Cincinnati Bearcats Close In On Possible Big East Title

Premature shouts of BCS filled the air Saturday night in Morgantown, West Virginia.  DeAngelo Smith had just intercepted Pat White on forth and goal from at the two yard line, giving the Bearcats the ball back with roughly three minutes left. 

At that point the Mountaineers were going to need a series of small miracles to have any shot at winning the game.  Bearcat fans were filled with jubilation.  High fives were in high demand, fans were hugging each other, and shouting at the top of their lungs…the cold was no longer even relevant.

Mountaineer fans piled out in droves.  By the time I finished celebrating with the Bearcat faithful around me I noticed that the WVU fans I had been talking with throughout the game were long gone. 

The Bearcats needed just one first down to ice the game.  As I listened to the students shout “BCS, BCS,” I got a bad feeling in my stomach.  The Bearcats still needed three victories to definitely win the conference, and heck they still had not closed out this one. 

They ran the ball three times because the clock was their number one ally then lined up to punt the ball away.  After a delay of game penalty Kevin Huber took a safety instead of punting out of his own end-zone.  I turned to everyone around me and said “that just kept them alive, this could cost us.” (Well there may have been more profanity involved and I may have been yelling, but that is the gist of what I said)  

The Bearcats had not allowed two touchdowns the entire game… West Virginia was not going to score two touchdowns in just over a minute…it just was not happening.  Sure enough the Bearcats helped WVU out again by getting a personal foul penalty helping set up a quick touchdown and the Mountaineers converted the two point conversation. 

West Virginia fans are now piling back into the stadium as everyone lines up for an onside kick with 18 seconds to play.  I am covering my face in disbelief and shouting mercilessly at my friend (as if he had anything to do with the Bearcats taking a safety and the events unfolding as they had). 

The onside kick was a high bouncer right to the Bearcats; it was one that should have been fairly easy to field and end the game.  Instead Marcus Barnett and Mardy Gilyard jump into each other and the ball winds up in the hands of West Virginia. 

17 seconds remain in the game and all the Bearcats have to do is make a tackle in bounds.  As long as the pass does not go long and to the sidelines this game is still over.  Inexplicably that is exactly what happens and West Virginia sets themselves up for a 52 yard field.  My friend next to me says “He’s not going to make a 52 yarder,” but as soon as it came off his leg everyone in that stadium knew overtime was coming.

The West Virginiafans near the UC section rightfully started chanting “BCS, BCS!”  The place was going crazy as piles of WVU fans continued to pour in.  Every Bearcat fan around me was in absolute shock.

This was a game the Bearcats dominated throughout and because of missed opportunities and a series of small miracles it was now in overtime:  how could they recover?  And yet the Bearcat defense came up huge again holding WVU to three points after Terrill Byrd made another huge play getting a sack of Pat White. 

And then the offense came out, an offense that had mustered up one first down the entire second half.  They snapped the ball four times in overtime producing a 10 yard gain, an eight yard penalty, a six yard gain and a two yard touchdown pass…game over.  Should we have expected anything else?

Bearcat fans stayed at the game for 25 minutes high fiving, hugging, and taking pictures.  A big contingent walked out of the stadium shouting, “Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh…Oh Oh Oh OH… UC!!!”  I have never in my life been to a game where the spirits of the fans changed so quickly from high to low and back to high.  It was a draining, but ultimately an amazing feeling.

It is impossible to undersell how good the Bearcat defense was on Saturday night.  I lost count of the number of times they managed to stop the Mountaineers on second, third, forth and short. 

They became the first team since 2001 to hold West Virginia under 100 yards rushing and only allowed one run the entire game of 10 yards or greater (a 15 yard run by Pat White in the first quarter).  Terrill Byrd had his best game of the season absolutely blowing up the middle of the WVU line. 

The rest of the defense was nearly as impressive.  They made open field tackles, they ran down the very fast West Virginia skilled players and they forced turnovers. 

Is this the biggest win in Bearcat history?  Probably.  However it is step one…the Bearcats have three huge games moving forward and they must continue to take care of business.  Step two is this week at Louisville. 

The Cardinals have won nine of the last 10 games against Cincinnati, however, they have been just dreadful the last two weeks.  There is no reason the Cincinnati Bearcats cannot take care of business, particularly if the defense is as forceful as they were last Saturday.

Going into the season this game really worried me, right now it does not worry me nearly as much.  I think the Bearcat defensive line will once again control the game.  Louisville is very dependent on their freshman running back, Victor Anderson. 

The Bearcats have continually shut down opposing running backs over the last three seasons.  The most important thing for the Bearcats will be to protect the football.  I truly believe they are going to have to beat themselves to lose this game.   

I do not want to sound overconfident.  I know there is plenty that can happen and the UCONN game is still fresh on my mind.  I was frustrated at the premature “BCS” chants last week, because this team still has plenty of work to do.

Still, like other Bearcat fans I am starting to feel it.  We all knew this could be a very special year going into the season.  On Friday night the Bearcats will once again control their own destiny in their quest for a Big East Championship.  The next step toward that end is taking back the Keg of Nails and beating Louisville. 

If the Bearcats protect the ball and stop Victor Anderson I see know reason the large Bearcat contingent making the trip (come on Bearcat fans get down there) won’t be giving out hugs and high fives as Tony Pike takes a knee to end the game. 

And if we are all lucky it will be without the near heart attack of this past weekend.  A Big East Championship looms three games away and there ain’t no stopping them Cincinnati Bearcats.