5 Keys To The Cincinnati Bearcats vs. The Miami (OH) Redhawks

The Cincinnati Bearcats face their Victory Bell, intrastate rivals the Miami (OH) Redhawks tomorrow at 7 pm on CBS Sports Net. Ben already provided an extensive preview of those dastardly Oxfordians, which I highly recommend you give a read, but here are five keys for the good guys to come out on top in this game.

1) Penetration

This more than anything. It took until the second half when the Bearcats consistently penetrated Toledo’s experienced offensive line and got in the backfield. We knew coming into this season that Cincinnati was mightily inexperienced on the interior but are made up of juniors and seniors for the most part. Starters Brandon Mitchell and Camaron Beard are both upperclassmen with their rotational backups players who have been in the program for a while. But the unit recorded just 2.5 sacks against the Rockets and allowed gaping holes to form in the line through which Toledo’s runningbacks could gash UC’s defense. This is a major concern going forward if the Bearcats’ defensive linemen can’t pick it up.

2) Get Going, Green

Gunner Kiel’s arm and Cincinnati’s receivers were the stars of Friday night but Hosey Williams also got his share of yards against the Rockets, running for 103 on 14 carries (7.4 per). That being said, UC’s running game was rather disappointing on the whole, rushing for just 4.9 yards per carry. This was effectively pinpointed on Tion Green who pulled down the average with his paltry 14 yards on 7 carries. He continuously stutter-stepped at the line of scrimmage instead of hitting the lane with force and overall looked like a fish out of water all evening. Green has the raw ability to be a dominant runningback in his conference. However, if he doesn’t show the coaches he can shoulder his load they might have to go with Williams full time and he might be leaned upon heavily if #23 is benched in any capacity this Saturday.

3) Better Communication In The Secondary

Tommy Tuberville in his weekly press conference harped on the secondary’s miscommunication as the primary reason why they allowed so many long passing plays against Toledo. I’d buy that. Half the job of the defensive backs, as they are the last line of defense, is to properly talk to one another to determine who is covering short, medium, and long routes. If one or more of them cover the same wide out or the wrong zone of the field, it opens up the opportunity for receivers to run wild several yards downfield, as we witnessed last Friday. Miami doesn’t boast nearly the passing attack that the Rockets do but Cincinnati’s secondary needs to improve in this area on Saturday. They’re young but aren’t exactly inexperienced. They should be expected to understand their assignments by now.

4) Continued Progress On Special Teams

All three facets of special teams – kicking, punting, returning/coverage – looked better on Friday night than all of 2013. But one game doesn’t make a season. The early signs are encouraging but Cincinnati’s special teams needs to continue to make progress against the Redhawks on Saturday.

5) Come Out Hot

It took Cincinnati all of 3 plays to score their first touchdown of the 2014 football season. From that point onward, Toledo gave UC’s receivers a 10+ yard cushion, opening up huge areas in the middle of the field the wide outs exploited, and they scrambled to play catch up in general. Now, as mentioned above, Miami’s offense isn’t nearly as potent and well-structured as the Rocket. If they are forced to deviate from their game plan even slightly it could spell doom for the Redhawks.