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| Wednesday, October 4 Bearcats trying not to be one-hit wonders By Eric Crawford Special to ESPN.com | |||||
For a couple of games, Cincinnati looked like the Big Red Machine.
Now, they once again find themselves stuck in reverse. The Bearcats and coach Rick Minter have lost three straight since pulling out a last-second upset of Syracuse.
It's a script they are all too familiar with after last season, when they shocked
the nation with an upset of Wisconsin, then didn't win another game. This season is beginning to look eerily similar, but Minter is hoping his team can rewrite the ending.
He says it has to start with Saturday's home game against Houston.
"This is a must-win if we want to be contenders and not pretenders," Minter said. "This is a very important game for us. We cannot afford to go 1-2 in this league."
It's a lot of pressure to put on a team early in the Conference USA season, but Minter thinks his veteran squad can handle it.
"The good thing about this group is that we've been here before and nobody's panicking," Minter said.
Army After a bye week, QB Chad Jenkins will return to his starting job. He had been out for two weeks with an ankle injury. ... The Black Knights travel to New Mexico State on Saturday. They scored 21 points in the first 16 minutes against the Aggies last season on their way to a 35-18 win.. This year, they have a shot at picking up their first win of the season. ... Their win at New Mexico State last October was their last win. Army has lost eight straight, dating back to last season. Houston Despite losing four receivers for the season, the Cougars' receiving corps keeps putting up big numbers. With 10 catches for 157 yards against SMU last Saturday, Keykowa Bell became the third UH receiver to post more than 150 yards receiving this year. He joins Brandon Middleton (175 yards at LSU) and Brian Robinson (151 yards vs. Army). ... The home team has won each meeting between Houston and Cincinnati since 1996. ... Houston QB Jason McKinley ranks third nationally with 26.8 completions per game, and with 35 straight starts has the longest streak of any Division I-A quarterback. East Carolina A knee injury has sidelined star linebacker Pernell Griffin. ... The Pirates play their first game of the season outside of the state of North Carolina this Saturday when they travel to Memphis. ECU has won the last five meetings in the series. ... Junior QB David Garrard ranks 14th nationally in passing efficiency and 13th in total offense. ... ECU is C-USA's highest-scoring team at 34.2 points per game. Louisville The Cardinals are the most penalized team in Division I, averaging 14.3 penalties for 127.5 yards per game. ... They are the only team in C-USA that has yet to play a conference game, but will open league play Saturday at UAB in their first-ever trip to Legion Field. ... Kicker Wade Tydlacka, a redshirt freshman, hit a 51-yard field goal in last week's 41-22 win over Connecticut, 1-yard shy of tying the school record. ... The Cardinals are averaging a touchdown per game less offense than they posted a year ago, but their defense is improving, giving up eight points per game fewer than a year ago. Memphis The Tigers are the only team in C-USA to get conference powers East Carolina and Southern Miss back-to-back. ... The Tigers continued to struggle offensively, going without a touchdown against the Golden Eagles' powerful defense in a 24-3 loss last Saturday. ... The Memphis defense, however, is legitimate. They rank seventh nationally in total defense -- fifth against the run and 24th against the pass Southern Miss The Golden Eagles haven't allowed a touchdown in 13 quarters, a streak they could stretch this Saturday against future C-USA member South Florida. ... South Florida, which will join the conference in 2003, is playing its first game against a C-USA team. ... Senior DB Leo Barnes had 16 tackles -- 12 unassisted -- in last week's win over Memphis. He also had one tackle for a loss, one pass broken up and, for the second straight game, ran an interception back for a TD, with a 31-yard return. ... Southern Miss ranks second nationally in scoring defense, giving up 7.0 points per game. The Eagles trail only future C-USA member TCU in the category. Tulane Green Wave QB Patrick Ramsey kept the hot hand in last week's win over Cincinnati, throwing for 236 yards and two TDs. ... Tulane makes its second visit ever to in-state rival Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday ... The two teams have split the last eight meetings, but Tulane's winning margin has been 41.3 points. ... Tulane ranks ninth nationally in passing offense at 298.5 yards per game. UAB The Blazers are looking for their first C-USA win of the season at home against Louisville after losing a designated conference game at Kansas ... The Blazers rank 10th nationally in interceptions with 8, and 10th in total defense. ... Junior RB Jegil Dugger has taken over the rushing lead in C-USA at 107.5 yards per game. ... An injury-plagued offense got a break in last week's 47-2 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. The Blazers posted big numbers despite starting QB Daniel Dixon leaving the game with a shoulder injury in the first quarter. He is expected to play Saturday. ... Last season's leading rusher, Carl Fair, also is expected to return Saturday after missing two weeks with an ankle injury. Eric Crawford covers Conference USA for the (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal | ALSO SEE Big East notebook Big Ten notebook Big 12 notebook Big West notebook MAC notebook Mountain West notebook WAC notebook | ||||
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