Big East Preview: Cincinnati Bearcats
June 30th, 2008 by Jason Collette
I started as early as the off-season last year singing the praises of this squad. I am an unabashed Brian Kelly (right, Icon SMI) fan because he is an offensive genius. While last year was a nice step forward story for the Bearcats , 2008 will look a bit different if they are to be as successful.
The team was hit quite hard by graduation, losing 75% of its ground game from last year. They also will miss their signal caller because the NCAA can’t tell its head from its ass. Ben Mauk was a redshirt freshman at Wake Forest while recovering from foot surgery after his senior year. He was applying for an exemption because he was knocked out early in the first game of the 2006 season when his shoulder was torn to pieces.
Can someone explain how the NCAA can grant these ridiculous hardship waivers? You know, the ones allowing D-I players to transfer on a whim to other D-I schools without having to sit out a season. Yet they penalize a guy like Mauk that is just trying to play one more year of competitive ball? I digress.
Needless to say, quarterback is a mess for the Bearcats . The most experienced one on roster, Dustin Grutza , is the textbook definition of inconsistency. He has had this job for parts of the past few seasons and has moments of success clouded with turnovers. Even in this offense, he is not a fantasy option for most leagues. Former Notre Dame whiner, err, transfer Demetrius Jones is now here after sitting out last year following his transfer out of South Bend. He is recovering from shoulder surgery so it is uncertain what his status will be for August camp. Tall junior Tony Pike is also around to add more confusion to the fold. The best solution on paper may be redshirt freshman Chazz Anderson . Not only does he have that super-cool high school letterman -jacket type name, but he impressed in the spring game and he isn ‘t Dustin Grutza . It will be a big step down for quarterback play from Mauk to any one of these guys. While Mauk did not have the best arm strength, few quarterbacks were better from the neck up.
The news does not get any better at running back where the Bearcats did not have a feature back. However, between the three seniors Benton, Moore, Glatthaar , and Mauk ’s legs, the group put up 1656 yards and 15 touchdowns. With that entire group gone, the most experienced RB is junior Jacob Ramsey . In limited playing time late last year, he rushed for 401 yards and three TDs but only had 3.8 ypc . Helping out Ramsey will be junior John Goebel and sophomore Montez Patterson . Last year’s group didn ‘t have a star and this year’s group doesn’t look any different.
The one position that actually has the most talent coming back is the wide receiver position. Last year, the trio of Dominick Goodman, Marcus Barnett , and Marshawn Gilyard combined for nearly 2300 yards and 24 touchdowns. All 3 come back this year but their value takes a hit with the questionable quarterback situation. Adjust projections accordingly until the quarterback situation is cleared up. The TE role is pretty useless in this offense. The only one worth anything, Connor Barwin , was shifted over to defensive end for this season.
The kicking game is another big question mark as sophomore Jake Rogers returns. He has a big leg, but is very inconsistent. He only made one of his six tries from beyond 39 yards last season. It just so happened to be a 55 yard attempt.
The Bearcat Defense will make or break the 2008 season. They are a fast group and played very well last year. They were 12th in the country in scoring defense last year holding opponents to 18 points a game and led the nation with 26 interceptions. The move of Barwin to DE is worth mentioning because he runs a 4.6 and is very athletic for a 240 lb player. They have an early tough game against Oklahoma, but get layups against Eastern Kentucky, Miami of Ohio, Akron, and Marshall before entering conference play. They have a tough road game at West Virginia and end the season with the long flight to Hawai i. These two teams, and fans, do not like each other at all.
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