Gunner Kiel’s debut as the Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback was not only hype-fulfilling or expectation-exceeding–it was downright historic.
Kiel finished the night 25-of-37 for 418 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. Those six touchdowns tied Tony Pike’s school record for most in a game, and according to ESPN’s stats and information department, Kiel set the record for most touchdown passes by an FBS player in his debut. Kiel threw each one to a different receiver as he utilized all of the Bearcats offensive weapons with ten different players catching at least one pass.
Oh, I forgot to mention: Cincinnati beat Toledo 58-34.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1hlthRAL6k?list=UU0y5liiwMlVZRPpHANy5ROA]Kiel didn’t only impress with his numbers, he showed why he was once the No. 1 quarterback prospect coming out of high school. He can flat-out sling it, and proved he can make any throw on the football field. He looked calm in the pocket and threw with incredible accuracy while displaying excellent chemistry with his receivers. Kiel was clearly in command of the offense from the get-go as the Bearcats scored on each of their first six possessions with only three incomplete passes en route to taking a 34-0 lead.
After Cincinnati went to the locker room at halftime up 41-14, it looked like the second half was set to be a formality, but that wasn’t the case. The Rockets ripped off 20 unanswered points to cut their deficit to seven at the start of the fourth quarter as the Bearcats looked to be overly fatigued with even Kiel battling cramps.
“We hit the wall physically. We had half of our defense cramp up at halftime, and I knew we were going to be in for a long second half,” said coach Tommy Tuberville after the game.
It was an incredibly cool evening temperature-wise in Cincinnati, so it’s fair to say that the Bearcats weren’t quite in “football shape” just yet.
After heading to the locker room for an IV during the third quarter, Kiel returned to lead Cincinnati to 17 unanswered points in the fourth, effectively squashing the Toledo comeback effort.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szZaTSETbXc]Looking at the numbers, and honestly just watching the game, the Bearcats defense definitely showed some cause for concern. UC’s defense allowed Toledo to gain 563 total yards, and that was with sophomore backup quarterback Logan Woodside leading the Rockets offense. Woodside finished the game 27-of-40 for 322 yards and three touchdowns, and Toledo’s lead running back, sophomore Kareem Hunt, ran for 101 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
Cincinnati was never able to generate consistent pressure up front as they only came away with three sacks, and Toledo had receivers running free on several occasions against the UC secondary. The Bearcats also struggled to defend the run as they allowed the Rockets to combine for 240 yards on the ground. While some of that can be chalked up to the cramping the defense experienced in the second half, it should be noted the Bearcats still allowed the Rockets to gain 300 yards of offense in the first half despite holding them to 14 points.
Tuberville and his staff will definitely need to address the defense going forward, and even though the offense was highly successful running a no-huddle, fast-paced scheme, they may want to consider slowing it down at times to give the defense more rest. UC scored 58, but the time of possession favored Toledo 35:12 to 24:48, which could have contributed to the fatigue of its defense.
In addition to Kiel, running back Hosey Williams and wide receiver Mekale McKay also had exemplary performances. Williams ran for 103 yards on 14 carries, and McKay caught nine balls for 175 yards and a touchdown. The Bearcats racked up 584 total yards on offense.
Other Notes:
Munchie Legaux made his return to the field as a Cincinnati quarterback after suffering a horrific knee injury in last year’s game against Purdue. Legaux entered the game late in the second quarter for the final series of the first half and completed 4-of-5 pass attempts for 18 yards.
Freshman placekicker Andrew Gantz got the first crack as the starter over senior Tony Miliano and looked good. He was good on his only field goal attempt, a 34-yarder, and made 7-of-8 PATs as he pulled his second one a bit and was denied by the left upright. Miliano still handled the kickoff duties and recorded three touchbacks on ten attempts.
Tuberville also went with a freshman over a senior at punter as Sam Geraci played instead of John Lloyd. Geraci punted four times for a 38.3 yard average with a long of 48 and two downed inside the 20. Last season, Lloyd punted 33 times for a 42.7 yard average with nine downed inside the 20.
UC drew 31,912 fans to Paul Brown Stadium where it will play its 2014 home games while its on-campus home, Nippert Stadium, undergoes major renovations. The Bearcats will host the Miami (Oh.) RedHawks next Saturday, as the teams battle for the Victory Bell in the fifth most-played rivalry game in college football history. The Redhawks play today at Michigan at 3:30 p.m.
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