I fell
in love with Bearcat football at a very young age. Though basketball was probably my first love,
we only had Bearcat basketball season tickets for a couple of seasons. With Bearcat football we had them every year
from the Tim Murphy era going forward. I
loved them for the average program they were.
I got mad at UC basketball fans who rooted for Ohio State, Michigan or
Notre Dame in football. I would chastise
them in school, “You’re in Cincinnati.”
“How can you say you are a UC basketball fan and then root for someone
else in football? IT’S THE SAME
SCHOOL!” I felt pride that I was
loyal. That I supported both their
elite, nationally recognized basketball program, but also a football program
that was up and down, never particularly high, rarely particularly low. During my childhood as a fan the Bearcats
were never better than 8-3 (1993, Tim Murphy’s final season before leaving for
Harvard) and bottomed out with one 2-9 season (1998 a year after their first
Bowl Appearance since 1950). It was a program hanging in the middle, headed
nowhere, but one I loved and knew I’d always support.
Then
came the Big East and a glimmer of hope.
Suddenly UC was in a “power” conference, trying to go after power
conference type recruits. The
competition increased, but the opportunity with it. It was a grind at first. The Bearcats had an incredibly young team
with little upper-class talent when they joined the Big East. They struggled to a 4-7 record, but showed
promise in 2006 battling a top flight schedule (4 road games against top 10
teams at the time and a home game over a top ten team) even upsetting
undefeated, #6 Rutgers in their final home game. Then in 2008, year two of the Brian Kelly
era, the Bearcats had a dream season, culminating in a Big East Championship
and Orange Bowl birth. For those of us who
grew up loving Bearcat football it was unbelievable, like something out of a
dream. I was lucky enough to attend 12
of the 14 games that season. The
memories will last a lifetime. It was
something I always dreamed was possible, but barely believed it.
In the
decade after that the Big East collapsed.
The Bearcats lost their seat at the power table. They lost two coaches to bigger programs and
then watched as a third coach torpedoed the program back to relative
obscurity. The success kept the program
at least a bit of a name, but the dream of an elite program that rose from
nowhere faded. Then last season, a
Bearcat team coming off a second straight 4-8 season, emerged from the ashes
once more. The Bearcats started the
season winning at the Rose Bowl and finished with a Military Bowl Victory over
Virginia Tech. They ran up 11 wins
against only 2 losses playing a freshman quarterback, sophomore running back
and one of the younger teams in college football. In a flash the dreams of what could happen
were back for this program I love.
You may
have noticed by now we skipped 2009. If
2008 was a dream season, something I never imagined…how the hell do I describe
2009? Now a decade in the past, it’s
still fresh in my mind and close to the heart of every Bearcat football fan
lucky enough to be a part of it. It was
a season that started with the potential for greatness and exceeded nearly
every possible outcome. Much like 2009,
2019 is a season with some real questions, but that unmistakable feeling that
we could potentially see something great.
And so I want to do something different this year. I want you to ride along with me as we
experience the 2019 season through the lens of the 2009 season we’ll never
forget. I want to make this about
Bearcat football, but I also want to use it to talk about life. I’m
going to try to write every week. I’m
going to try to discuss this year and revisit the wonder of 2009. I’m going to look at the program a decade
apart and evaluate where we are… but most importantly I am going to celebrate
being a Bearcat football fan and all the joy it had brought me.
#
How do
you top the unimaginable? A Big East
Championship and Orange Bowl birth had been unfathomable as a Bearcat football
fan in the 90s. The 2008 season, with
the incredible run of 6 straight conference wins to end it, had given us just
that. They’d beaten South Florida at
home. UC had won at West Virginia and
at Louisville and clinched the conference with a home win against Pittsburgh. (Capping off an incredible 3 game stretch I
relived for everyone here: http://bearcatmark.blogspot.com/2018/11/i-havent-blogged-in-long-time.html)
What could they do for an encore?
There
were plenty of questions, particularly on defense. Gone were a trifecta of corners who anchored
the back end (Mickens, Smith and Underwood).
Gone as well were Connor Barwin and Terrill Byrd, true forces on the
defensive line. But back were the makings
of a truly elite offense. Tony Pike was
back, along with UC’s top 3 running backs (including Isaiah Pead), a deep group
of talent receivers (Gilyard, Binns, Barnett, DJ Woods) and 3/5 of the
offensive line (Linkenbach, Kelce and Jurek).
If the defense reloaded this had the makings of another Big East
contender. Before the season I wrote “I
really believe this will be the best Bearcat offense of the modern era.” http://bearcatmark.blogspot.com/2009/09/bearcat-football-preview-2009.html That turned out to be true and absolutely
necessary as the defense while good for much of the first half, really
struggled as the season wore on. It was
up to the offense to get them to greatness and the offense did not
disappoint.
#
While
not quiet the dream season of 2008, 2018 was a thrill ride for Bearcat fans
coming off the two abysmal seasons that preceded it. The Bearcats rode some key veterans and a lot
of young talent to an 11-2 record including a bowl win over Virginia Tech. There were major questions at the beginning
of the season, and every one of them seemed to come up with a satisfactory
answer (except kicker). The offensive
line held up and exceeded expectations.
Mike Warren stepped up to a huge role after the season ending injury to
Gerrid Doaks. After a couple failed
drives by Hayden Moore and the offense against UCLA the team was turned over to
Freshman Dez Ridder at QB and he showed the kind of promise that should have UC
fans drooling. In the end the Bearcat
offense was about average. They were
really good against bad defenses and struggled against good defenses. However, with much of the offense back and
Ridder a year more developed the offense has the potential to make a big leap
this season.
If the
offense had satisfactory answers to its questions last season, the defense had
exemplary answers. UC went from 68th
to 36th in defensive S&P plus and better than that in most
traditional measures. They became an
elite run defense and elite in aspects of their pass defense. The Bearcats were sixth in marginal rushing
efficiency and first in completion rate allowed. Their only big weakness on defense was that
they gave up a lot of explosive plays in the pass game. Teams struggled to complete passes, but when
they did, they often completed them for huge gains. This year most of the back end of the defense
is back. If they can maintain the
efficiency numbers while finding a way to limit big plays they can be a top 15
type defense. Because of the style they
are asked to play they likely will not eliminate big plays. Big plays are likely going to be what teams
rely on against UC and UC will likely give up a decent percent, but if they
even become average in that area, this defense can truly be elite.
The
biggest questions for this year’s Bearcat team are on the offensive and
defensive lines. Though the Bearcats
return much of their defensive 2 deep, they were hit hard on the defensive
line, particularly at defensive tackle.
Cortez Broughton and Marquise Copeland both started every game last
season combining for 101 tackles (25 of which were for a loss) and 10.5
sacks. That is a lot of production from
an important spot. The 8 guys vying to
take their place didn’t combine for 50 tackles. As a result, the DT spot is the great
unknown for this team. Fill it adequately
and the defense should be better than last year, but it’s a big ask. The Bearcats have a bit more experience at
defensive end with Michael Pitts and Ethan Tucky returning and a number of
promising guys looking to make a big impact.
I’m less concerned about the defensive end position, but it still is at
least somewhat of an unknown. Malik Vann
is one of the more exciting Bearcat prospects.
Kevin Mouhon is the kind of forgotten player that could leap forward for
a huge senior year.
The
offensive line has a few key guys back but they are shifting and increasing
roles. Chris Ferguson is being moved to
left tackle, while Jakari Robinson becomes a full time starter at center. Assuming the Bearcats 3 experienced returnees
play at a high level, they have a number of options to fill in the rest of the
gaps. If a couple step up this offense
has the potential to really make a leap.
The other question is what kind of leap will Dez Ridder make this
season? Ridder was incredibly
encouraging as a freshman starter. He
put up some great numbers against the lesser defense on the schedule, but often
struggled against the better defenses.
That is fine for a freshman and on balance he was a huge plus for
UC. However, if he can raise his level
of play and become an all-conference type QB the Bearcat offense could make a
significant leap.
#
I found
out my father had been diagnosed with cancer about a month before my thirteenth
birthday. He battled it for nearly five
years before passing away on Valentine’s Day of 2002. I was two months shy of 18. My dad was from Wilmington, North Carolina
but came to Cincinnati to pursue his Doctorate’s Degree in Sociology at the
University of Cincinnati. He worked for
UC throughout my childhood as an administrator in the college of business, while
also teaching some night classes in Sociology.
To this day UC football is one of the things that makes me think of
him. He loved the university and I was
lucky enough to get follow the Bearcats with him. He took me to nearly every UC game until he
was diagnosed with cancer and we continued to get tickets even when he could
not attend. He never got to live the
glory years of UC football, but because of him I was able to fully appreciate
the journey from mediocrity to something beyond comprehension.
I think
I was a very mature high school kid, probably because I had to be. I worked.
I saved money. I did well in
school, but didn’t stress over it. I
took hard classes. I respected my
parents. While many people got in
trouble in high school or broke the law by drinking or smoking pot, including
many friends of mine, I never really did.
I didn’t judge them. I always
thought it was a personal decision which for me was largely driven by living up
to the trust my parents put in me. My
parents allowed me to experience life in high school, whether it was driving
all over greater Cincinnati with friends or staying out late. Because of this I often ended up the
designated driver at the end of many high school parties.
Maybe
it was because of this that I went a little overboard in my mid-twenties. When friends wanted to go out to the bar or
to a party, I never said no. Week night
or weekend hardly mattered. I was up for
a good night out. I didn’t want to waste
my twenties worrying about money or responsibilities. I worked.
I paid my bills on time. But I
experienced life as best I could.
Bearcat football became a big part of this and 2009 was its peak. In 2006 I began really making an effort to
travel to Bearcat road games. In 2008 I
ended up attending 12 of UC’s 14 games, only missing trips to Connecticut and
Hawaii. In 2009 I was hoping to do
something similar. I was making very
little, but I had a great rent deal and no car payment. I took full advantage. Bearcat football trips became a huge part of
my budget. I was able to attend 12 of
UC’s 13 football games in 2009, only missing the trip Oregon State.
#
I
remember my mom asking me some time in my mid-twenties if I was planning to
ever get married or have a family. I
asked her how old my dad was when they got married, she said “32.” I told her that sounded about right. I guess as predictions go I nailed that
one. Unlike in 2009 when my budget was
dedicated to UC football, my 2019 life includes a wonderful wife and a perfect 16
month old daughter. Though my ability to
commit to spur of the moment Bearcat football trips isn’t what it was, the
Bearcats remain an enormous part of my life.
I look forward to the day I can take my daughter down to my tailgate and
Nippert Stadium.
With
marriage, a young daughter and real financial responsibilities my priorities have changed considerably. I watch a ton less
sports in general, don’t play as much basketball and my nights out with friends
are few and far between. However, in
prioritizing I’ve made sure to make as many Bearcat football games as
possible. I still have season tickets. I still get down to tailgate. I still go to nearly every game at Nippert. Though I haven’t traveled for a game since
Michigan in 2017, I still will broach the idea of a UC trip and look forward to
my next one (a New Years Day Bowl this year perhaps???). It’s amazing how much life can change in a decade. But through all that change, the Bearcats remain a large part of my life.
#
Here we
are. We’re a decade from the pinnacle of
UC football, a season that began with a trip to Rutgers, for a nationally
televised game against a team expected to compete for the Big East
Championship. This year UC starts with a
nationally televised game at Nippert against UCLA. The opportunity is there to make the kind of
statement the 2009 team made right off the bat.
A statement that says, this year could be something special. I look forward to experiencing this
season. I hope you enjoy my ramblings
about life and about experiencing Bearcat football, a decade apart. The program is vastly different now. My life is very different now, but Bearcat
football remains an essential part of it.
