TicketsWhen we started preparing for season two of Let It Fly this summer, we made a long list of people we wanted to talk to and then a long list of questions we wanted to ask. Some of these questions were unique to each person, their perspectives, and their experiences, but there was also a group of boilerplate questions we wanted to ask everyone. Among them: "You guys just pulled off the best season in program history. What comes next?"
It's a question that needed to be included, not just because we heard everyone outside of the Lindner Center asking it, but because I didn't really know the answer.
Bearcats football has had good years—though maybe never as good as 2021—but the peak of each of those successful eras was always followed by tectonic transition. There wasn't much momentum for the first hundred-plus years of Cincinnati Football. When success finally came under Mark Dantonio, a trend quickly developed where the Bearcats would peak, lose a good graduating class, kiss their head coach goodbye, and start from scratch. Their success in repeating the pattern was inconsequential; there's always an altitude limit when the plane is rebuilt on a three-year cycle.
I've had a lot of conversations with non-Bearcats fans since last fall, and all of them, without fail, included the same kind of sheepish admission: "I honestly never thought this was possible at Cincinnati." It's something I never got offended by because how could you? The program had reached a level none of us had ever seen and did so while retaining Luke Fickell and a warship of talent.
This is new ground. None of us have ever been here. So how could we possibly know what comes next?
Uncharted waters aren't mapped in a week, and I'd have been forced to admit that even had the Bearcats been able to pull off a victory at 19th-ranked Arkansas Saturday. The team will undoubtedly be kicking themselves when they watch the film. How do things look without that defensive breakdown at the last drive of the first half? What happens if Bryant doesn't sail the throw to Will Pauling in the second quarter? Would a field goal in the first half have been enough to spark offensive momentum? What if they could take back the fourth-quarter fumble? Do they win the game if a penalty doesn't negate Charles McClelland's long scamper?
And yet… A new-look Bearcats team lost a one-score game on the road to a top-20 opponent.
That running back corps that came in with lots of potential but not much track record put on a show. McClelland and Corey Kiner combined for 106 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, while the former reeled in five catches for 46 yards.
Josh Whyle and Leonard Taylor were the surefire targets we'd hoped for, combining for eight catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. The big-play receivers in Nick Mardner, Jadon Thompson, and Tyler Scott each had catches of 25 yards or longer, while Tre Tucker was an expected x-factor on both offense and special teams.
Bryant settled to throw for 325 yards, and a pair of awfully pretty touchdown passes.
And the defense, which saw so much talent depart for the NFL, had new guys step up and make plays. Chief among them: Ivan Pace Jr. (3.5 TFL), Ja'quon Sheppard (a 13-yard sack and a pair of PBUs), and the duo of Jaheim Thomas and Bryon Threats, which combined for 13 total tackles.
Reloading, not rebuilding, is a concept that's been foreign in Cincinnati. Try telling one of those fans inside an echoey Nippert Stadium in 1990 that the program would see nine players selected in the NFL draft and still start the following season with national respect and conference championship expectations.
If Saturday was any indication, this team has indeed reloaded. They went toe-to-toe with a good team in their stadium without even the benefit of a tuneup game. They have the talent. That part is not a mystery.
But this year's most important games are yet to be played. We have some clues, but what comes next must be determined. It's an answer we can discover together. See you at Nippert Stadium. Up Next The Bearcats return to friendlier accommodations Saturday to face Kennesaw State at 3:30 p.m at Nippert Stadium. Tickets are sold out, but fans looking for seats can purchase them through StubHub, the official secondary ticket partner of the Bearcats, HERE.
Single-game tickets to 2022 home games are moving fast, with all September games sold out. Purchase tickets to the final four home games HERE. Read More
It's a question that needed to be included, not just because we heard everyone outside of the Lindner Center asking it, but because I didn't really know the answer.
Bearcats football has had good years—though maybe never as good as 2021—but the peak of each of those successful eras was always followed by tectonic transition. There wasn't much momentum for the first hundred-plus years of Cincinnati Football. When success finally came under Mark Dantonio, a trend quickly developed where the Bearcats would peak, lose a good graduating class, kiss their head coach goodbye, and start from scratch. Their success in repeating the pattern was inconsequential; there's always an altitude limit when the plane is rebuilt on a three-year cycle.
I've had a lot of conversations with non-Bearcats fans since last fall, and all of them, without fail, included the same kind of sheepish admission: "I honestly never thought this was possible at Cincinnati." It's something I never got offended by because how could you? The program had reached a level none of us had ever seen and did so while retaining Luke Fickell and a warship of talent.
This is new ground. None of us have ever been here. So how could we possibly know what comes next?
Game 0️⃣1️⃣: The Reload
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) September 3, 2022
Cincinnati vs. Arkansas#Bearcats | #LetItFly pic.twitter.com/DdCJDfVjLZ
Uncharted waters aren't mapped in a week, and I'd have been forced to admit that even had the Bearcats been able to pull off a victory at 19th-ranked Arkansas Saturday. The team will undoubtedly be kicking themselves when they watch the film. How do things look without that defensive breakdown at the last drive of the first half? What happens if Bryant doesn't sail the throw to Will Pauling in the second quarter? Would a field goal in the first half have been enough to spark offensive momentum? What if they could take back the fourth-quarter fumble? Do they win the game if a penalty doesn't negate Charles McClelland's long scamper?
And yet… A new-look Bearcats team lost a one-score game on the road to a top-20 opponent.
That running back corps that came in with lots of potential but not much track record put on a show. McClelland and Corey Kiner combined for 106 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, while the former reeled in five catches for 46 yards.
Josh Whyle and Leonard Taylor were the surefire targets we'd hoped for, combining for eight catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. The big-play receivers in Nick Mardner, Jadon Thompson, and Tyler Scott each had catches of 25 yards or longer, while Tre Tucker was an expected x-factor on both offense and special teams.
Nick Mardner could be a problem in the AAC this year 💪 pic.twitter.com/evOvOhz98Y
— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) September 3, 2022
Bryant settled to throw for 325 yards, and a pair of awfully pretty touchdown passes.
And the defense, which saw so much talent depart for the NFL, had new guys step up and make plays. Chief among them: Ivan Pace Jr. (3.5 TFL), Ja'quon Sheppard (a 13-yard sack and a pair of PBUs), and the duo of Jaheim Thomas and Bryon Threats, which combined for 13 total tackles.
Reloading, not rebuilding, is a concept that's been foreign in Cincinnati. Try telling one of those fans inside an echoey Nippert Stadium in 1990 that the program would see nine players selected in the NFL draft and still start the following season with national respect and conference championship expectations.
If Saturday was any indication, this team has indeed reloaded. They went toe-to-toe with a good team in their stadium without even the benefit of a tuneup game. They have the talent. That part is not a mystery.
But this year's most important games are yet to be played. We have some clues, but what comes next must be determined. It's an answer we can discover together. See you at Nippert Stadium. Up Next The Bearcats return to friendlier accommodations Saturday to face Kennesaw State at 3:30 p.m at Nippert Stadium. Tickets are sold out, but fans looking for seats can purchase them through StubHub, the official secondary ticket partner of the Bearcats, HERE.
Single-game tickets to 2022 home games are moving fast, with all September games sold out. Purchase tickets to the final four home games HERE. Read More