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(09-08-2018 09:59 PM)RLBearcat09 Wrote:  So are we decent or are Miami & ULCA just bad?

We are miles ahead of where we have been the last few years. For me, that is enough.

(09-08-2018 10:17 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Sigh...

Our D held pretty good tonight, though I don't know if that was the rain. If it were bone dry in Cincinnati tonight it'd be 34-13 most likely. Pack it in, we'll never win a rivalry game (let alone Victory Bell game) with Martin at helm.

It’s going to be at least a few more years. Our team is chalk full of underclassmen. I think the last two seasons were Miami’s best shot to win- worst UC teams in 20 years. If you could not do it then...

Best of luck to Miami the rest of the season.

(09-08-2018 10:23 PM)rtaylor Wrote:  

(09-08-2018 09:59 PM)RLBearcat09 Wrote:  So are we decent or are Miami & ULCA just bad?

We are miles ahead of where we have been the last few years. For me, that is enough.

All of our FBS wins last year had some flukish circumstances. We have a 9 point road win on the west coast against a P10 team and a 21 point shutout in a rivalry game. We have dramatically improved regardless of how good our opponents have been.

I suspect we're a little ahead of schedule. How good we could be depends on being able to improve in the passing game and how our young but athletic secondary holds up against a dangerous passing game. Unbelievable start to the year.

13 straight Battle for the Victory Bell wins, and several of those were by the worst Bearcat teams in a generation.... absolutely insane. If they couldn't beat us the past 3 years, this win streak might last a quarter century.

(09-08-2018 10:38 PM)RealDeal Wrote:  All of our FBS wins last year had some flukish circumstances.

That UConn game will stay with me for a long time XD

I am so soaked right now. Good lord.

I like our defense after seeing them in person. Secondary draped all over receivers. Guys swarming to the ball and hitting people HARD. Defensive line getting pressure. And when a guys starts a tackle he finishes it. It’s like watching Dantonio’s squad again.

I expect that my socks will be dry just in time for the OU game.

Great win UC! Bad weather is always the great equalizer. D looks to be improved. Good line play, tackling improved and swarming to the ball. Good running game. Great job Cats and nice 2-0 start!

SHHHHHUT them OUT.

God, it’s good to be a Bearcat....two things:
1. Big Dick Fick looked uncharacteristicly comfortable in his postgame interview
2. Hopefully we have good weather for A&M so we can get this passing game some reps. Gonna need the aerial attack if we’re gonna win our first 7 games

While being underdogs was completely bizarre to me, it's still a 21-0 win over a team favored to win. With good weather, we hang twice that on them. Great win by the team and CLF.

So I was unavailable to watch the game or even stream it, but I did follow this thread for a good chunk of the evening.

I liked--I know I am a severe minority--Mark Dantonio's offensive philosophy: run the ball successfully and then add on as you can. I see Fickell in roughly the same way. It's glamorous, but if you can reliably run the ball then when the weather goes to crap then you survive. If you can run the ball reliably then if your QB goes down, you can survive.

I know that some people were going a little nuts last night about not throwing more...especially when the wind was in our faces...but I think in the rain, running the ball successfully is the way to go. If we had won 7-0 with only that first TD, we still would have won. And the Miami need to stuff the run did open things up (apparently) for that last TD pass.

If Warren and Doaks can run the ball successfully, we'll get our share of wins. That buys Ridder time to work on the arm strength and throwing skills and the receivers to work on routes and timing.


This was a good, solid win in a rivalry game in less than ideal circumstances. A win that the Coaches can build off of because it gives confidence that, when things go to crap, we still are in control and can win.

Last night there was really no other philosophy than run the ball. Truth is, Uc had two or three other balls they should have intercepted and either dropped them or just didn't play the ball vs the man. That game could have been worse than 21-0 if we pick balls he was throwing off. Obviously they were not comfortable running the ball against Uc's front 7 so they went with it. Turnovers could have been worse. The fact that we didn't have any was pretty unbelievable given our recent history.

Question.... Who is this Knight guy returning punts. I don't recognize the name at all..

(09-09-2018 09:39 AM)Bearcat419 Wrote:  Question.... Who is this Knight guy returning punts. I don't recognize the name at all..

Transfer from Hampton

(09-09-2018 09:20 AM)dsquare Wrote:  Last night there was really no other philosophy than run the ball. Truth is, Uc had two or three other balls they should have intercepted and either dropped them or just didn't play the ball vs the man. That game could have been worse than 21-0 if we pick balls he was throwing off. Obviously they were not comfortable running the ball against Uc's front 7 so they went with it. Turnovers could have been worse. The fact that we didn't have any was pretty unbelievable given our recent history.

ONe of the interceptions was an offensive interference where Gilbert could only get one hand on the ball because the other was held by the Miami receiver.

(09-09-2018 09:39 AM)Bearcat419 Wrote:  Question.... Who is this Knight guy returning punts. I don't recognize the name at all..

Ted Knight reincarnated.

Skeptics will question our strength of opponents, but just keep winning. Kudos to Coach Fickell and the staff for a complete transformation since year one. No way last year's team wins at the Rose Bowl, nor at Miami, which took a pick six on an ill advised pass from the end zone in the closing moments to snatch victory from defeat a year ago.

Not being snarky here, but at what point does Miami cease to be considered a rival? Rivalry implies some balance of power on wins and losses and a large dose of passion from the opponent's fan base. We haven't seen either for well more than a decade now.

I'm pumped about this Bearcat team now and I hope our student body and the city are too. If this group stays healthy, they cruise to bowl eligibility. But more exciting is the way they are winning. Defensively, a complete metamorphosis from 2017. Offensively, a QB and RB who both hang on to the ball and turn almost every play into positive yardage. The passing game may improve, but I like the way our offense plays to its strengths.

We all expect a win next Saturday. What I don't know is how good OU is relative to MU. Regardless, you have to like our chances against the next two in Nippert.

Bearcat fans, let's enjoy the ride in 2018!

(09-09-2018 12:20 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  Skeptics will question our strength of opponents, but just keep winning. Kudos to Coach Fickell and the staff for a complete transformation since year one. No way last year's team wins at the Rose Bowl, nor at Miami, which took a pick six on an ill advised pass from the end zone in the closing moments to snatch victory from defeat a year ago.

Not being snarky here, but at what point does Miami cease to be considered a rival? Rivalry implies some balance of power on wins and losses and a large dose of passion from the opponent's fan base. We haven't seen either for well more than a decade now.

I'm pumped about this Bearcat team now and I hope our student body and the city are too. If this group stays healthy, they cruise to bowl eligibility. But more exciting is the way they are winning. Defensively, a complete metamorphosis from 2017. Offensively, a QB and RB who both hang on to the ball and turn almost every play into positive yardage. The passing game may improve, but I like the way our offense plays to its strengths.

We all expect a win next Saturday. What I don't know is how good OU is relative to MU. Regardless, you have to like our chances against the next two in Nippert.

Bearcat fans, let's enjoy the ride in 2018!

I agree about the rivalry. Miami is not a rival and I doubt they ever will be again. While there's history there, the urge not in our conference and we've fundamentally passed them by as a football program and an athletic department. They say OSU used to have quite the rivalry with Oberlin. But one university moved on and had no problem cutting its ties with the other. Our natural rivals are Louisville and Pitt. Unfortunately, realignment got in the way.