Cincinnati vs. Rutgers: Aftermath
Well, there goes that game, 47-15.…
I thought maybe Rutgers might not win, but I figured it would be much closer than that. I watch that game on ESPN and heard the guys talk about the lack of presence of quarterbacks…and how true they were.
It was said that if you have 2 Qbs, you have none, and if you have 3, then you still have none.
I watched Cincinnati march the ball up the field as if they owned Rutgers, and I wondered if this was going to be a blowout. The ease in which they moved the ball in passing made it look like Rutgers needed another 2 weeks in practice.
But I also saw some promise in the running game of Rutgers. Their first possession had them hold on to the ball and move it with great efficiency, and it almost made me think that maybe they got the spirit of Ray Rice back there. It certainly helped to have 5 returning linemen to help push the line.
But Rutger’s problem seemed to be quite…glaring. They had a problem with quarterbacks. It seemed quite obvious that they could not, and would not throw the ball. And then they brought in a second quarterback to run some kinda Wildcat offense. In fact, they KEPT running it to the point where all the Rutgers fans knew when that QB came in, they were running the same old play.
And when it came time to throw, it showed the weakness of not having a true starting QB. But in truth, you can’t fully blame the two senior quarterbacks, having only like 13 passes between them. That’s the problem of having a very good QB who holds the job until he graduates, it leaves very little practice for those who follow… and it showed.
I know people might think that if they third QB (Savage) had started, things would have been different…I doubt it. They might have gotten a few more points, but they still would have been blown out of the water by 3 touchdowns.
And give credit to Cincinnati, they have a pretty good QB with a nice story of never giving up. Pike played pretty well, which will probably get the Bearcats on the top 25 very soon. But was this win over Rutgers respectable…or expected.
I wondered about the quarterback position, which may well be a real problem, and Rutgers pulled the same thing last year, having problems proving their strength at home starting the season. They have work to do, but the season is still young. Cincinnati showed us some stuff, and following a 11-3 record seems to be quite legit. Perhaps this is the chosen one for the Big East, Heaven knows they need some hope to pick the conference up. But this is only week one….
Showing posts with label Rutgers Football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rutgers Football. Show all posts
Monday, September 7, 2009
Cincinnati vs Rutgers
Cincinnati vs. Rugters
Sounds like a good conference matchup to me.
In less than 2 hours I will be watching this game on ESPN, and I wanted to take a moment to reflect on who has the better chance of winning today. I heard talk about how Rutgers might be the team to beat in the Big East, but I also remember that Cincinnati had 11 wins last year…including a 13-10 victory over said Rutgers.
But what also is going to be important is the fact that no Big East team was ranked in the top 25...what a slap in the face to the conference! So today’s game will be a strong signal to the true power (or lack of) from the Big East. Let’s look at each team and see who may come out victorious:
Cincinnati finished last year 11-3, losing to Oklahoma, UCONN and Virginia Tech. Some may wonder the true strength of the Bearcats since the schedule seemed questionable, outside of Oklahoma. Playing Eastern Kentucky, Miami (OH), Akron and Marshall does not really make for a BCS powerhouse, but beating South Florida, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Rutgers does count for something.
Returning many offensive weapons makes it easier to repeat the successes of last year, but the schedule this year may be more challenging. Only one conference foe in the first 5 games, this game is incredibly important for the Bearcats. They won’t see another conference foe until mid October, and with opponents like Oregon State and Fresno State on the schedule, they need to come out of this at BEST 3-2, maybe even 4-1. A loss here to Rutgers could make the conference spin out again, looking for a true leader.
When you consider that each of Cincinnati’s wins were on average about 8 to 9 points, it shows that they play close games…how easy can that change in one year with the same opponents. Cincinnati seems to have problems winning away games too, in fact, two of their three losses were…away. Add in the bowl game vs. VA Tech, and you see my point.
And of those wins, factor in a 2 point win over Akron, a 3 point win over West Virginia, an 8 point win over Louisville and a 5 point win over Hawaii…these are games that can easily turn on you, and playing Rutgers in their house could be problematic.
Rugters, on the other hand, won 8 games last year, after starting out 0-3 and was as bad as1-5 before they started to turn it around. Losing at home to Fresno State and UNC ended any BCS hopes early, and a loss to Navy at home crushed it. The Scarlet Knights also lose their veteran QB, and a few receivers, so there is a time for retooling for Rutgers. The claim is that with 13 starters returning (initially) there is a good chance for Rutgers to snatch the Big East crown. And coming off a 7 game winning streak, including wins over Connecticut, South Florida and NC State in a bowl does have an upswing.
Of all those wins, the Pittsburgh win seemed most impressive, winning away by 20 points at a score of 54-34. Many of the other wins seemed less than stellar, after all, beating Syracuse, Army and UCONN didn’t really convince many people of the power of a Scarlet Knight. And with Louisville having a terrible season, and ACC foe NC State not putting fear in many, some will question if Rutgers is really ready to take the crown.
But the conference itself may even out, as many question the strength of any team in the Big East…again, NO Big East team has been ranked, so the voters must believe that none of these teams is strong enough to contend for a serious BCS title. It almost seems that by default, somebody has to win the Big East. But it cannot be argued that Rutgers and Cincinnati are quality teams.
Rutgers indeed has the home field advantage, but one can quickly counter by saying that last year Rutgers started the season off with a home loss to Fresno State 24-7, then got thumped by UNC 44-12 in their own living room. This is a situation Rutgers cannot repeat, scoring only 19 points in the first two games. Looking at Rutger’s schedule, if they can get by Cincinnati, it is quite possible that this could be the banner year they once had a couple years ago with great running back Ray Rice.
IF (a big if) Rutgers can beat Cincinnati, their next few games include Howard, Florida International before a trip to Maryland. Three home games before they go on the road, then after Maryland they are home for Texas Southern and Pittsburgh, a team they beat away by 20...
You can see the possibilities here for Rutgers. Yes they lost to Cincinnati and West Virginia last year, but those were away games…this year they are home. IF Rutgers can get past Cincinnati, this could quite easily be a 9+ win season, maybe even 10, as the Scarlet Knights would become the heir apparent to the Big East.
So who wins? Home field advantage means so much to any college team, and you’d like to automatically favor Rutgers, but we saw how they lost their first 2 home games last year. And if they are looking past this game in hopes of a 10 win season, something that is quite possible, then they may fail their first test.
It’s like legendary wrestler Ric Flair once said, “in order to BE the man, you gotta BEAT the man”, and that “man”, is actually a Bearcat.
Cincinnati beat Rutgers by three, can they do the same in Rutger’s house? This one is really close to me, and I personally like both teams, but without the leadership at the quarterback position, I just have to favor Cincinnati by a slim margin. One possession might make the difference…maybe even one point.
Sounds like a good conference matchup to me.
In less than 2 hours I will be watching this game on ESPN, and I wanted to take a moment to reflect on who has the better chance of winning today. I heard talk about how Rutgers might be the team to beat in the Big East, but I also remember that Cincinnati had 11 wins last year…including a 13-10 victory over said Rutgers.
But what also is going to be important is the fact that no Big East team was ranked in the top 25...what a slap in the face to the conference! So today’s game will be a strong signal to the true power (or lack of) from the Big East. Let’s look at each team and see who may come out victorious:
Cincinnati finished last year 11-3, losing to Oklahoma, UCONN and Virginia Tech. Some may wonder the true strength of the Bearcats since the schedule seemed questionable, outside of Oklahoma. Playing Eastern Kentucky, Miami (OH), Akron and Marshall does not really make for a BCS powerhouse, but beating South Florida, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Rutgers does count for something.
Returning many offensive weapons makes it easier to repeat the successes of last year, but the schedule this year may be more challenging. Only one conference foe in the first 5 games, this game is incredibly important for the Bearcats. They won’t see another conference foe until mid October, and with opponents like Oregon State and Fresno State on the schedule, they need to come out of this at BEST 3-2, maybe even 4-1. A loss here to Rutgers could make the conference spin out again, looking for a true leader.
When you consider that each of Cincinnati’s wins were on average about 8 to 9 points, it shows that they play close games…how easy can that change in one year with the same opponents. Cincinnati seems to have problems winning away games too, in fact, two of their three losses were…away. Add in the bowl game vs. VA Tech, and you see my point.
And of those wins, factor in a 2 point win over Akron, a 3 point win over West Virginia, an 8 point win over Louisville and a 5 point win over Hawaii…these are games that can easily turn on you, and playing Rutgers in their house could be problematic.
Rugters, on the other hand, won 8 games last year, after starting out 0-3 and was as bad as1-5 before they started to turn it around. Losing at home to Fresno State and UNC ended any BCS hopes early, and a loss to Navy at home crushed it. The Scarlet Knights also lose their veteran QB, and a few receivers, so there is a time for retooling for Rutgers. The claim is that with 13 starters returning (initially) there is a good chance for Rutgers to snatch the Big East crown. And coming off a 7 game winning streak, including wins over Connecticut, South Florida and NC State in a bowl does have an upswing.
Of all those wins, the Pittsburgh win seemed most impressive, winning away by 20 points at a score of 54-34. Many of the other wins seemed less than stellar, after all, beating Syracuse, Army and UCONN didn’t really convince many people of the power of a Scarlet Knight. And with Louisville having a terrible season, and ACC foe NC State not putting fear in many, some will question if Rutgers is really ready to take the crown.
But the conference itself may even out, as many question the strength of any team in the Big East…again, NO Big East team has been ranked, so the voters must believe that none of these teams is strong enough to contend for a serious BCS title. It almost seems that by default, somebody has to win the Big East. But it cannot be argued that Rutgers and Cincinnati are quality teams.
Rutgers indeed has the home field advantage, but one can quickly counter by saying that last year Rutgers started the season off with a home loss to Fresno State 24-7, then got thumped by UNC 44-12 in their own living room. This is a situation Rutgers cannot repeat, scoring only 19 points in the first two games. Looking at Rutger’s schedule, if they can get by Cincinnati, it is quite possible that this could be the banner year they once had a couple years ago with great running back Ray Rice.
IF (a big if) Rutgers can beat Cincinnati, their next few games include Howard, Florida International before a trip to Maryland. Three home games before they go on the road, then after Maryland they are home for Texas Southern and Pittsburgh, a team they beat away by 20...
You can see the possibilities here for Rutgers. Yes they lost to Cincinnati and West Virginia last year, but those were away games…this year they are home. IF Rutgers can get past Cincinnati, this could quite easily be a 9+ win season, maybe even 10, as the Scarlet Knights would become the heir apparent to the Big East.
So who wins? Home field advantage means so much to any college team, and you’d like to automatically favor Rutgers, but we saw how they lost their first 2 home games last year. And if they are looking past this game in hopes of a 10 win season, something that is quite possible, then they may fail their first test.
It’s like legendary wrestler Ric Flair once said, “in order to BE the man, you gotta BEAT the man”, and that “man”, is actually a Bearcat.
Cincinnati beat Rutgers by three, can they do the same in Rutger’s house? This one is really close to me, and I personally like both teams, but without the leadership at the quarterback position, I just have to favor Cincinnati by a slim margin. One possession might make the difference…maybe even one point.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Where are the Big East teams???
Has ANYBODY seen the Big East?
I was looking for something before the college football games started today, and I had a hard time finding it. But it wasn’t nearly as hard as finding a Big East team in the top 25.
What’s going on here?
I am not saying this as a complaint to the pollsters, I say that to the conference that apparently does not have one team good enough to be in the top 25 at the beginning of the season. And to think, just a couple years ago people were singing the praises of Rutgers and West Virginia. Now, what’s up with that?
Didn’t Cincinnati finish 11-3 last year? Didn’t Uconn once have a 5-game winning streak and finish 8-5? Louisville was once one of the highest scoring teams a couple of years ago. Pittsburgh won 9 games last year!
Rutgers went 8-5 last year and it wasn’t too long ago when South Florida was in the top 3 in the NATION. West Virginia won 9 games last year and Syracuse…
Well, they can’t all be steaks, as my professor once said.
This is almost disturbing that a “power conference” can be snubbed for lack of power. But there are obviously some reasons for it, one being that it is a small conference, and lacks the competition that the other conferences have. Last year I personally felt that the Mountain West Conference, with Utah, BYU, TCU and Air Force, was more competitive than the Big East.
But come on, surely ONE Big East team ought to have made the top 25, right?
Six out of 8 teams made post season, it has to count for something, right?
Right?
Well, let’s look at the conference as of last year and see why nobody put a Big East team in the preseason top 25.
Let’s start with Syracuse…
Uh…let’s not. Moving on…
West Virginia had a 9-4 record, but a soft Big East schedule (and a short one), coupled with the embarrassing loss to ECU hurt them. Losing to Colorado didn’t help either, even though West Virginia did beat UNC at the end of the season. But losing Pat White means rebuilding, which may be a problem.
South Florida was one of those teams that almost had the nation at their feet. I kinda wonder why this team wasn’t at least near the bottom of the top 25 this year, they beat Kansas last year, won their bowl, and had a pretty good year. They have some of the star players back, but many say there are holes in the team. Four of their 5 losses came from teams with a winning record, so I guess there would be some beef as to why South Florida wasn’t at least considered in the bottom half of the top 25. It might be because the last two years, they started out great, but fizzled at the end.
Rutgers went 8-5 and no longer have their ace QB. I bet they wish they still had Ray Rice. For a team that started 1-5, they salvaged the season pretty well. They beat everybody in the conference except Cincinnati and West Virginia, but I suppose if you take those two out, the competition might not be so hot. Still, some pollsters put Rugters just out of the top 25, so a win or two early might get them back in. But they gotta get by Cincinnati, first on their list.
Pittsburgh loses their two main rushers from last year and needs to step it up a bit. A 9-4 record is cool, but losing to Bowling Green off the top in 2008 didn’t look so good. Losing that bowl game to Oregon State 0-3 left a lot of question marks as well, but if you factor out the conference schedule, they did beat Buffalo (MAC Champions), Iowa and Notre Dame. That is not a bad resume. Looking at their schedule, it is possible for Pittsburgh to be 5-0 and get on that top 25 list…watch for it.
What happened to Louisville? A 5-7 season, with a loss to Kentucky and several conference foes. This season does NOT look good for them, having lost their star QB, and AT Kentucky, AT Utah, AT Connecticut, AT Cincinnati, AT West Virginia and AT South Florida…ugh! I don’t see any hope here folks.
Connecticut to me is one of those decent teams that can sneak up on you based on their weak strength of schedule. Not saying anything bad about the Huskies, I like their style. But often times when it is time to prove, they fall a little short. Yeah they beat Virginia last year, and started out 5-0, but that changed quickly as they finished 3-5, although beating Buffalo in a bowl game. Playing Baylor, Ohio and Rhode Island might give them 3 wins, and I can see 6 wins easy but a top 25 ranking…not quite sure. They might sneak up there for a minute or two before dropping out.
And Cincinnati, why aren’t they in the top 25? They finished 11-3, come on, give a Bearcat some love! Their three losses were to Oklahoma, Connecticut and losing at the end of season to Virginia Tech. They return a lot of key offensive weapons, and their schedule is quite favorable. They don’t play Oklahoma or Virginia Tech this year, and Connecticut has to come see them….this could be a pretty favorable schedule for Cincinnati, and maybe the Big East privately lays hopes on them making some noise and bringing some credibility back to the conference.
Of course, all the preseason polls are purely speculative, but one has to wonder why not even one Big East team is on the top 25...the conference has something to prove, and they better get started quickly, lest they lose all respect from the other teams and conferences in the nation. The only way to get that respect is to do one thing…win… and win today.
I was looking for something before the college football games started today, and I had a hard time finding it. But it wasn’t nearly as hard as finding a Big East team in the top 25.
What’s going on here?
I am not saying this as a complaint to the pollsters, I say that to the conference that apparently does not have one team good enough to be in the top 25 at the beginning of the season. And to think, just a couple years ago people were singing the praises of Rutgers and West Virginia. Now, what’s up with that?
Didn’t Cincinnati finish 11-3 last year? Didn’t Uconn once have a 5-game winning streak and finish 8-5? Louisville was once one of the highest scoring teams a couple of years ago. Pittsburgh won 9 games last year!
Rutgers went 8-5 last year and it wasn’t too long ago when South Florida was in the top 3 in the NATION. West Virginia won 9 games last year and Syracuse…
Well, they can’t all be steaks, as my professor once said.
This is almost disturbing that a “power conference” can be snubbed for lack of power. But there are obviously some reasons for it, one being that it is a small conference, and lacks the competition that the other conferences have. Last year I personally felt that the Mountain West Conference, with Utah, BYU, TCU and Air Force, was more competitive than the Big East.
But come on, surely ONE Big East team ought to have made the top 25, right?
Six out of 8 teams made post season, it has to count for something, right?
Right?
Well, let’s look at the conference as of last year and see why nobody put a Big East team in the preseason top 25.
Let’s start with Syracuse…
Uh…let’s not. Moving on…
West Virginia had a 9-4 record, but a soft Big East schedule (and a short one), coupled with the embarrassing loss to ECU hurt them. Losing to Colorado didn’t help either, even though West Virginia did beat UNC at the end of the season. But losing Pat White means rebuilding, which may be a problem.
South Florida was one of those teams that almost had the nation at their feet. I kinda wonder why this team wasn’t at least near the bottom of the top 25 this year, they beat Kansas last year, won their bowl, and had a pretty good year. They have some of the star players back, but many say there are holes in the team. Four of their 5 losses came from teams with a winning record, so I guess there would be some beef as to why South Florida wasn’t at least considered in the bottom half of the top 25. It might be because the last two years, they started out great, but fizzled at the end.
Rutgers went 8-5 and no longer have their ace QB. I bet they wish they still had Ray Rice. For a team that started 1-5, they salvaged the season pretty well. They beat everybody in the conference except Cincinnati and West Virginia, but I suppose if you take those two out, the competition might not be so hot. Still, some pollsters put Rugters just out of the top 25, so a win or two early might get them back in. But they gotta get by Cincinnati, first on their list.
Pittsburgh loses their two main rushers from last year and needs to step it up a bit. A 9-4 record is cool, but losing to Bowling Green off the top in 2008 didn’t look so good. Losing that bowl game to Oregon State 0-3 left a lot of question marks as well, but if you factor out the conference schedule, they did beat Buffalo (MAC Champions), Iowa and Notre Dame. That is not a bad resume. Looking at their schedule, it is possible for Pittsburgh to be 5-0 and get on that top 25 list…watch for it.
What happened to Louisville? A 5-7 season, with a loss to Kentucky and several conference foes. This season does NOT look good for them, having lost their star QB, and AT Kentucky, AT Utah, AT Connecticut, AT Cincinnati, AT West Virginia and AT South Florida…ugh! I don’t see any hope here folks.
Connecticut to me is one of those decent teams that can sneak up on you based on their weak strength of schedule. Not saying anything bad about the Huskies, I like their style. But often times when it is time to prove, they fall a little short. Yeah they beat Virginia last year, and started out 5-0, but that changed quickly as they finished 3-5, although beating Buffalo in a bowl game. Playing Baylor, Ohio and Rhode Island might give them 3 wins, and I can see 6 wins easy but a top 25 ranking…not quite sure. They might sneak up there for a minute or two before dropping out.
And Cincinnati, why aren’t they in the top 25? They finished 11-3, come on, give a Bearcat some love! Their three losses were to Oklahoma, Connecticut and losing at the end of season to Virginia Tech. They return a lot of key offensive weapons, and their schedule is quite favorable. They don’t play Oklahoma or Virginia Tech this year, and Connecticut has to come see them….this could be a pretty favorable schedule for Cincinnati, and maybe the Big East privately lays hopes on them making some noise and bringing some credibility back to the conference.
Of course, all the preseason polls are purely speculative, but one has to wonder why not even one Big East team is on the top 25...the conference has something to prove, and they better get started quickly, lest they lose all respect from the other teams and conferences in the nation. The only way to get that respect is to do one thing…win… and win today.
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