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Football Opens 2010 Season At Fresno State

Football Opens 2010 Season At Fresno StateFootball Opens 2010 Season At Fresno State

Aug. 30, 2010

Cincinnati Game Notes | Fresno State Notes | BIG EAST Notes | Roster | Gametracker | Live Audio

AT A GLANCE
Date: Sept. 4, 2010
Time: 10 p.m. (EST)
Location: Fresno, Calif.
Venue: Bulldog Stadium
Capacity: 41,031
Surface: Grass
Television: ESPN2
Live Stats: GoBEARCATS.com
Series Record: UC leads 1-0
In Fresno, Calif.: First meeting

RELATED STORIES

ON THE AIR
TELEVISION: ESPN2
Beth Mowins: Play-By-Play
Trent Dilfer: Analyst

RADIO: WLW (700 AM, SIRIUS 113, XM 203)
Tom Gelehrter: Play-By-Play
Jim Kelly Jr.: Analyst
Artrell Hawkins: Sideline
Mo Egger: Host/Engineer

NATIONAL RADIO: Sports USA Radio Network
 Dan Fouts: Play-By-Play
 Gary Barnett: Analyst

FOOTBALL OPENS UP 2010 CAMPAIGN AT FRESNO STATE
The University of Cincinnati football team, back-to-back BIG EAST Conference Champions, opens up the 2010 season on the road at Fresno State. For the Bearcats, it marks the first time since 1994-95 they have opened two-straight years away from home and the fourth-straight year UC has played a game west of the Rocky Mountains (3-0). UC is 76-37-10 all-time in season openers and has won five straight lid lifters. UC squares off with Fresno State for the second-straight year after the Bearcats won a close 28-20 matchup in Nippert Stadium last year.

THE SERIES
Saturday marks the second meeting between the Bearcats and Bulldogs, with UC holding a 1-0 advantage in the series.

THE COACHES
Butch Jones, named the head coach at the University of Cincinnati on Dec. 16, 2009, enters his first season at the helm of the Bearcats program. Jones most recently led Central Michigan University to a pair of Mid-American Conference Championships and three-straight bowl appearances. He holds a 27-13 overall record and a 22-3 mark in league games.

PAT HILL is 100-66 entering his 14th season at Fresno State. He is 0-1 against the Bearcats.

A LOOK AHEAD
UC will face Indiana State in the home opener on Sept. 11, 2010 at Nippert Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon in a game that will be televised on WXIX FOX-19.

STREAKS, STORYLINES, SIDEBARS ...

  • The University of Cincinnati enters its 123rd football season with an all-time record of 547-542-51 (.502).
    Cincinnati (1885) is one of the five oldest programs in college football along with Rutgers (1869), Michigan (1879), Navy (1880), and Minnesota (1883).
  • UC opens up the 2010 campaign on Sept. 4 at Fresno State and is 76-37-10 all-time in season openers.
    Cincinnati won its second-straight BIG EAST Conference title in 2009, earning the league's BCS bowl bid for the second time.
  • Head coach Butch Jones enters his first season with the Bearcats after going 27-13 with two Mid-American Conference Championships in three years at Central Michigan University.
    UC returns 13 starters from the 2009 squad, including all-league selections Armon Binns (WR), Ben Guidugli (TE), Alex Hoffman (OL), and Jason Kelce (OL).
  • The defense returns four of its top six tacklers from 2009, including LB JK Schaffer (100 tackles), DB Drew Frey (64 tackles, 2 INT), DB Dominique Battle (60 tackles, 2 INT), and LB Walter Stewart (59 tackles, 8 TFL, 4.5 sacks).
  • QB Zach Collaros, named the team's starter prior to Bearcat Bowl IV, has been named to the watch lists for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award and the Manning Award.
  • LB JK Schaffer has earned a spot on the watch list for the Bronco Nagurski Award, given annually to the nation's top defender.
  • Cincinnati has won 18-straight regular season games dating back to the 2008 season.
  • Cincinnati had its third straight 10-win season in 2009. Before 2007, Cincinnati had exactly one 10-win season (1951).
  • UC's 33 wins over the past three seasons trail only Boise State (36), Florida (35), and Texas (35) among NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
  • UC was No. 3 in the final BCS rankings, No. 8 in the Associated Press poll, and No. 9 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. All three final rankings are the best in school history.
  • UC is 20-8-1 as a ranked team.
  • Over the past two seasons, UC has spent 20 weeks ranked in the AP poll. Prior to 2008, UC had appeared in only 14 AP polls from 1936-2007.
  • UC turned the ball over 10 times in 2009, the fewest turnovers in the NCAA FBS.
  • UC was the last NCAA FBS team to lose a fumble in 2009. The Bearcats first lost fumble of the year occurred in the first half of the 10th game of the campaign, against West Virgina.
  • UC was second in the nation in passing efficiency (161.21) despite using five different quarterbacks through the course of the season.