TicketsPlenty to get to today. Big East media days churned out a pile of basketball content, the UC-USF fodder is kicking into high gear and I've got extra nuggets after chatting with Isaiah Pead, Zach Collaros, OC Mike Bajakian and Butch Jones yesterday while collecting stuff for a couple of pieces on the offense.
Let's eat...
--- UC will leave for Tampa on Friday and Zach Collaros will walk back into the stadium where he first made a name for himself. It's been two years since Collaros ran up the middle 75 yards for a touchdown after replacing injured QB Tony Pike. His career has been a whirlwind of expectations and gaudy numbers ever since.
One of the great moments in the history of recent UC football, really.
This game was actually the first UC contest I covered while working my previous job at CNati.com. I drove from my job at a newspaper in South Georgia to Tampa and remember thinking -- am I the only one who doesn't know who this Collaros kid is? Turns out I wasn't.
Immediately after, everybody did.
"I remember (current NY Giants DE Jason) Pierre-Paul before the play pointing at me and saying something and next thing you know Chris Jurek had a great block and (Jacob) Ramsey had a great block and somehow I outran their secondary."
For Collaros, that night, that win, that run, made for one of the most special days of his career.
"Yeah, it was a lot of fun," he said. "I was fortunate to have some family in the stands that came down. After the game, all the text messages and phone calls I received from people, that was a great feeling."
Collaros admitted there will be some nostalgic feelings walking back into the building that launched his career, but he's better than to let it affect him.
"It is going to be a cool feeling," he said. "I got a lot of family heading down. But I can't get caught up in stuff like that. We are 5-1, they are 4-2, this is a league game and every game from now on is a championship game for us."
--- Most on the national scene still have been hesitant to bestow praise on UC. The pundit bandwagon is still relatively empty. And that's about right considering, outside of NC State, none of the wins necessarily catch eye of those that scan scores.
A victory at USF could start to do that. Pead likes the situation right where it is at now.
"I haven't been hearing too much talk about us, which is good," he said. "We are just a hungry dog. I think if the national attention starts to come we will still be grounded, humble, knowing we have to respect everyone but fear nobody. That is how we feel."
Nationally, the Bearcats are viewed as underdogs this week despite USF's recent woes.
Pead was unaware.
"Really?" he said. "When aren't we."
--- Speaking of South Florida's recent woes, Tampa Bay Online columnist Martin Fennelly thinks this season looks like so many in the Bulls history. And that's not a good thing.
--- Pead should be licking his chops considering what Ray Graham and Pitt were able to do against the Bulls defense. Graham racked up 226 yards in the Panthers 44-17 victory.
USF has been better against the run in other games. If you look at their four games against real opponents, they haven't been as awful as the Pitt game would suggest.
Opponent Attempts Yds Avg
Notre Dame 29 117 4.3
UTEP 32 95 2.7
Pitt 58 307 5.3
UConn 48 118 2.5
TOTAL 167 637 3.8
Those numbers aren't bad. It also should be noted UConn hasn't run the ball well on anybody. They are averaging only three yards per carry behind their young offensive line.
All things considered, if Pead doesn't go for more than 100 yards and a touchdown, it would be an upset.
--- Tom Zebold at USFBulls.com sees UC and USF as two very similar teams. If you look at two teams with quality running backs and a dual-threat QB, then yes, they are similar. USF doesn't have quite the defensive line the Bearcats do and UC lacks the special teams threat of the Bulls' Lindsay Lamar.
Lamar hasn't been as good this year as last year. He averaged 26.4 yards per return last season with two touchdowns.
This season he's averaging just 18.4 yards on 22 returns without a score.
--- Andrew Force wrote a story about Kenbrell Thompkins growing into his role as a starting receiver. WR coach TJ Weist talked at length about KT finally finding his game shape after being slowed by injuries toward the end of the offseason. Thompkins hasn't been a superstar by the numbers this year. He's second on the team with 24 receptions totaling 274 yards.
Much of that dropoff comes from the increased utilization of the running game. Passing numbers across the board are down. Some comes down to how well ZC is seeing the field and spreading the ball around when he does throw it.
DJ Woods (23-284) and Anthony McClung (25-325) receive equal opportunities.
While we are at it, Bill Koch wrote this story about the decreased production from Woods, who said he is "in a bit of a funk" and cited off-the-field issues as a reason.
Plus, of late, freshman Alex Chisum has become a key member of the attack.
Chisum caught four passes for 40 yards against Louisville. According to Bajakian, Chisum couldn't be denied the field anymore.
Remember, Chisum broke almost every one of Calvin Johnson's receiving records at his high school of Sandy Creek (Ga). He received attention from SEC schools. He's one of the more polished receivers coming in as a freshman as you'll see.
"Alex, as a freshman, is getting better and better and better every week," Bajakian said. "He's worked himself into a position where it is hard to keep him off the field. He's smart, he knows multiple positions and he's running routes much more effectively as the season has gone on and he's got a firm grasp of the offense. He's playing with a little confidence."
--- UC needs to kick the first half struggles, Andrea Adelson writes. The trend spans over the past two games where the Bearcats scored 13 first-half points.
--- AD Bob Arkeilpane discussed the advantages of the Paul Brown Stadium experience with Bill Koch. Even though 40,971 wasn't what the Bearcats hoped for Arkeilpane points out the PBS experiment needs to be viewed through a two-game lens and not individually. Should the Bearcats post another 58k against WVU as they did against Oklahoma, that would averaged out to about 50k a game. It would be a huge boon for the department.
He also points out the Louisville contingent disappointed. They didn't even sell their 3,000-ticket allotment. That won't be the case with the Mountaineers.
--- OK, switching gears to basketball. Big East media day was yesterday, as I posted here the Bearcats were ranked No. 5 in the coaches poll.
The best writer in college basketball, Dana O'Neil, w rote this piece about UC (third post down) and the journey to stay on top now that they've returned the program to the upper tier of the Big East.
The page also includes her interview with Mick Cronin, which appears to have taken place as a WWE chair-hitting seminar began in the ballroom.
--- CBSsports.com's Jeff Goodman swung through town recently and caught up with Yancy Gates for this story on hitting his breakdown point last year and the consequential resurgence.
--- Cashmere Wright, disrespected, IMO. CBS ranks him as the 29th-best PG in the country. Heck, my Bobcats ball hog D.J. Cooper even came in at No. 21. Assuming he stays healthy, which Cronin claims Wright is now, I think Wright becomes one of the premier point guards in the country this season.
Nobody realizes what Wright battled last year. He turned in the most gritty performance of any player on the team -- he just didn't tell anybody about it.
Considering he averaged nine points, four assists and two turnovers a game with a nasty, nagging knee injury, he deserves recognition. He only turned the ball over more than three times in a game twice in 18 Big East games last year. The situation only got worse at the NCAA tournament.
"It was weird, his swelling was really random and hard for everybody to get a grip on," Cronin said. "It swelled up at the wrong time and then he had migrane problems at the NCAA tournament. I don't know what is worse, the day between the games, he had migranes, we couldn't bring him out into light. He had been in dark the whole day. We had to get him into a rehab facility with a hooded pool over top because light couldn't get into his eyes."
--- CBS also ranked the Top 100 players in college basketball without a single Bearcats player. Seriously. Rush The Court talks about the ridiculousness of their list.
--- Some randomness...
--- Great t-shirt from the lookatmeshirts.com folks. Zanesville really making a name for itself.
--- It's the Super Mario Bros. wedding invitation to end all wedding invitations. One up to the happy couple.
--- New Community on tonight. In its honor, a list of the 10 geekiest moments in the history of the show. Abed's scale model of Raiders of the Lost Ark boulder scene last week should probably have made the list.
--- Did you know the World Series started last night? Chances are you didn't. I would like to see Sports Pickle's Honest MLB World Series Marketing Campaigns actually happen.
"The World Series: The most important pitching changes you'll ever see."
--- A Miami Hurricanes player, doing something dirty? Gasp! What a shocking development.
--- Funny or Die with another winner. This time regarding the Clinton Foundation. Look out for the Clinton Clubbers.
Let's eat...
--- UC will leave for Tampa on Friday and Zach Collaros will walk back into the stadium where he first made a name for himself. It's been two years since Collaros ran up the middle 75 yards for a touchdown after replacing injured QB Tony Pike. His career has been a whirlwind of expectations and gaudy numbers ever since.
One of the great moments in the history of recent UC football, really.
This game was actually the first UC contest I covered while working my previous job at CNati.com. I drove from my job at a newspaper in South Georgia to Tampa and remember thinking -- am I the only one who doesn't know who this Collaros kid is? Turns out I wasn't.
Immediately after, everybody did.
"I remember (current NY Giants DE Jason) Pierre-Paul before the play pointing at me and saying something and next thing you know Chris Jurek had a great block and (Jacob) Ramsey had a great block and somehow I outran their secondary."
For Collaros, that night, that win, that run, made for one of the most special days of his career.
"Yeah, it was a lot of fun," he said. "I was fortunate to have some family in the stands that came down. After the game, all the text messages and phone calls I received from people, that was a great feeling."
Collaros admitted there will be some nostalgic feelings walking back into the building that launched his career, but he's better than to let it affect him.
"It is going to be a cool feeling," he said. "I got a lot of family heading down. But I can't get caught up in stuff like that. We are 5-1, they are 4-2, this is a league game and every game from now on is a championship game for us."
--- Most on the national scene still have been hesitant to bestow praise on UC. The pundit bandwagon is still relatively empty. And that's about right considering, outside of NC State, none of the wins necessarily catch eye of those that scan scores.
A victory at USF could start to do that. Pead likes the situation right where it is at now.
"I haven't been hearing too much talk about us, which is good," he said. "We are just a hungry dog. I think if the national attention starts to come we will still be grounded, humble, knowing we have to respect everyone but fear nobody. That is how we feel."
Nationally, the Bearcats are viewed as underdogs this week despite USF's recent woes.
Pead was unaware.
"Really?" he said. "When aren't we."
--- Speaking of South Florida's recent woes, Tampa Bay Online columnist Martin Fennelly thinks this season looks like so many in the Bulls history. And that's not a good thing.
--- Pead should be licking his chops considering what Ray Graham and Pitt were able to do against the Bulls defense. Graham racked up 226 yards in the Panthers 44-17 victory.
USF has been better against the run in other games. If you look at their four games against real opponents, they haven't been as awful as the Pitt game would suggest.
Opponent Attempts Yds Avg
Notre Dame 29 117 4.3
UTEP 32 95 2.7
Pitt 58 307 5.3
UConn 48 118 2.5
TOTAL 167 637 3.8
Those numbers aren't bad. It also should be noted UConn hasn't run the ball well on anybody. They are averaging only three yards per carry behind their young offensive line.
All things considered, if Pead doesn't go for more than 100 yards and a touchdown, it would be an upset.
--- Tom Zebold at USFBulls.com sees UC and USF as two very similar teams. If you look at two teams with quality running backs and a dual-threat QB, then yes, they are similar. USF doesn't have quite the defensive line the Bearcats do and UC lacks the special teams threat of the Bulls' Lindsay Lamar.
Lamar hasn't been as good this year as last year. He averaged 26.4 yards per return last season with two touchdowns.
This season he's averaging just 18.4 yards on 22 returns without a score.
--- Andrew Force wrote a story about Kenbrell Thompkins growing into his role as a starting receiver. WR coach TJ Weist talked at length about KT finally finding his game shape after being slowed by injuries toward the end of the offseason. Thompkins hasn't been a superstar by the numbers this year. He's second on the team with 24 receptions totaling 274 yards.
Much of that dropoff comes from the increased utilization of the running game. Passing numbers across the board are down. Some comes down to how well ZC is seeing the field and spreading the ball around when he does throw it.
DJ Woods (23-284) and Anthony McClung (25-325) receive equal opportunities.
While we are at it, Bill Koch wrote this story about the decreased production from Woods, who said he is "in a bit of a funk" and cited off-the-field issues as a reason.
Plus, of late, freshman Alex Chisum has become a key member of the attack. Chisum caught four passes for 40 yards against Louisville. According to Bajakian, Chisum couldn't be denied the field anymore.
Remember, Chisum broke almost every one of Calvin Johnson's receiving records at his high school of Sandy Creek (Ga). He received attention from SEC schools. He's one of the more polished receivers coming in as a freshman as you'll see.
"Alex, as a freshman, is getting better and better and better every week," Bajakian said. "He's worked himself into a position where it is hard to keep him off the field. He's smart, he knows multiple positions and he's running routes much more effectively as the season has gone on and he's got a firm grasp of the offense. He's playing with a little confidence."
--- UC needs to kick the first half struggles, Andrea Adelson writes. The trend spans over the past two games where the Bearcats scored 13 first-half points.
--- AD Bob Arkeilpane discussed the advantages of the Paul Brown Stadium experience with Bill Koch. Even though 40,971 wasn't what the Bearcats hoped for Arkeilpane points out the PBS experiment needs to be viewed through a two-game lens and not individually. Should the Bearcats post another 58k against WVU as they did against Oklahoma, that would averaged out to about 50k a game. It would be a huge boon for the department.
He also points out the Louisville contingent disappointed. They didn't even sell their 3,000-ticket allotment. That won't be the case with the Mountaineers.
--- OK, switching gears to basketball. Big East media day was yesterday, as I posted here the Bearcats were ranked No. 5 in the coaches poll.
The best writer in college basketball, Dana O'Neil, w rote this piece about UC (third post down) and the journey to stay on top now that they've returned the program to the upper tier of the Big East.
The page also includes her interview with Mick Cronin, which appears to have taken place as a WWE chair-hitting seminar began in the ballroom.
--- CBSsports.com's Jeff Goodman swung through town recently and caught up with Yancy Gates for this story on hitting his breakdown point last year and the consequential resurgence.
--- Cashmere Wright, disrespected, IMO. CBS ranks him as the 29th-best PG in the country. Heck, my Bobcats ball hog D.J. Cooper even came in at No. 21. Assuming he stays healthy, which Cronin claims Wright is now, I think Wright becomes one of the premier point guards in the country this season.
Nobody realizes what Wright battled last year. He turned in the most gritty performance of any player on the team -- he just didn't tell anybody about it.
Considering he averaged nine points, four assists and two turnovers a game with a nasty, nagging knee injury, he deserves recognition. He only turned the ball over more than three times in a game twice in 18 Big East games last year. The situation only got worse at the NCAA tournament.
"It was weird, his swelling was really random and hard for everybody to get a grip on," Cronin said. "It swelled up at the wrong time and then he had migrane problems at the NCAA tournament. I don't know what is worse, the day between the games, he had migranes, we couldn't bring him out into light. He had been in dark the whole day. We had to get him into a rehab facility with a hooded pool over top because light couldn't get into his eyes."
--- CBS also ranked the Top 100 players in college basketball without a single Bearcats player. Seriously. Rush The Court talks about the ridiculousness of their list.
--- Some randomness...
--- Great t-shirt from the lookatmeshirts.com folks. Zanesville really making a name for itself.
--- It's the Super Mario Bros. wedding invitation to end all wedding invitations. One up to the happy couple.
--- New Community on tonight. In its honor, a list of the 10 geekiest moments in the history of the show. Abed's scale model of Raiders of the Lost Ark boulder scene last week should probably have made the list.
--- Did you know the World Series started last night? Chances are you didn't. I would like to see Sports Pickle's Honest MLB World Series Marketing Campaigns actually happen.
"The World Series: The most important pitching changes you'll ever see."
--- A Miami Hurricanes player, doing something dirty? Gasp! What a shocking development.
--- Funny or Die with another winner. This time regarding the Clinton Foundation. Look out for the Clinton Clubbers.