Cincinnati Bearcats Football: Report Card Grades for the 1st Half of Season

The season is exactly halfway over for the Cincinnati Bearcats and they already have one more win than they did all of last season. 

It is safe to say this season has been a success, but there is still a lot more work left to do if Cincinnati plans on winning their third conference crown in the past four seasons. 

The defense is clearly much improved and the offense has shown signs of dominance, by controlling the ball and not turning it over like they did last season. 

While the season is halfway over, there are still six Big East games remaining. These games will determine the bowl fate of Cincinnati. 

Here are position grades for the Bearcats at the midway point of the season. 

Quarterback

Senior Zach Collaros has not thrown for nearly as many yards as he did last season, but has done a much better job of controlling the game and not turning the ball over. 

He has thrown 11 touchdown passes to only four interceptions. He has passed for 1,187 yards on the season. 

The Bearcats quarterback was sacked 30 times last season, but this year he has not been scrambling for his life and has been sacked only nine times. 

He has bought some time however by scrambling with his feet, and has 204 yards and four more touchdowns on the ground. 

Collaros has been solid this season and perhaps a few more big plays down the field would be the only complaint so far.

Overall grade: B 

Running Back

Star running back Isaiah Pead has been impressive for most of the season. 

He has carried the ball 92 times for 624 yards. This is good for an average of 6.8 yards per carry. 

Pead has eight rushing touchdowns and one more receiving. 

He scored a touchdown on his first carry of the game against Austin Peay and Tennessee. His big-play ability make him a threat to go the distance at any time. 

With the Bearcats trailing 16-14 in the fourth quarter Saturday against Louisville, Pead took a handoff 50 yards to the house to put the Bearcats up for good. 

There are few running backs in the country as talented as Pead. 

Overall grade: A-

Wide Receivers

Receiver was supposed to be a strong suit for Cincinnati, and they have been solid, but have not reached expectations. 

The loss of Zach Collaros' favorite target, Armon Binns to the NFL has certainly hampered the Bearcats' deep-play passing attack and has left them running shorter, less productive routes. 

The three-wide receiver set of Anthony McClung, D.J. Woods and Kenbrell Thompkins have all had their productive moments.

McClung leads the team with 324 yards on 25 receptions and three touchdowns. Woods has 284 yards and two touchdowns on 23 catches, but has dropped numerous passes thrown his way. Thompkins has 274 yards and two touchdowns on 24 receptions. 

That is great balance from a solid group of three. 

True freshman Alex Chisum has come on as of late and has eight catches for 103 yards. Tight end Adrien Robinson has 102 yards and two touchdowns. 

More should be expected from this group, particularly the senior and three-year starter Woods. 

Overall grade: C+

Offensive Line

The Bearcats' offensive line has been much more productive this season than they were last. 

They gave up over 30 sacks last season and have only allowed nine so far this year. 

That is a marked improvement and it can be attributed to three senior starters spread out on the offensive line. 

Tackle Alex Hoffmann is a three-year starter and the most experienced player on the offensive line. Senior center Evan Davis has also been solid all season as has senior guard Randy Martinez. 

The line has opened up some big holes for running back Isaiah Pead and has been the key to the Cincinnati success on offense. 

Overall grade: B+

Defensive Line

The Bearcats defensive line has been their most pleasant surprise so far this season. 

They currently rank in the Top 10 in the country with 21 sacks and are fourth in the country in rushing yards allowing only 70.5 per game. 

In recent weeks, they have completely shut down the run. They held NC State to -26 yards on the ground and followed that up by holding Miami to -3. Last week against Louisville, the Cardinals only rushed for 70 yards. 

Leading the way up front is senior tackle and three-year starter Derek Wolfe. He has five sacks and 10 tackles for loss. Defensive end Dan Giordano has four sacks and five tackles for loss. 

The other starters on the line, Walter Stewart and John Hughes each have one sack. 

Overall grade: A

Linebackers

Three-year starter J.K. Schaffer has been impressive as always this season alongside second-year starter Maalik Bomar.

The new 4-2-5 defensive scheme only has these two linebackers on the field for most of the game.

Schaffer leads the team with 46 tackles, including six tackles for loss, two sacks and three interceptions. Schaffer has four pass breakups, seven passes defensed, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Fellow linebacker Maalik Bomar has also been impressive. He has 23 tackles, and two fumble recoveries, including one he took to the house against Akron.

These two have been workhorses and are on the field for virtually every meaningful snap for Cincinnati.

Overall grade: B+ 

Secondary

The secondary has been the most glaring weakness on the defense, but has come up with enough big plays to make up for the ones they have allowed. 

Cornerback Camerron Cheatham is second on the team with 31 tackles. He also has a 53-yard interception he took for a touchdown against Akron. 

Fellow cornerback Dominique Battle has stepped back into the starting role after missing last season with injury. He has 23 tackles, including 3.5 for loss to go along with two interceptions. One of these interceptions he took 36 yards the other way for a touchdown against Akron. 

Third cornerback and first-year starter Chris Williams has learned quick and has 24 tackles (two for loss) with one sack and one fumble recovery. 

Safeties Wesley Richardson and Drew Frey have been stellar all season. Richardson is fourth on the team with 29 tackles and Frey is fifth with 28. Frey has one interception and Richardson has a forced fumble. 

Overall grade: B-

Special Teams

The Bearcats' special teams have been hit or miss all season. 

Punter Pat O'Donnell has been great, averaging over 44 yards per punt, including a 76-yarder. 

Freshman kicker Tony Miliano missed his first extra point of the season and is 26-28 on extra points on the season. He is 7-9 on field goals, but has been impressive in recent weeks and looks like he will develop into a solid kicker for years to come. 

Punt returner D.J. Woods has been inconsistent all season and has fumbled the ball on numerous occasions. 

True freshman Ralph Abernathy IV has been impressive returning kickoffs. He leads the Big East averaging 25.3 yards per return, including a 60-yarder to open up the season against Austin Peay. 

Overall grade: B

Coaching and Intangibles

Last year was a bit of a transition for head coach Butch Jones in his first season running the Cincinnati program. 

This season has been much better. 

Jones has put an emphasis on the run and it has paid off as Isaiah Pead is having his best season as a Bearcat. 

He has consistently put the right people in the right place to succeed and has mixed some of the younger players in with the older players to give the Bearcats a good balance of youth and experience that will benefit them down the stretch. 

Overall grade: B+