Cincinnati looks to slow Pitt's top receivers
By Kevin Gorman, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Brian Kelly is adept at disguising his defense to make up for mismatches, considering the Cincinnati coach moved a quarterback to outside linebacker and flirted with switching a receiver to cornerback.

One of the keys for the No. 5 Bearcats (11-0, 6-0) against No. 14 Pitt (9-2, 5-1) on Saturday will be whether they can confuse the Panthers with their coverage of 6-foot-5, 225-pound receiver Jonathan Baldwin and 6-3, 235-pound tight end Dorin Dickerson — especially with the Big East title and its automatic BCS bowl berth hanging in the balance.

"It's going to be about the individual matchups," Kelly said. "There's a decided size advantage — I don't know it's necessarily our kids, but anyone in the country that's gone up against Baldwin. When he wants the ball and it's thrown in the proximity, he's going to go up and get it.

"We have to obviously have some answers for that."

Cincinnati lost 10 defensive starters from its 2008 conference championship team, with senior free safety Aaron Webster the only returning starter. Notre Dame transfer Demetrius Jones moved from quarterback to linebacker, while Marcus Barnett took repetitions in spring drills at corner before staying put.

Yet the Bearcats rank third in pass defense efficiency (117.8), despite allowing their first 300-yard passing game of the season last week in a 49-36 victory over Illinois.

Pitt is expected to test the Bearcats' secondary with Bill Stull, who leads the Big East in every major passing category, and the duo of Baldwin and Dickerson, who combine for 134.1 receiving yards per game.

Kelly isn't putting the onus entirely on his starting cornerbacks — fifth-year senior Brad Jones and sophomore Dominique Battle — by mixing his coverage.

"When it comes to being an offense that has balance, there's some things that you have to be able to rally to," Kelly said. "You can't stop everything. ... That's why Pittsburgh is a formidable task. They're going to get opportunities."

And the Panthers are looking forward to them, as complementary players are hoping that the focus on Baldwin and Dickerson will leave them open.

"We have a big-play offense, with the type of athletes we have," Pitt senior tight end Nate Byham said. "If it comes to a shootout, we can hang with anybody."

Cincinnati, however, has shown that it can hang with anybody, as well.

The Bearcats rank second in the Big East with 14 interceptions this season — Webster and inside linebacker JK Schaffer have three apiece. And, as West Virginia's Robert Sands proved last week, it doesn't hurt to have a rangy, safety like 6-4 redshirt freshman Drew Frey (two picks) roaming the secondary.

"Watching them on film, we can see that they're athletic, that they play hard," Pitt senior receiver Cedric McGee said. "Whatever they come with, we've got to be ready for that."

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbur...55776.html

Baldwin scares me a little going up against our secondary, especially with his height. Hopefully we can get them to punt a few times and keep them out of the endzone enough to let Pike and company generate a cushion on the scoreboard.

I predict this is going to be reminiscent of the South Florida game in the first half. I think Pitt will come out pumped up and we'll have to match their intensity.

(12-02-2009 05:04 PM)bearcatjim Wrote:  I predict this is going to be reminiscent of the South Florida game in the first half. I think Pitt will come out pumped up and we'll have to match their intensity.

and I think we will, and hopefully finish strong in the 4th quarter.

Strong = more points than Pitt :)