TicketsOct. 14, 2006
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Cincinnati came oh-so-close to pulling off college football's biggest upset of the weekend, if not the season.
The Bearcats were on the Louisville 16-yard line with 17 seconds to play and a six-point deficit, and had the No. 7 Cardinals on their heels. Louisville responded with a glove-like pass defense to keep UC from scoring and hung on to a 23-17 victory to keep its record unbeaten at 6-0. The Cards also kept possession of the Keg of Nails, the trophy for this rivalry.
Cincinnati fell to 3-4. Three of the Bearcats' losses were to teams ranked in the Top 10 at the time they played UC, and the four teams to defeat UC are a combined 18-3.
"I appreciate our players' effort," stated a dejected head coach Mark Dantonio. Louisville has a good football team. We came down ready to play. I thought our players came down here with conviction. We came up short.
"There are no moral victories," the coach was quick to interject.
The Bearcats' rock-ribbed defense kept Louisville's top-ranked offense in check--UofL entered the game ranked first in total offense and scoring offense. UC allowed UofL 429 yards of total offense--100 under the Cardinal's season average--and a season low point total.
Dustin Grutza rallied the Bearcat offense with his arm--two TD tosses--and his timely running. His 29-yard run was the key play in the late scoring drive that narrowed the deficit to 23-17. Grutza also found tight end Brent Celek for a key 20-yard gain on a third-down play and capped the drive with an 18-yard toss to sophomore Derrick Stewart, who had worked free in the corner of the end zone.
That play put Louisville, whose previous low margin of victory this season was 18 points, in the unfamiliar position of having to defend a six-point lead with 4:10 remaining in the contest.
The defense was able to force the Cardinals to punt the ball with 1:32 to play, and the Bearcats found themselves 92 yards away from an upset.
Grutza scrambled five times for a total of 29 yards, then found Stewart over the middle for a 17-yard gain. An 11-yard pass to Celek and a 19-yard run by Grutza advanced the Bearcats to the 16 with 17 seconds to play.
The Bearcats had to spike the ball to stop the clock. Grutza's second-down pass attempt to Dominick Goodman was well-covered and a sideline toss to Earnest Jackson was wide. On fourth down, Grutza found all of his receivers covered and elected to throw to Jackson, who was in single coverage, with the hopes the athletic junior could make the play. UofL's Gavin Smart kept Jackson from catching the ball.
"I thought Grutza made a lot of plays with his feet," Dantonio stated. "Defensively, we played pretty well. It's disappointing, but at the same time, I'm very proud of our players. They played with great effort and great heart and believed in each other."
Defense Sets the Early Tone
The Bearcats, sparked by key plays by their defense, set the tempo for the first half. UC stopped UofL's opening drive on downs on the UC 29. Cincinnati was forced to punt, but DeAngelo Smith recovered Louisville's fumble on the attempted return to give UC the ball on the UofL 12, and took a 3-0 lead on Kevin Lovell's 23-yard field goal.
Cincinnati forced another fumble on Louisville's next series and had the ball on the UofL 23. Lovell's 37-yard field goal try was wide-right.
Louisville marched to the UC 19 early in the second quarter, but the Bearcats held and the Cardinals settled for a field goal. Cincinnati responded with a 17-play, 78-yard scoring drive--its longest of the season--to take a 10-3 lead on Grutza's eight-yard pass to Brent Celek.
Louisville was held to a field goal on its next possession, the Bearcats seemed to be in a position to take a10-6 lead to the locker room at intermission. A fumble gave the Cardinals the ball at midfield, and Brian Brohm took them down the field for a go-ahead touchdown.
Brohm connected with Gary Barnidge for a 59-yard play late in the third quarter that set up a 17-yard TD run by Anthony Allen. The Cardinals reached the UC 17 in the fourth quarter, but the Bearcats held and forced another field goal. Then they launched their comeback attempt.
Grutza finished with 129 yards passing on a 10-of-27 performance. He also had 75 yards in 17 rushes, topping the career best he set last week. Greg Moore flirted with his second century rushing performance before settling for 96 yards on 19 tries. He keyed the UC ground game that finished with 212 yards.
"It's an indication that we're getting better as a football team. We're still a young football team. We're getting closer," stated Dantonio. "You take this and you learn from it. You find out a game that football is a game of inches and how one little thing can affect a lot of other things, and we have to play every play. That's one of the keys to victory."