What Is Wrong With The Bearcats?

Back in late August if you can remember back that long there was a lot of talk about the Cincinnati Bearcats and their upcoming

Oct 5, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Tommy Tuberville points prior to the game against the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

season. Talking points included Tommy Tuberville’s first season at Cincinnati, who would the starting quarterback be, how would the Bearcats fair in the AAC and finally would this team make a 12-0 run and make it to a BCS game. Five games into the season now most of those questions have been answered.

Tommy Tuberville’s first season at Cincinnati has been a tumultuous one. After winning huge against the Purdue Boilermakers the Bearcats season seemed to be off to the start everyone one predicted. The following week though a blowout loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini 45-17 and the loss of starting quarterback Munchie Legaux seemed to derail the Bearcats. A dominating win over Northwestern State was followed by a poor win against Miami and a hugely disappointing loss to South Florida last weekend.

With Munchie Leagux out senior Brendon Kay is now the starting quarterback for the Bearcats. Kay led UC in the second half of last season including a bowl win. This year though Kay has looked shaky at times, lacking the confidence he had a season ago. Freshmen Bennie Coney has made a few appearances this season looking great every time. The time may come where Coney will replace Kay.

Looking at the AAC schedule before the season it appeared the Bearcats would run the table looking for a showdown with Louisville December 5th. Instead a loss in the AAC opener to South Florida has derailed any chance the Bearcats had at a BCS birth or even a AAC title. Now the goal has to be beat Louisville.

Cincinnati’s offense has been lack luster to say the least the last two games. Against Miami the Bearcats didn’t score until the last five minutes of the game. a 14-0 win over a winless Miami team is nearly as disappointing as a loss. The South Florida game though saw the Bearcats offense fall short again. The first half of the game saw the Bearcats offense go stagnant. A blocked kick and fumble returned for touchdowns put Cincinnati into a 23-6 hole.

Eddie Gran the new offensive coordinator hasn’t allowed the offense to open up much this year. Tion Green has not been used effectively neither has RDA4. In the second half of the South Florida game it appeared head coach Tommy Tuberville took over the play calling. Once that happened the Cincinnati offense came back strong. They still fell short.

Overall this season for the Bearcats is lost. They can still make a bowl but the BCS is out of the question realistically. If they played with a little more urgency this team could still go 10-2 and make a decent bowl game but some things need to change.