To say that this season of Bearcats football has been disappointing would be an understatement. This team has the talent to have been nationally ranked and 5-0 in AAC play at this point in the season, but UC has dropped three league games (against teams that are all currently ranked) by a touchdown or less. And the most disappointing part is that UC continues to make the same mistakes. As the late great Yogi Berra said, “It’s like deja vu all over again.” Play it again, Sam. I feel like Bill Murray waking up to the same Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney every time I watch this team play a decent opponent.
UC did it again on Saturday in a 33-30 loss on the road against #25 Houston. The comedy of errors on Saturday afternoon was a total team effort of the wrong kind.
- Sam Geraci mishandled a deep snap, nobody bothered to block a Houston rusher, and UC gave Houston their first TD of the game on a 20-yard short field following the blocked punt that resulted.
- Tion Green fumbled at the one yard line on his way into the end zone for a UC touchdown.
- Andrew Gantz apparently went rogue in an ill-fated attempt at a surprise onside kick.
- Gunner Kiel tossed another pick-six.
- Sione Tongamoa decided to take a late shot on Greg Ward when UC had UH stopped on 3rd-and-long.
- JJ Pinckney decided to yank Ward down by the facemask after UC had UH stopped on 4th-and-Goal later in the same drive.
- The non-call on the false start was inconsequential. UC stopped Houston on 4th-and-Goal. Stopped them stone cold. Obviously, that means they would have taken over the ball and Houston would’ve got nothing and liked it. A false start call prior to the snap would have allowed Houston to kick a field goal from the 6 yard line. UC had a turnover, but gave it away by committing a senseless penalty. Even offsetting penalties for an illegal shift and then the facemask still would’ve given Houston another shot. DON’T GRAB A GUY BY THE FACEMASK WHEN YOU HAVE HIM STOPPED (and totally surrounded) ON FOURTH DOWN!
- Perhaps more damning than not giving Mike Boone the lion’s share of the carries is not giving anyone the lion’s share of the carries – UC ran the ball just 3 times in the second half. THREE! I know we were playing from behind, but come on. You have to take the pressure off Gunner and the passing game at least a little. A draw play or two to Boone would have been useful, especially when the Houston D-Line was pinning their ears back late in the game. I thought this was a lesson Tommy T. and Company had learned from the BYU game given that he admitted as much in the post-BYU press conference, but I guess the staff has forgotten.
- As a result, UC lost the time of possession battle 37:33 to 22:27 (nearly a 2:1 ratio), as Houston rushed for 266 yards to UC’s 18 (yep, the ‘Cats got outrushed by 248 yards).
- For the third time in conference play, UC had the ball with a chance to drive down the field and tie or win the game, and for the third time, they were unable to do so. At least this time the game didn’t end on an interception. For all the hype this team rightfully gets for being high-scoring, they seem to struggle to be “clutch.”
This season has been lost for a long time given the lofty expectations of an AAC title that everyone had for them in August, but they need to get it together and start showing some improvement in the areas of turnovers and special teams. This team still has a shot at 9 wins (including a bowl game), which is certainly respectable. But more than that, next year has a chance to be a special season if this team can make strides. We all know how young the defense is. They’ve actually been better than expected, especially at forcing third down stops. Now they need to use this experience to stop making mental mistakes. The offense, for their part, has to start emphasizing taking care of the football. I’m not sure if it means having backs and receivers take footballs to class a la DJ Woods, or having Gunner watch more tape or what, but turnovers have doomed this team. The special teams units have shown flashed of brilliance (Gantz and Geraci have been great actually kicking the ball), but all the little things have gone by the wayside – dropping snaps, giving up onside kicks, trying their own when not called for, allowing return TDs, etc. – it’s been a mess. There seems to be a complete lack of attention to detail.
The one thing that Bearcats fans can take solace in is that these mistakes are all mental. As maddening as they are to watch, this team still has the talent to be the best team in The American. Some teams’ shortcomings are a side effect of being physically outmatched (ask Tulane or UConn or UCF how that feels). UC has all the talent to be great if it can be stronger mentally and make better decisions. Experience is the best teacher.
It’s tough not to start looking ahead to 2016 already, but as I mentioned, UC still has a shot to salvage respectability out of this season. 9-4 looks great on paper, even if all nine wins are over bad teams. And it sure beats the hell out of 7-6, so this team needs to get their act together and mentally execute in their last three very winnable games. And if they can iron out these issues, next year will be a fun year.