TicketsOct. 4, 2005
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The University of Cincinnati will begin a new era in its football history on Saturday when the Bearcats visit Pittsburgh for a 2 p.m. contest at Heinz Field.
The contest will be the first-ever BIG EAST Conference game for the Bearcats, who begin play in the BIG EAST this season after a nine-year stint in Conference USA.
The game will also launch a new college football regional rivalry and trophy game. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh will begin the River City Rivalry. The winner will get to keep the River City Trophy, an award composed of a riverboat telegraph and a graphic silhouette of the Ohio River.
Both teams will be seeking a victory to turn the tide of slow starts in 2005. Cincinnati enters the game with a 2-2 record and smarting from a 44-16 defeat in its area rivalry showdown with Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 28. Pittsburgh has struggled in a 1-4 start, and dropped its 2005 BIG EAST opener to Rutgers, 37-29, on Sept. 30.
Cincinnati will seek offensive improvement in Saturday's game. The Bearcats have averaged just 293.5 yards in total offense and 11.5 points over their last two games. UC's air attack has been limited to an average of 168 yards per contest during that span.
The Bearcats will hope that Bradley Glatthaar continues his TD trek. The sophomore running back has scored a touchdown in each of UC's four games this season.
UC will hope that its past success in conference openers continues when beginning BIG EAST play on Saturday. The Bearcats have won four of their last five league lid-lifters as members of Conference USA.
To commemorate their entry into the River City Rivalry, the Bearcats will arrive at their Friday walk-through at Heinz Field via riverboat. Arrangements have been made for the team to bus to Pennsylvania and then board a riverboat for the final miles of the trip to downtown Pittsburgh.
Though only about a five-hour drive apart, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have played just four previous times in their long football histories--Cincinnati has been playing football since 1885, Pitt since 1890--and none since 1981. Pitt has won all four of those contests.
UC vs. Pittsburgh Saturday's game will be the fifth meeting between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh and the first in 22 seasons. The Panthers have won all four previous contests, the last on Sept. 19, 1981 when Dan Marino passed for five touchdowns, four to Julius Dawkins, for a 38-7 win.
UC vs. the BIG EAST Cincinnati enters its first season in the BIG EAST Conference with a 33-43-2 record vs. league teams prior to joining the conference.
UC-PITT Ties Pittsburgh offensive line coach Paul Dunn held the same position in Cincinnati for the 1994 and 1995 seasons...Pitt kicker David Abdul and UC offensive lineman J.P. Simon were teammates as Massillon (O.) Washington High, as were Panther defensive lineman Michael Hearn and Bearcat linebacker Angelo Craig at Cleveland (O.) Glenville High...UC's Anthony Hoke and Delbert Ferguson and Pitt defensive back Mike Phillips played on some of the same teams at Warren (O.) Harding High...Pittsburgh defensive back Darrelle Revis and Cincinnati defensive end Donnell McKenzie both played at Aliquippa (Pa.) High...Cincinnati deputy director of athletics Dean Billick served at Pittsburgh for 16 years as sports information director (1966-82) and associate AD for 11 years (1982-93).
Keystone Cats The Bearcats have three players from Western Pennsylvania. Starting junior cornerback Antoine Horton is from Rochester (Rochester High). Senior backup center Joel Yakovac hails from Mt. Lebanon (Mt. Lebanon High). Freshman defensive end Donnell McKenzie is a product of Aliquippa (Aliquippa High).
River City Rivalry Saturday's game will inaugurate a new trophy rivalry game. The athletic directors of the two schools, Bob Goin at Cincinnati and Jeff Long at Pittsburgh, agreed to initiate the River City Rivalry. A trophy, which is comprised of a riverboat telegraph, a device for signaling the engine room, and a silhouette of the Ohio River. The trophy was designed by Trophy Awards Manufacturing, Inc. by UC alums Rob Busch and Karl Wallick and constructed by Randy Corbett.
This will be Cincinnati's third trophy game. UC plays Miami (Ohio) for the Victory Bell and BIG EAST rival Louisville for the Keg of Nails.
On This Date October 8 has not been a very good date in Bearcat football history. Cincinnati is 2-7 in games played on this date. One of those two wins occurred in 1983, when UC hosted Temple at Riverfront Stadium. Head coach Watson Brown surprised the Bearcats by giving them new black jerseys to wear just before game time, the first time Cincinnati was to appear in black in two decades. The Bearcats then surprised Temple with a no-huddle offense which sparked them to a 31-16 win.
1994 Vanderbilt - L, 34-24
1988 at Penn State - L, 35-9
1983 Temple - W, 31-16
1977 at Florida State - L, 14-0
1966 Xavier - L, 25-13
1955 Xavier - L, 37-0
1949 Western Michigan - W, 27-6
1938 Dayton - L, 26-7
1927 Wittenberg - L, 45-0
Honorary Captain Dan Rains, a standout defender on the Cincinnati teams of the mid-1970s, will serve as honorary captain of Saturday's Cincinnati-Pittsburgh contest. A native of Greater Pittsburgh who blocked for Tony Dorsett while at Hopewell High School, Rains performed in a similar role his first two seasons at UC. He became one of the team's leading tacklers upon being switched to defense, earned honorable mention All-American honors, which led him to an NFL career during which he played on two Super Bowl championship teams. Head coach Mark Dantonio began recognizing former UC players and coaches by naming them honorary game captains last season. The honorary captains participate with the elected captains in the pregame coin toss.
Captains Three seniors and a junior have taken on the leadership role as team captains. The four, who were elected by their teammates, are offensive tackle Steve Eastlake (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson), defensive end Adam Roberts (Brooklyn, N.Y./Milford (Conn.) Academy), wide receiver Derick Ross (Marion, Ohio/Harding), all seniors, and junior tight end Brent Celek (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle).
If It Goes Overtime... ...it should not be a surprise. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have each been involved in nine overtime games since the tie-breaking rule was established by the NCAA in 1996, the most of any of the BIG EAST schools. Both schools are 5-4 in OT games.
Bearcats Earn BIG EAST Honors UC junior safety Dominic Ross was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for his performance in the Bearcats' 7-3 win over Western Carolina on Sept. 17. Ross entered the game in the fourth quarter and made two key interceptions to stop WCU. The first ended a drive on the UC 2-yard line with 5:46 remaining. The second, at the UC 37 with 22 seconds to play, clinched the victory.
Dustin Grutza was named BIG EAST Conference Offensive Player of the Week after passing for two touchdowns and running for a third in the Bearcats' 28-26 victory over Eastern Michigan in the season opener. The redshirt freshman from Maysville, Ky., completed 17 of 26 passes for 176 yards and ran for 49 yards, including a 21-yard TD.
Glatthaar on Scoring Spree Bradley Glatthaar is playing a key role in the Cincinnati offense. The sophomore running back has scored a touchdown in each of the Bearcats first four games on runs of 11, 7, 2 and 1 yards. Going back to the 2004 season, Glatthaar has scored a touchdown in eight of the Bearcats' last 10 games.
Building a reputation for his ability to get the tough yard, Glatthaar has been held to negative yardage only four times in 52 rushing attempts this season and eight times in 124 running plays over his two-year career.
Glatthaar became the first Bearcat to rush for over 100 yards this season when he recorded career highs of 107 yards and 18 rushing attempts in the Sept. 17 win over Western Carolina.
Good Night for Goodman Freshman wide receiver Dominick Goodman was one of the bright spots for the Cincinnati offense in the Sept. 28 loss at Miami (Ohio). Goodman piled up 141 all-purpose yards, gaining 64 yards on five pass receptions and returning four kickoffs for 77 yards. Goodman snagged a 24-yard pass from Dustin Grutza in the second quarter, UC's longest pass play of the night. He then hooked up with Nick Davila four times for 50 yards on the Bearcats' final scoring drive, and scored when he made a leaping catch of a deflected pass for a four-yard TD.
Tight Ends are Top Targets The Bearcat tight ends have been the big play performers in the Cincinnati passing attack to date. Junior starter Brent Celek is tied for the team lead in receptions with 15 and has UC's most receiving yardage with 162. Freshman backup Connor Barwin is third in receiving yardage with 106 on four catches and his 26.5 yards-per-catch average is tops on the team.
Celek Upping Numbers and Credentials Brent Celek has picked up where he left off last season, which could mean conference and national accolades for Cincinnati's junior tight end. Celek heads into Saturday's game sharing the team lead in receptions with 15. His 162 yards receiving is tops among the Bearcats. Last season, Celek recorded 22 receptions for 254 yards and eight touchdowns, the latter figure representing a UC record for TDs by a TE. With the exception of the scoring plays, Celek is well on his way to exceeding those totals.
Eastlake Builds on Streak Steve Eastlake, one of the few veterans on the Bearcat offense, will try to extend a personal streak in Saturday's contest at Pittsburgh. The 6-6, 305-pound senior will be making his 29th consecutive start at left tackle, a position at which he has been a fixture since 2003. For a point of comparison, all other offensive linemen have a combined total of 17 games of starting experience.
Bearcat Perfect in Red Zone Cincinnati is one of 10 Division I-A teams who are perfect this season when reaching the red zone. The Bearcats have scored on all nine advancements, producing seven touchdowns and a field goal.
Freshmen Lead Bearcat Defense Cincinnati may have the youngest defensive unit in the nation. The Bearcats started six freshmen--five first-year frosh and one seeing his first action this season after redshirting in 2004--in their Sept. 17 game vs. Western Carolina and had five freshmen starters, four "true" frosh, vs. Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 28. UC opened the season with three freshmen starters, all "true" freshmen: Defensive tackle Terrill Byrd, outside linebacker Corey Smith and cornerback Mike Mickens. Trevor Anderson and Cedric Tolbert, also first-year frosh, were promoted to starting status for the Western Carolina win along with redshirt freshman Ryan Manalac at middle linebacker.
Those freshmen are holding their own. Smith is second on the team in tackles (30) with Mickens third (27).
Ross Coming of Age Junior Dominic Ross has had two of the best performances of his college career during Cincinnati's last two games. Ross, who lost his starting position at strong safety to freshman Cedric Tolbert for the Western Carolina game, replaced the injured Tolbert in the fourth quarter and made two interceptions, one on the 2-yard line to stop WCU's go-ahead scoring drive with 5:46 to play. His second pick, in the final minute, clinched the 7-3 victory. In UC's Sept. 28 contest at Miami (Ohio), Ross made a career-high 13 tackles, six of them solos, and had a tackle for loss.
Nakamura Tops in Stops Sophomore Haruki Nakamura posted his second double-digit tackling performance of the season in the Sept. 28 contest vs. Miami (Ohio). The Bearcat free safety matched his career high with 12 total stops to take over the team tackling lead. Nakamura has 34 tackles in four games, an 8.5 average.
Corey Seeks Freshman Honors Playing on a defense stocked with freshman standouts, Corey Smith is making a bid for conference and national all-freshman honors. The 6-1, 215 outside linebacker is Cincinnati's second-leading tackler with 30 stops and is second on the squad with 4.5 tackles for loss. Smith recorded 13 total tackles, including nine solo stops, vs. Western Carolina--a season high by a Bearcat defender.
Many Happy Returns The Bearcats enjoyed one of their most productive games in terms of kickoff returns vs. Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 28.
Marshwan Gilyard nearly broke off a return for a touchdown. The first-year freshman was dragged down after a 60-yard return, the longest since Tedric Harwell took a kick back 71 yards vs. West Virginia in 2002.
Dominick Goodman returned four kickoffs for a total of 77 yards, which featured a 27-yard return. Goodman is averaging 21.5 yards on five returns this season.
In the punt return department, Mike Daniels tied a UC single game record when he returned seven punts in the Sept. 17 game vs. Western Carolina. He compiled 47 yards on those seven returns.
Young Bearcats See First Action Over the first four games, a total of 26 Bearcats have seen their first college game action. Nine are first-year freshmen and 10 others are redshirt freshmen. Seven of those frosh have been starters: true freshmen Trevor Anderson (Detroit, MI/Crockett Tech) at defensive end, Terrill Byrd (Cincinnati, OH/Colerain) at defensive tackle, Corey Smith (Salem, NJ/Salem) at outside linebacker, Mike Mickens (Huber Heights, OH/Wayne) at cornerback, Cedric Tolbert (Xenia, OH/Xenia), and redshirt freshman Dustin Grutza (Maysville, KY/Mason County) at quarterback and Ryan Manalac (Pickerington, OH/Pickerington) at middle linebacker.
Dantonio Second-Winningest Rookie Head Coach Cincinnati's Mark Dantonio had the second-best record of any of the new 13 Division I-A head coaches in 2004, and the best among first-time head coaches. Dantonio directed UC to a 7-5 record, including a win over Marshall in the Fort Worth Bowl. Only Mike Price, who led UTEP to an 8-4 season, had a better record.
Dantonio had the fifth-best season of any head football coach in his first season at Cincinnati.
How Young Are Those Cats Cincinnati is one of the nation's youngest teams, in terms of returning starters, in terms of projected senior starters and in terms of lettermen on its two-deep chart. UC has starters returning at eight positions--tackle Steve Eastlake, tight end Brent Celek and fullback Doug Jones on offense; end Adam Roberts, cornerback Antoine Horton and Dominic Ross and JaJuan Hall, who shared the strong safety position on defense; along with punter Chet Ervin and kicker Kevin Lovell. Only two schools have fewer returning starters, Navy with six and Marshall with seven.
UC projected five senior starters on offense and defense, entering the 2005 season, second fewest to Rice which has three projected senior starters.
New Championship Trophy The University of Cincinnati will be eligible for the coveted Lambert Meadowlands Trophy, which recognizes the best Division I-A team in the East, due to the Bearcats affiliation with the BIG EAST Conference. To be eligible for the Lambert, a school must either be located in the East or play half of its schedule against teams eligible for the Lambert Trophy. UC, along with new BIG EAST members Louisville and South Florida have been deemed eligible for the award since they will play at least half of their games against Lambert-eligible teams via their new conference alignment. The ECAC will conduct weekly polls and issue a final poll in early January to determine the trophy winner. The team will be presented with their awards at the Eastern College Football Awards Banquet on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the Pegasus Restaurant at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.
Nippert Renovations Fans have observed several changes in Nippert Stadium, all leading to enhanced decorum for Bearcat home football games. A new 19-foot by 53-foot video board, with over twice the display area of the previous board, has been installed in the revamped scoreboard structure, which also contains a team statistics panel and 8-foot by 83-foot message center. Elements of the old video board will be installed in the Baseball Stadium and Gettler Track/Soccer Stadium, benefiting those playing venues. New permanent seating has been constructed in the North end zone. The new seating structure also contains a full locker room for the visiting team, a first aid room and a halftime room for the Bearcats. The FieldTurf playing surface has been replaced, with all markings and logos inlaid in the new artificial surface. Entry and access to the stadium has been improved, with all barriers removed from the West, Northwest and South sides. The stadium now opens to Bearcat Plaza, outside of the Tangeman University Center, on the West side, adding to the atmosphere. Access via the East side is limited by the construction of the Richard E. Lindner Athletic Center.
Looking Ahead The Bearcats play their first-ever BIG EAST Conference home game on Oct. 15, hosting Connecticut at 4 p.m. The game will highlight a weekend of activities on the UC campus to celebrate Homecoming and UC's entry into the BIG EAST.