The Cincinnati Bearcats kept their Big East title hopes alive with a big second half in a 30-13 win over Syracuse. Isaiah Pead put on a show. His 70 yard catch and run on a screen pass, where he was lined up in the slot, put the game on ice. That was the first UC passing TD since Chisum caught the pass against USF. He had 9 catches for 112 yards overall. Add that to his 80 rushing yards and his 54 punt return yards and you have a special day. That's right, Pead returned punts. The promise that Butch Jones threw out in the preseason finally came true. Pead broke the first one for 30 yards. There were some questions to why he only touched the ball 14 times last week. The coaching staff made damn sure that Pead would touch the ball early and often.
The defense wasn't exactly lock down, but they didn't break in the red zone, holding Syracuse to a couple of field goals and a turnover on downs. They were able to get pressure from Bomar, Stewart, Hughes and Giordano. Wes Richardson had a pick at the very end to ice this bad boy. The special teams got off to a kind of shaky start when Tony Miliano missed a FG by 70 feet right, but Tony bounced back with 3 more, including a 48 yarder. Ralph David Abernathy IV broke the opening kickoff of the second half to the Syracuse 24. That set up a Pead run for a score Syracuse never recovered from.
The QB play was solid. Munchie Legaux hit 13-22 for 169 yards and his first 2 TD passes. Jordan Luallen was 2-3 for 10 yards, but he changed the game with his running. He had 8 carries for 77 yards. He was stopped at the 1 twice. Once because he tripped, and once because a Syracuse player caught him on a 48 yard run. Overall the guys played well.
This win was exactly what UC needed. They got some help because Connecticut thrashed Rutgers 40-22. If only Tino Sunseri didn't suck. UC is 8-3, 4-2 in the Big East. Syracuse is 5-6, 1-5. The only way UC can win the Big East BCS bid is by winning and having USF beat West Virginia. A Cincinnati loss gives the title to the Mountaineers. A 3 way tie goes to West Virginia. Still have a chance.
Team Stat Comparison
| | Cincinnati | Syracuse |
| 1st Downs |
18 |
22 |
| 3rd down efficiency |
6-15 |
4-15 |
| 4th down efficiency |
0-1 |
0-2 |
| Total Yards |
368 |
373 |
| Passing |
179 |
203 |
| Comp-Att |
15-25 |
19-38 |
| Yards per pass |
7.2 |
5.3 |
| Rushing |
189 |
170 |
| Rushing Attempts |
42 |
40 |
| Yards per rush |
4.5 |
4.3 |
| Penalties |
8-60 |
6-55 |
| Turnovers |
0 |
1 |
| Fumbles lost |
0 |
0 |
| Interceptions thrown |
0 |
1 |
| Possession |
27:52 |
30: |
| Syracuse Passing |
| | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT |
| Ryan Nassib |
19/38 |
203 |
5.3 |
1 |
1 |
| Team | 19/38 | 203 | 5.3 | 1 | 1 |
| Syracuse Punt Returns |
| | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
| Steve Rene |
2 |
-1 |
-0.5 |
0 |
0 |
| Team | 2 | -1 | -0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Kicking |
| | FG | PCT | LG | XP | PTS |
| Tony Miliano |
3/4 |
75.0 |
48 |
3/3 |
12 |
| Team | 3/4 | 75.0 | 48 | 3/3 | 12 |
| Syracuse Kicking |
| | FG | PCT | LG | XP | PTS |
| Ross Krautman |
2/2 |
100.0 |
40 |
1/1 |
7 |
| Team | 2/2 | 100.0 | 40 | 1/1 | 7 |
| Cincinnati Punting |
| | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | -20 | LG |
| Pat O'Donnell |
4 |
216 |
54.0 |
1 |
3 |
61 |
| Team | 4 | 216 | 54.0 | 1 | 3 | 61 |
| Syracuse Punting |
| | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | -20 | LG |
| Jonathan Fisher |
6 |
257 |
42.8 |
0 |
0 |
54 |
| Team | 6 | 257 | 42.8 | 0 | 0 | 54 |
.PNG&w=244&h=193&zc=1 "Throwback Thursday: Cincinnati vs East Tennessee State March 19, 2004")
