Scouting The Cincinnati Bearcats

Don’t be guilty of making the mistake of thinking that Cincinnati isn’t a good football team. The truth is that they are coming off a 10 win season in `07 and had an impressive season opening victory over Eastern Kentucky. The Bearcats have a senior led defense and an explosive offensive led by a very capable quarterback in Dustin Grutza.
| Offensive Leaders | ||
| Passing | D. Grutza | 21/28, 296 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT |
| Rushing | S. Johnson | 9 carries 79 yards, 0 touchdowns |
| Receiving | D. Goodman | 10 receptions, 144 yards, 2 touchdowns |
Cincinnati Head Coach Brian Kelly runs a pass first offense and while they are able to run the ball they have the potential to be limited to just one dimension. That is the first weakness I see in the Bearcats. If Oklahoma’s D-line and linebackers are able to put the breaks on Bearcat runners then it could be game over quickly.
The OU secondary will be certainly be tested. Brian Jackson and Dominique Franks each only have one start under their belts and they’ll have their hands full with the Cincinnati receivers. The same is true with the linebackers. Only Ryan Reynolds had experience as a starter going into last week’s game against Chattanooga. Now with Austin Box on the mend it appears that he could be making his first start as a Sooner.
Another thing that I see in the Bearcats is that they gave up three sacks last week. One was against starting quarterback Dustin Grutza and the other two were against the back up. The thing is that if Eastern Kentucky can get to the starting quarterback then you have to think that the Sooners can.
Getting Cincinnati to third down is going to be crucial for the Sooners because I find that to be another weakness. Last week the Bearcats converted an unimpressive 4-11 third down situations.
| Defensive Leaders | ||
| Tackles | Ryan Manalac, Connor Barwin | 5 |
| Tackles for Loss | Connor Barwin | 3 |
| Sacks | Connor Barwin | 2 |
| Interceptions | Justin Moore | 1 |
Connor Barwin was the star of the Cincinnati defense last week but OU will also have to deal with defensive tackle Terrill Byrd. The combination of Barwin and Byrd will try to pressure Sam Bradford and stop Oklahoma’s rushing attack. This brings me to another potential weakness for Cincinnati. The Bearcats only registered two sacks last week against Eastern Kentucky. EKU starting quarterback Allan Holland was remarkably accurate completing 12 of 17 passes for 141 yards and a score.
In contrast, Sam Bradford was untouched last week and that was without starting left tackle Phil Loadholt who was sitting out serving a suspension. You have to think that OU’s O-Line is a lot better than Eastern Kentucky’s. With the talent that OU has at receiver if Bradford could complete 70% of his passes on Saturday then the Sooners are going to score a lot of points.
| Team Stats | |||||
| Points Scored P/G | Points Allowed P/G | Rush P/G | Pass P/G | Home | Road |
| 40 | 7 | 209 | 348 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
EKU’s main struggle against Cincinnati was that they couldn’t run the ball. They only averaged 1.7 yards per carry and that was without Terrill Byrd playing. Oklahoma is going to have to set the pace early of moving the ball on the ground with DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown. The more success they have with that the more the offense is going to click.
0 recs |
4 comments
Comments
Bearcats
Just wanted to note that not only was Cincinnati without All American Byrd, they were also without the other starting tackle against EKU.
I think this game really comes down to the OU d-line. Grutza needs to really prove himself and if OU can get pressure on him he may make some mistakes that the Sooners can really take advantage of.
On defense for the Bearcats, everywhere I read people keep referring to them as ‘veteran’ and ‘experienced’, but what they need to be called is ‘talented’. Two defensive All American’s between Byrd and Mickens as well as most of last years defense that was among the best in the country. They are fast and disciplined when you get to the back 7. Up front Byrd will be double teamed all game, which could lead to pressure getting to Bradford at other spots up front.
I don’t see OU covering the spread because its just ridiculous. OU is very good, but not 3 touchdowns better than Cincinnati. It will be a close game with Oklahoma winning it in the end 35-31. Those are my thoughts, albeit from a Cincinnati fan. No matter what happens, lets just hope everyone leaves the stadium healthy after the game and both teams can go on from the game and compete for their Conference Championships.
http://www.redsminorleagues.com and http://www.RedsPitchFX.com
by dougdirt on Sep 6, 2008 1:06 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Thanks for the updates
Welcome to the site dougdirt! Feel free to participate in our game thread.
by ccmachine on Sep 6, 2008 1:17 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Thanks
I have been following the site all week after finding it through Redreporter.com (also on SBnation). I am a big Bearcats fan due to going to high school (albeit a senior when they were freshman) with Byrd, Goodman, Revels (LB) and several other players on the UC team as well as the DB’s coach Kerry Coombs who was my principal in HS (also the head FB coach at the HS for 20 years or so). So my loyalty runs fairly deep with this team and it has been exciting to watch them grow together as a team.
A few of us are going to a sports bar to root on our guys out in Norman, so I won’t be able to participate in the game thread but will stop by after the game sometime in the evening and post my thoughts on both teams. Hopefully like noted above there will be no mention of injuries on either side of the field. Goodluck guys.
http://www.redsminorleagues.com and http://www.RedsPitchFX.com
by dougdirt on Sep 6, 2008 2:22 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I Fully Agree With You
About hoping for no injuries. This should be a fun game!
by ccmachine on Sep 6, 2008 10:37 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

by 







