| 21 November 2011
I've been debating whether or not to recap what happened this weekend, or just let it die out in a haze of anger and frustration. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided that I had to tell the tale of what transpired this weekend. This wouldn't be the only Bearcats blog called Bearcats Blog if that didn't happen. We will start with the football game, as you can tell by the headline. This loss was tough for many reasons. Namely it really put UC behind the 8 ball when it comes to winning the Big East. I can't remember where I saw the breakdown, but UC had a 16-20% shot of winning the conference. Pitt and Louisville have to be in a tie with UC. UC controls the fate of Louisville. The Cardinals are going to be rooting like hell for Syracuse and UConn. Louisville has a great chance to win this league. It's remarkable. So does the team that beat Cincinnati on Saturday, the now 8-3, 4-2 Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Let's hit the recap.
Rutgers started things with the ball at the 20. Passes for 12 and 20 got the ball into UC territory. A big tackle for loss by JK Schaffer and Rob Trigg knocked Rutgers off course, and they punted to the UC 18. In a sign of misery to come, Munchie ran for 3, but on the next play got sacked for a 9 yard loss. Oh, and he fumbled and Rutgers recovered. Jawan Jamison went 1 yard, and then 12 yards for the first score of the game. Rutgers 7-0.
Starting at the 28, UC manufactured a first down with a run of 9 by Isaiah Pead and a 4 yard run by George Winn. UC went incomplete, dropped pass and had to punt. The punt put Rutgers at the 12. Jamison broke a 10 yard run on first down. The rest of the drive went nowhere. A 29 yard punt set UC up at the Rutgers 48.
The Bearcats tried Pead twice for 4 yards on the first two plays before Munchie hit DJ Woods for 5. On the 4th and 1, George Winn coverted with another 4 yard run. Munchie went incomplete towards Thompkins, ran for 3 and hit McClung for 2. That brought out Tony Miliano from 47, which he nailed. It was a nice kick. And the lone offensive highlight. Spoiler alert. Rutgers 7-3.
Rutgers got pretty good field position at their 32 after the kick. A pass to Sanu got 2, Jamison got 5 and DC Jefferson 6 to move the chains. Jefferson put a right hook on Deven Drane, I think, trying to get more yards. That physical play stood out then, and it stands out now. Rutgers was going to try and punish UC. Anyway. UC stepped up here. Drew Frey and Chris Williams sniffed out a screen for a loss, and a run got 1. On 3rd down UC brought the blitz. Dodd hesitated, and he who hesitates is sacked very hard by JK Schaffer. The punt was taken 4 yards by Danny Milligan to the UC 26. After an incompletion, Pead ran for 4 and Munchie popped a 16 yard run. Pead would go backwards for 4 and then 5 on his next two carries. The third down pass was incomplete towards Thompkins. The timing was off. I believe this is the picture of that play. If it's not, it's one similar.
Rutgers started this drive at the 16 with 13:15 on the clock in the first half. Dodd hit Sanu for 8, followed by Jamison gaining 4. A false start moved things back, but a 14 yard pass on 2nd down to Brandon Coleman helped set up the first 3rd down conversion, a 2 yard Jamison run. Dodd ran for 3 on the next play, but back to back false starts and an incompletion set up 3rd and 17. The second 3rd down the drive was converted with a 19 yard pass to a wide open Coleman. UC went zone, zone busted. A first down incompletion and a 9 yard pass set up a 1 yard run by Jamison, the third 3rd down conversion. Jeremy Deering's first carry gained 4, but an incompletion knocked Rutgers off pace. But it did set up the fourth 3rd down conversion, an 11 yard pass to Jefferson. That got the ball to the UC 24. Dodd went incomplete, incomplete to make the Scarlet Knights face their fifth 3rd down. They converted with an 11 yard pass to Quron Pratt. Jamison decided no more 3rd downs, rushing for 5 and 5 with a personal foul by UC setting Rutgers up at the 1. The defense would finally make a stand. Dan Giordano stopped Michael Burton for a 4 yard loss, Bomar and Wolfe combined on the next 2 plays stopping Jamison for 2 and 1. Schiano decided to take 3. San San Te was true from 19. This was a 23 play, 82 yard drive that took 9:43. Nine minutes and forty three seconds. Twenty three plays. It was clear at this point UC was not going to win. Rutgers was too physical and tough. Rutgers 10-3.
After sitting for so long, the UC offense was rusty. Pead got 0 and 6, then Munchie was incomplete. Rutgers took over at their 37 on a 32 yard punt by O'Donnell. Dodd hit Joe Martinek for 5 and 4, leading to a 14 yard Jamison run. Pratt caught a pass for 10 to the UC 30, but Trigg would sack Dodd, who fumbled for an 8 yard loss. Dodd hit Pratt again for 10. A pass to Martinek got to the 23, but a dumb personal foul moved Rutgers to the 38. That ruined the drive and Rutgers had to punt. That was the half. Halftime Rutgers 10 Cincinnati 3.
UC started the second half with great field position at the 35. Pead ran for 2 on first down. On second, Khassem Greene showed why he's good by sacking Legaux for a 10 yard loss. A pass to Thompkins got 12. That set up a 55 yard punt to the RU 6 by Pat O'Donnell.
Unfortunately, that set up another 'punch you in the face and make you like it' drive by Rutgers. Jamison broke the first carry for 22. He took the second carry left for 29. Suddenly Rutgers had the ball in UC territory. Dodd hadn't converted a 3rd down pass in a while, so he went incomplete, incomplete before hitting Sanu for 13. UC looked to have made a stand by stopping Jamison for no gain twice and sacking Dodd for an 8 yard loss, but a hands to the face gave Rutgers a first down at the 15. Following a 2 yard Jamison run, Dodd hit Burton for 12 to the 1. Jamison took two tries, but punched it in. 11 plays, 94 yards, 5 minutes. Domination. Rutgers 17-3.
If you were hoping UC would show signs of life on the next drive, you were wrong. Incomplete, 1 yard run, incomplete. The punt was taken to the RU 40. Rutgers had their drive sullied by a sack by JK and John Hughes. They punted to the UC 17. A personal foul after a pair of nothing plays set UC up at the 31. They returned the favor with a personal foul of their own. I think all of these were hands to the face. Munchie hit McClung for 8. Facing 3-17, he broke free and looked like he could get the first down, but as was the case all day, he came up short. The punt went to the Scarlet Knight 18.
Jamison got more shine on this drive, running for 6, 36, and 6. Deering ran for 7 and 1 as the 3rd quarter ended. Dodd could only pass for 1 yard the next two plays, setting up a 43 yard FG that San San Te drilled. Rutgers 20-3.
UC showed some signs of life the next drive. Starting at the 29, Munchie went incomplete, but ran for 7 on second down. He would hit Anthony McClung for 19 into Rutgers territory. An illegal procedure moved UC back 5, a second down sack moved them 10 more back. Munchie hit Chisum for 15. Facing 4th and 10, the coaching staff decided to punt. Can't really blame them. The kick was a touchback. Rutgers went run for 2, run for 1, pass for 6 before punting to the UC 33.
After Pead lost a yard, Legaux hit a pass to Thompkins for 9. After a false start, he hit McClung for 17. He connected with Blake Annen for 6 and ran for 7. He lost 4, then went incomplete, incomplete, incomplete for a turnover on downs. Jamison got the chance to pound UC some more, and he took full advantage running for 3, 24, -4 and had a 31 yarder called back because of a hold. Miles Schuler took a carry 19 before Jamison went for 1. On 4th down, he was stopped by Nick Temple for a loss of 4. Munchie went incomplete, incomplete, incomplete, but found Chisum for 22, and then McClung for 23 to the RU 17. He went for the end zone next play, but it was a bad throw that Brandon Jones picked off. Jamison added 7 more to his rushing total before a punt. Munchie padded the stats with an 11 yard run and a 20 yard pass to Chisum to end the game. Final Rutgers 20 Cincinnati 3.
Happy and Sad Butch Jones Thoughts About the Game
Not an easy one to find things to be happy about, but the performance of JK Schaffer was outstanding. He had 13 tackles, 3 for loss, broke up a pass and had 1.5 sacks. He played his ass off. Same goes for Rob Trigg. He had 1.5 tackles for loss, and the sack/fumble. He showed something. Derek Wolfe made 10 tackles as well. 
I don't know where you start with the offense. They were out of sync and a step behind all game long. They could not stay on the field, which meant the defense spent a ton of time on it. Rutgers had the ball 20:26 in the first half, including nearly 12 minutes the second quarter. Hell, it was 11:52, that's 12 minutes. They couldn't convert on 3rd down, they couldn't run the ball, they couldn't throw the ball. It was a mess. It didn't look like the coaching staff had a good game plan to utilize Munchie's abilities. Munchie deserves some of the blame as well, because he didn't have a good game. His timing was off, and his accuracy was nearly non-existent. He was a victim of 3 or 4 drops the first half, 2 by Thompkins (1 pictured), but even if those were caught, he wasn't putting the ball where it needed to be consistently. A lot of that was because, as expected, Rutgers keyed in on Isaiah Pead. Pead had 14 touches for 28 yards. His longest run was 9. Munchie only had 31 yards when sacks are accounted for. That adds up to 67 rushing yards. Against the worst rush D in the Big East. The line was overpowered. Some of this was because of numbers in the blocking, but some was because they were absolutely manhandled on clear running downs. This was a common sight.
Don't think you can say manhandled without bringing up what Rutgers did to the defensive front 7. They were over-matched, overpowered and outworked. It was like the Pitt game from last season when Dion Lewis ran free and it seemed like everyone on the defense was lost on how to do anything to stop it. It was so maddening. You have to give it up to Jawan Jamison and the Rutgers line. Jamison had 34 carries, 200 yards and 2 TDs. He lost 8 yards total in 34 carries. That's impressive. Jamison had roughly 550 yards coming into the game. Now with a couple of big weeks next week and in the bowl, he could be a 1,000 yard rusher. He can thank UC for that. Credit where it's due to the Rutgers line.
It was mainly in garbage time, but McClung and Alex Chisum looked to have something going with Munchie. 5-69 for Anthony, 3-57 for Chisum. They brought it. Nice to see some of the future. The other receivers did not look good. Thompkins had 2 catches for 21 yards and 2 drops. Although one would have been a tough catch, it hit his hands, so 1.5 drops. DJ Woods was less productive than Blake Annen and dropped a pass. So much for me saying he would have a big game. What a miserable senior season for DJ. I kind of thought he had a chance to catch on with the NFL, now he's going to have to be a workout warrior. Like the UC offense, I miss Zombie Zach Collaros. I hope there is a way to see him play again this season. His leadership in the huddle and on the sideline was greatly missed. Hopefully he can make the trip to Syracuse and be a coach for Munchie. Tony Miliano drilled that 47 yarder. The questions on if he could bounce back were answered. We end on that positive note. Trying to keep it a little positive in closing, UC could and should finish with 9 wins. They have a chance to win the Big East. They still can play in a BCS game. They can still finish strong and play with pride and heart. Now isn't the time to give up on the team. Now is the time to rally around them. Gotta put this one in the rear view and look ahead to my birthday on Wednesday. I do mean the team, and all of you. I expect cake. Bring on Syracuse.
All photos courtesy of Cincinnati.com. Box score via Go Bearcats.
2011 Cincinnati Football
Cincinnati vs Rutgers (11/19/11 at Piscataway, N.J.)
| Team Totals | CIN | RU |
| FIRST DOWNS | 11 | 23 |
| Rushing | 5 | 12 |
| Passing | 5 | 9 |
| Penalty | 1 | 2 |
| NET YARDS RUSHING | 67 | 203 |
| Rushing Attempts | 28 | 45 |
| Average Per Rush | 2.4 | 4.5 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 0 | 2 |
| Yards Gained Rushing | 105 | 243 |
| Yards Lost Rushing | 38 | 40 |
| NET YARDS PASSING | 158 | 182 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 12-31-1 | 21-35-0 |
| Average Per Attempt | 5.1 | 5.2 |
| Average Per Completion | 13.2 | 8.7 |
| Passing Touchdowns | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS | 225 | 385 |
| Total offense plays | 59 | 80 |
| Average Gain Per Play | 3.8 | 4.8 |
| Fumbles: Number-Lost | 1-1 | 1-0 |
| Penalties: Number-Yards | 5-42 | 9-70 |
| PUNTS-YARDS | 7-300 | 7-273 |
| Average Yards Per Punt | 42.9 | 39.0 |
| Net Yards Per Punt | 39.3 | 35.6 |
| Inside 20 | 4 | 2 |
| 50+ Yards | 1 | 0 |
| Touchbacks | 1 | 1 |
| Fair catch | 2 | 3 |
| KICKOFFS-YARDS | 2-120 | 5-320 |
| Average Yards Per Kickoff | 60.0 | 64.0 |
| Net Yards Per Kickoff | 44.0 | 42.8 |
| Touchbacks | 1 | 0 |
| Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD | 1-4-0 | 1-5-0 |
| Average Per Return | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD | 5-106-0 | 1-12-0 |
| Average Per Return | 21.2 | 12.0 |
| Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD | 0-0-0 | 1-0-0 |
| Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Miscellaneous Yards | 0 | 0 |
| Possession Time | 21:46 | 38:14 |
| 1st Quarter | 6:26 | 8:34 |
| 2nd Quarter | 3:08 | 11:52 |
| 3rd Quarter | 5:27 | 9:33 |
| 4th Quarter | 6:45 | 8:15 |
| Third-Down Conversions | 4 of 15 | 8 of 18 |
| Fourth-Down Conversions | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 |
| Red-Zone Scores-Chances | 0-1 | 3-3 |
| Touchdowns | 0-1 | 2-3 |
| Field goals | 0-1 | 1-3 |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards | 3-26 | 3-29 |
| PAT Kicks | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| Field Goals | 1-1 | 2-2 |
2011 Cincinnati Football
Cincinnati vs Rutgers (11/19/11 at Piscataway, N.J.)
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| FUMBLES: Cincinnati-LEGAUX, Munchie 1-1. Rutgers-Dodd,Chas 1-0. |
2011 Cincinnati Football
Cincinnati vs Rutgers (11/19/11 at Piscataway, N.J.)
| ## | Cincinnati | Solo | Ast | Total | TFL/Yds | FF | FR-Yds | Int-Yds | BrUp | Blkd | Sack/Yds | QBH |
| 37 | SCHAFFER, JK | 5 | 8 | 13 | 3.0/18 | . | . | . | 1 | . | 1.5/13 | . |
| 26 | Frey, Drew | 2 | 9 | 11 | 0.5/2 | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . |
| 95 | Wolfe, Derek | 3 | 7 | 10 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 24 | RICHARDSON, W. | 4 | 5 | 9 | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . |
| 4D | Bomar, Maalik | 2 | 6 | 8 | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . |
| 21 | CHEATHAM, C. | 3 | 3 | 6 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 99 | Giordano, Dan | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1.0/4 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 20 | WILLIAMS, Chris | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.5/1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 45 | Trigg, Rob | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1.5/9 | 1 | . | . | . | . | 1.0/8 | . |
| 1D | Drane, Deven | 1 | 3 | 4 | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . |
| 40 | Hughes, John | . | 4 | 4 | 0.5/5 | . | . | . | 1 | . | 0.5/5 | . |
| 43 | Temple, Nick | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1.0/4 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 54 | STEWART, Walter | 2 | . | 2 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 52 | JACKSON, Dwight | 1 | 1 | 2 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 58 | Mills, Brandon | 1 | 1 | 2 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 25 | CHENAULT, Arryn | . | 2 | 2 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 96 | DeTemple, Tom | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 13 | Lambert, Pat | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 33 | TENTMAN, S. | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 94 | Stepp, Jordan | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 8D | Witty, Adrian | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 81 | Hilton, Tomaz | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
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