TicketsNov. 25, 2006
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EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - A senior putting the finishing touches on his fine career and a first-year sophomore with a bright future keyed a second half comeback as Cincinnati closed the regular season with a 26-23 win over Connecticut.
Kevin Lovell's 29-yard field goal with 10 seconds to play provided the winning margin while catches by Derrick Stewart sparked two UC scoring drives in the final 2:19.
The victory assures UC, 7-5 overall, a berth in one of the bowls affiliated with the BIG EAST Conference, or possibly an invitation as an at-large team to another regional bowl. The International Bowl in Toronto, Ont., and the Motor City Bowl in Detroit, Mich. are two likely games. Cincinnati finishes in a tie with USF for fourth place in the BIG EAST standings with a 4-3 league ledger.
"I've always wanted to do that," said Lovell of attempting the game-winning kick. "It's kind of fitting that it's my last game and I got the opportunity to kick the winning field goal. This win is huge for us."
The senior, who has made his last nine field goal tries, might not have gotten the chance to realize his dream had it not been for a miscue by his Connecticut counterpart.
Connecticut crossed up the UC defense with a 45-yard Matt Bonislawski-to-Brad Kanuch touchdown pass which could have put the Huskies ahead by eight points. Matt Nuzie's point after kick bounced off the left upright and the lead suddenly did not look so insurmountable.
The Bearcats failed to get anything going in their ensuing possession and with 6:40 left, put the game in the hands of the defense. That unit held UConn to a three-and-out. Stewart turned in the first of his big plays down the stretch, returning the punt over 30 yards inside the UConn 20. The Bearcats were penalized for an illegal block, moving the ball back to the 47.
Stewart Makes Big Catches
Stewart struck again on UC's first play from scrimmage, hauling in a 27-yard pass from Nick Davila. Davila capped the scoring drive with a nine-yard TD strike to Dominick Goodman, and with Lovell's PAT, the game was tied at 23 with 2:19 remaining.
The Bearcats' comeback was not complete. The defense turned in another three-and-out and UC got the ball on the UConn 28 with 1:01 remaining.
Any question of whether Cincinnati would play for overtime was answered on the first play. Stewart, facing single coverage, beat his man to the sideline to haul in a Davila throw for 50 yards, moving the Bearcats into field goal position. Five plays later, UC called on Lovell, who did not disappoint.
"I knew (Stewart) was going to be one-on-one and I knew if I gave him a chance, he would make a play," stated Davila. "I got hit and didn't see the play, but I heard the crowd sort of scream and figured he caught it."
"We challenged our players to play with a lot of heart and character today," stated UC head coach Mark Dantonio. "We wanted to finish--that was our theme the whole week--make sure we finish strong. We felt like there was a big difference between a 6-6 team and a 7-5 team. We put it on each other to play one play at a time and play with emotion and energy. I thought we had great focus and energy on the sideline throughout the entire game."
"UConn had a lot of momentum," Dantonio added. "I thought we came out in the second half and played very well with a lot of energy. We've embraced our schedule. We've fought through some tough times. This has been a great year. We were 4-7 last year and we're 7-5 this year. That's a big turn-around, and we played a much tougher schedule.
Connecticut Starts Fast
Connecticut set the tempo early. The Huskies became the first team to score in its opening drive on Cincinnati by marching 69 yards in only six plays. Donald Brown, who shocked the Bearcats with a 35-yard run up the middle on the very first play, scored on a 14-yard burst.
The Bearcats' offense began to show life near the end of the first quarter. Grutza hooked up with Goodman and Antwuan Giddens for passes of 18 and 22 yards to set up a 25-yard field goal by Lovell.
The UC special teams came up with a big play when Connor Barwin partially blocked a punt on the next series. Grutza was intercepted, giving the Huskies the ball in UC territory. The Bearcats defense held UConn to a 45-yard field goal by Nuzie.
UC advanced to the UConn 31 in the closing seconds of the half but ran out of time.
The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter. UC mounted an eight-play, 84-yard drive at the start of the quarter with Davila hitting Stewart in the end zone for the final three yards. UConn retaliated with a 77-yard drive midway through the period, capped by Bonislawski's eight-yard pass to Anthony Barskdale.
Lovell cut the margin to 17-13 with a 28-yard field goal near the end of the quarter and hit a 42-yard field goal with 9:12 to play to pull UC within one point.
Team Effort in the Victory Davila, who came on in the second quarter when starter Grutza was momentarily stunned by a hit, completed 14 of 25 for 232 yards and two TDs. Stewart enjoyed a career day in which he recorded nine receptions for 166 yards. Four of his receptions were for 25 or more yards.
Though the defense allowed over 100 yards rushing (132) for only the fifth time this season and gave up 172 yards and a pair of TDs through the air, the Bearcats came through when it counted. Trevor Anderson recorded 4.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks while Kevin McCullough checked in with a two TFLs.
In addition to Lovell's kicking, the special teams contributed to the win. Brian Steel punted four times for a 41.5-yard average.
Now the wait begins for the news of which bowl will host the Bearcats.