The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Eh. I thought we'd be at least 2-1 so far and thought the ucla game was winnable. Long way to go but so far so good.

I'm still not sure how good we will be by the end of this season. The defense is good, if the backs were of the same caliber as the line they'd be great. The O-line is decent, the running backs are deep and very talented, and the receiver corps are pretty good. Ridder's growth will be the X-factor.
I think due to the soft first half of the schedule, he'll have his opportunity to improve but there's also the issue of the coaches and their play calling. Will they want him to step up this early into his college career?

Sagarin has our SOS ranked at 185... meaning there are literally dozens of FCS programs with harder schedules than us according to Sagarin rankings. That's ok, we might only be beating bad teams, but we are beating them soundly. Anyone who has watched a game knows that we are greatly improved across the board.

(09-18-2018 06:24 PM)TubaCat Wrote:  Sagarin has our SOS ranked at 185... meaning there are literally dozens of FCS programs with harder schedules than us according to Sagarin rankings. That's ok, we might only be beating bad teams, but we are beating them soundly. Anyone who has watched a game knows that we are greatly improved across the board.

And I think that's why there is some concern about Ohio on Saturday. Most seasons, a MAC team gets a win against a P5 opponent so they play pretty good football. For OU, this is a big chance to score an upset and reset its season before conference play.

Now with that said, Nippert is one of the toughest venues in college football for a visiting team when we fill the place. If that south end zone is full and rocking @ noon Saturday, the Bobcats will face an uphill battle against a UC team that has played with great energy so far this year.

(09-18-2018 06:24 PM)TubaCat Wrote:  Sagarin has our SOS ranked at 185... meaning there are literally dozens of FCS programs with harder schedules than us according to Sagarin rankings. That's ok, we might only be beating bad teams, but we are beating them soundly. Anyone who has watched a game knows that we are greatly improved across the board.

Look... Boston College is ranked at #25 right now, and their schedule HAS to be lower ranked than ours. Doesn't seem to hurt them at all.

(09-18-2018 07:55 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(09-18-2018 06:24 PM)TubaCat Wrote:  Sagarin has our SOS ranked at 185... meaning there are literally dozens of FCS programs with harder schedules than us according to Sagarin rankings. That's ok, we might only be beating bad teams, but we are beating them soundly. Anyone who has watched a game knows that we are greatly improved across the board.

Look... Boston College is ranked at #25 right now, and their schedule HAS to be lower ranked than ours. Doesn't seem to hurt them at all.

They're p5. They have to be better than UC.

(09-18-2018 08:02 PM)bearcatdp Wrote:  

(09-18-2018 07:55 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(09-18-2018 06:24 PM)TubaCat Wrote:  Sagarin has our SOS ranked at 185... meaning there are literally dozens of FCS programs with harder schedules than us according to Sagarin rankings. That's ok, we might only be beating bad teams, but we are beating them soundly. Anyone who has watched a game knows that we are greatly improved across the board.

Look... Boston College is ranked at #25 right now, and their schedule HAS to be lower ranked than ours. Doesn't seem to hurt them at all.

They're p5. They have to be better than UC.

Face it, we're going to be stuck with "who have they really played" until we get to the Navy game (maybe Temple depending on how they play in the coming weeks). We can only play who is on our schedule. But like I posted earlier, most of us would've been thrilled before the season began to know that we'd not only be playing well in all three phases but to have a legit shot to go 4-0 and beyond. Let's enjoy the ride and make the pollsters have to deal with us if we keep winning.

(09-18-2018 08:02 PM)bearcatdp Wrote:  

(09-18-2018 07:55 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(09-18-2018 06:24 PM)TubaCat Wrote:  Sagarin has our SOS ranked at 185... meaning there are literally dozens of FCS programs with harder schedules than us according to Sagarin rankings. That's ok, we might only be beating bad teams, but we are beating them soundly. Anyone who has watched a game knows that we are greatly improved across the board.

Look... Boston College is ranked at #25 right now, and their schedule HAS to be lower ranked than ours. Doesn't seem to hurt them at all.

They're p5. They have to be better than UC.

I was being fairly sarcastic....

Just enjoy the ride. 3-0 and improved. It’s fun to watch the Bearcats no matter who they play.

FWIW, Boston College is ranked 27th overall in Sagarin and 178th in schedule ranking.

ZinzinnatUH is ranked 65th overall and 185th in schedules.

(09-18-2018 09:19 PM)bearcatmill Wrote:  Just enjoy the ride. 3-0 and improved. It’s fun to watch the Bearcats no matter who they play.

My UC Frosh went to his first UC Football game as a student last weekend. (Yes - we took him as a kid often...but he never sat in the student section).

He said he had an absolute blast. Made my heart proud.

(09-19-2018 07:22 AM)GoCats1994 Wrote:  

(09-18-2018 09:19 PM)bearcatmill Wrote:  Just enjoy the ride. 3-0 and improved. It’s fun to watch the Bearcats no matter who they play.

My UC Frosh went to his first UC Football game as a student last weekend. (Yes - we took him as a kid often...but he never sat in the student section).

He said he had an absolute blast. Made my heart proud.

Great story! There is just so much more student engagement and crowd energy in Nippert compared to when I was a student. It's hard to imagine not having a great time on game day. And all this bodes well for the future. The experience they're enjoying will bring them back in record numbers for Homecoming, football, basketball and more.

(09-18-2018 09:19 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  FWIW, Boston College is ranked 27th overall in Sagarin and 178th in schedule ranking.

ZinzinnatUH is ranked 65th overall and 185th in schedules.

The curse of the G5 on rankings? P6 is a well conceived marketing effort by the AAC, but a new TV deal will determine if we'll see real separation from the other "G" conferences in both revenue and public perception. Aresco is trying, but it's an uphill climb for sure.

So here's hoping UC, UCF and USF stay undefeated as long as possible and force a broader conversation in the national media if second and third tier P5 programs absorb bad losses and remain ahead in polling.

(09-18-2018 08:51 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

(09-18-2018 08:02 PM)bearcatdp Wrote:  

(09-18-2018 07:55 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(09-18-2018 06:24 PM)TubaCat Wrote:  Sagarin has our SOS ranked at 185... meaning there are literally dozens of FCS programs with harder schedules than us according to Sagarin rankings. That's ok, we might only be beating bad teams, but we are beating them soundly. Anyone who has watched a game knows that we are greatly improved across the board.

Look... Boston College is ranked at #25 right now, and their schedule HAS to be lower ranked than ours. Doesn't seem to hurt them at all.

They're p5. They have to be better than UC.

Face it, we're going to be stuck with "who have they really played" until we get to the Navy game (maybe Temple depending on how they play in the coming weeks). We can only play who is on our schedule. But like I posted earlier, most of us would've been thrilled before the season began to know that we'd not only be playing well in all three phases but to have a legit shot to go 4-0 and beyond. Let's enjoy the ride and make the pollsters have to deal with us if we keep winning.

This team has an honest to god shot at 10 wins because the schedule this season is very weak. Personally I don't think this team is experienced enough to win all their "winnable" games, but the weak schedule will help with the overall rebuild and fan engagement. If we can pull off 7-10 wins it will be seen as a great success for the rebuild, and give the players and fans a chance to go back to a bowl.

In 2 years nobody will care who we played, they will just remember we were a 7-10 win team. It will offer great experiance for next season where our schedule will be much harder with Ohio State, Memphis, Houston, and a likely improved UCLA.

(09-19-2018 07:22 AM)GoCats1994 Wrote:  

(09-18-2018 09:19 PM)bearcatmill Wrote:  Just enjoy the ride. 3-0 and improved. It’s fun to watch the Bearcats no matter who they play.

My UC Frosh went to his first UC Football game as a student last weekend. (Yes - we took him as a kid often...but he never sat in the student section).

He said he had an absolute blast. Made my heart proud.

That's great! Happy to hear this. You can tell him it was great to see a rabid/packed student section last week. Moving the band to the middle was a great idea as well. They set the tone for the fans. My little one took ques from them when they did Down the Drive.

my best case record for this team was 7-5, so hell yeah i'm absolutely GEEKED about this 3-0 start. I think we get up to 9 wins at best, but I feel like 8 is most likely outcome.

UCLA - W
Miami - W
AAM - W
----------
Ohio - W
UConn - W
Tulane - W
Temple - L
SMU - W
Navy - L (/W)
USF - L
UCF - L
ECU - W

Either way, it is indeed fun to watch us again. Having Des back there gives us life. Hayden bumbling around for another season was gonna be a tough pill to swallow, and make the games maddening to watch.

As noted, our schedule gets appreciably harder next season - so this season offers a nice momentum shift and springboard into that. In the meantime, I'm making sure our games are on my weekend calendar. I don't wanna miss anything




mc

Looks like we're about where we were last week again in the AP poll: coming in at #39 with 10 votes.

(09-23-2018 03:34 PM)UCengr Wrote:  Looks like we're about where we were last week again in the AP poll: coming in at #39 with 10 votes.

Actually, this is our first time getting AP votes. Our previous votes were in the Coaches Poll.

(09-23-2018 03:35 PM)TubaCat Wrote:  

(09-23-2018 03:34 PM)UCengr Wrote:  Looks like we're about where we were last week again in the AP poll: coming in at #39 with 10 votes.

Actually, this is our first time getting AP votes. Our previous votes were in the Coaches Poll.

I'd like to see the coaching staff use this week to focus on correcting some on-field issues prior to the conference road opener as opposed to having players answering media questions about how it feels to be ranked. Take care of business at UCONN, watch other undefeated and ranked teams lose and then ascend into the top 25 before Homecoming.

Here's an interesting thought: has any FBS team ever started 4-0 against opponents who collectively have one FBS victory to date (Miami beat BGSU)? Our vanquished foes aren't doing UC any favors since facing the 'Cats.

(09-23-2018 03:35 PM)TubaCat Wrote:  

(09-23-2018 03:34 PM)UCengr Wrote:  Looks like we're about where we were last week again in the AP poll: coming in at #39 with 10 votes.

Actually, this is our first time getting AP votes. Our previous votes were in the Coaches Poll.

Good catch. I must be mixing up the polls...