Cincinnati Football: Bearcats Sacked in Season Opener Against Fresno St.

After a disappointing season opening loss on the road to Fresno St, the Cincinnati Bearcats make their home debut Saturday against Indiana St. If anything, this will be a chance to get well for a team who was dominated for much of the night by the Bulldogs.

While there are many fazes of the game the Bearcats will need to work on, the most glaring is pass protection. Quarterback Zach Collaros was running for his life the entire game last night and was sacked eight times, nearly all of them coming in the second half. 

Fresno St. totaled 11 sacks all of last season, good for 119 in the country. With experience and leadership on the offensive line, it came as a bit of a shock that the Bearcats were manhandled like they were. 

The 14 points Cincinnati put up were their lowest point total since the Orange Bowl in 2009 and the Fresno St. defensive line played a major part in that.

Running back Isaiah Pead struggled, finishing the game with only 36 yards on 10 carries. He will need to improve in week two and throughout the season if this team has any chance of repeating as Big East champs. 

Special teams were also an issue as kicker Jake Rogers missed his only field goal attempt. 

For Cincinnati, playing Indiana St. in Week 2 couldn't be better. They are the softest opponent on the Bearcats schedule and will give Cincinnati a chance to work out some of the kinks before key non-conference games against N.C. State and Oklahoma. 

The injury to wide receiver Vidal Hazelton has his status up in the air as an MRI is scheduled for this week. 

Head coach Butch Jones will certainly put his team through hell the next couple of days as the Bearcats did not seem nearly as conditioned as the Bulldogs. 

In a dramatic turn around from last season's 12-0 start, the Cincinnati program and Jones are under some serious adversity heading into week two.

Time will tell how they can bounce back from it.