pulling for the CB’s to fulfill you prediction).By photoman
January 2, 2009 5:13 PM | Link to this
Our Chickster reported “…It was Mardy Gilyard’s TD catch. Instead of acting like he had been there before, Gilyard beat his chest with his fist until bruises formed, and the Bearcats celebrated like high-schoolers who were on TV for the first time”. This man could be the Bengals replacement for COC when MG is ready for the draft. It’s a “Cincinnati” thing these players think they have to do with a TD. (Chickster, I was pulling for the CB’s to fulfill your prediction).By photoman
January 2, 2009 9:07 PM | Link to this
Chickster,…”The Utes are very, Very, VERY underrated”. Looks like the Utes are coming out of the closet. 21-0 end of 1st Q.By Nick
January 2, 2009 11:50 PM | Link to this
I guess I owe you an ice cream sunday Chick.By Chick Ludwig
January 3, 2009 10:03 AM | Link to this
Nick: I saw an ESPN poll where more than 87 percent of The Universe favored ‘Bama. But I did some research and picked the Utes, who have a devastating pass attack. I wonder if the Bengals were paying attention — not only to the receivers, but the DL. I thoroughly enjoyed the game, especially watching Nick Saban squirm.By max
January 3, 2009 2:58 PM | Link to this
You pick on the Bearcats but say nothing about Texas Tech, who were rated near #1 and Alabama who were rated #1 getting beat by a non-BCS team and Penn State who were down 31-7 at halftime? Talk about a beating. The Cats were still in the contest with 8 minutes to go until they got stopped on the goal line and then compounded this by idiotically roughing the punter in the endzone. I will admit the Cats made a lot of mistakes and Va Tech certainly dominated the possession time but the Cats missed on a 1st and 3 from the goal line, threw an interception at second and goal at their seven yard line then threw an interception at their own 10 yard line leading to an easy VaTech score. Stop the “Big East Champ doesn’t deserve a BCS bid” bs, if anybody doesn’t deserve a bid it’s the Big Ten with two bids. What are they now 1-5 in bowl games? I guess they will continue to schedule the cupcakes at home in September. Rather than manning up and scheduling Big East teams home and away. I won’t make excuses for the Cats and neither will those who run the program. We’ll take our loss and go forward. Please give Va Tech a bit of a credit for a great game. You might want to check OSU’s bowl record against ACC teams. Lastly, please give us credit for the 11 wins we did have this year and the championship we did win.By Brian
January 4, 2009 11:59 PM | Link to this
Hotty Toddy! Chick Ole Miss beat TT like the OVERATED “Small Dozen” team that they are. You and many others overlooked the Rebels. Shame on you.