The Cincinnati Bearcats head into Week 10 with a 4-3 record (2-1 AAC), back above the .500 mark after book-ending a historically bad three-game losing streak with a 2-0 start and two wins in the last two weeks. Along the way there have been plenty of peaks and valleys on the field, and when you throw in a recent run of negative off-the-field news, it certainly has been a roller-coaster 2014 season for the ‘Cats.
With that theme in mind and the variety of storylines emerging from this weekend, here’s a look at the good, bad and ugly for Cincinnati’s Week 9.
The Good
The Bearcats took care of business Friday night, beating the South Florida Bulls 34-17, and it really didn’t even feel like it was that close. UC out-gained USF 590 to 281, and finally got the ground game going with 273 yards on 50 attempts.
Speaking of running the ball, Cincinnati may have found a running back it can rely on as true freshman Mike Boone racked up 212 yards on 19 carries and scored a touchdown. That performance was the first 200-yard rushing game by a Bearcat since Isaiah Pead back in 2010 against Rutgers, and also topped the 171 yards on 52 carries that Rod Moore (UC’s leading rusher going into the USF game) has tallied all season.
The feel-good story of the season, Munchie Legaux’s return from a devastating knee injury in 2013, got even better with his performance off the bench in place of Gunner Kiel, who re-injured his bruised ribs at the end of the first half. Legaux played the second half and went 14-of-15 for 121 yards and scored a touchdown on a nine-yard run. It was an incredibly emotional moment for Legaux as he slid to his knees in the end zone, bowed his head to the turf clutching the football while his teammates surrounded him celebrating. It was a heartwarming sight as doctors had once told Legaux that he may never play football again.
Andrew Gantz repeated as the AAC special teams player of the week as he made two field goals and four extra points. Shaq Washington and Terrell Hartsfield also made the AAC weekly honor roll. Washington had 12 receptions for 163 yards, and also had a 46-yard punt return. Hartsfield had his best all-around game as a Bearcat, recording five total tackles (two for loss), a sack, a forced fumble and a pass break-up.
The Bad
As I mentioned before, Kiel suffered another setback with his bruised ribs and was unable to play the second half. He has yet to miss a game due to the injury originally sustained against Memphis, but he has missed time in games because of it. Also, in his first three games prior to the injury, Kiel was completing 65.8 percent of his passes and threw 14 touchdowns to just two interceptions. In the four games since the injury, he has completed just 54.8 percent of his passes and has thrown only six touchdowns and four interceptions.
Head coach Tommy Tuberville said Monday that he expects Kiel to play against Tulane this Friday, but also that Legaux will play some as well. This appears to be an issue that will linger for a while as Kiel continues to try and play through it.
The Bearcats did win the turnover battle against the Bulls as they forced four, but they did fumble the ball away three times. They may have been able to get away with it against a USF team that struggled on offense and had to make a change at quarterback during the game, but UC will need to take care of the ball against stiffer competition given their defensive struggles.
And speaking of defensive struggles, Cincinnati allowed two long touchdown passes by USF’s back-up quarterback, Steven Bench, on blown coverages. Too many times this season there has been a UC defender looking back at his teammates with his arms raised after a receiver wound up wide open for a big play, and we saw it again Friday as Bench connected on short throws to open targets for touchdowns of 67 and 38 yards.
The Ugly
Another Sunday morning, another Cincinnati football player run-in with the law. Early Sunday morning, linebacker Marcus Tappan was arrested during a breaking and entering investigation as he “displayed behavior consistent with being intoxicated.” Tuberville announced Monday that Tappan has been suspended indefinitely.
Last week, back-up quarterback Jarred Evans was arrested for assault and suspended indefinitely. Last month, Alex Thomas was arrested, Hosey Williams was cited and both Leviticus Payne and Ey’Shawn McClain were found with outstanding warrants when police responded to a party where gunshots were fired. Since then, McClain has been dismissed from the program for a separate “violation of team rules.”
Also last month, Antrione Archer, former UC football director of player welfare and development, was fired after information became public that he was arrested for a misdemeanor charge of sexual assault back in June.
Tuberville has taken to suspending players indefinitely for misbehavior like this, but with so many off-the-field issues mounting it has to be asked if there are larger, systemic problems within the university’s football program that need to be addressed immediately.
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