Cincinnati Obliterates Syracuse on the Back of Isaiah Pead

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Isaiah Pead was a monster today. Cincinnati’s coaches put him in the best position to make plays and he delivered with over 200 all-purpose yards and a couple of touchdowns. He was unstoppable in all facets of the game today. The coaches overall had a very good gameplan coming into this game running the offense with both Munchie Legaux and Jordan Luallen. Normally I don’t like flip-flopping quarterbacks as it can mess up the rhythm of the offense but both played so effectively that it really kept the Orange’s defense on it’s heels. They didn’t pass too much to the receivers not named Pead but I thought guys like Woods and Thompkins redeemed themselves from last week’s drops.

On defense, they were aggressive and came after the quarterback with ferocity. There are still major problems with the linebackers filling the gaps allowed by the defensive line, who played great by the way, but the run defense as a whole did enough to not allow Ryan Nassib to play off of that to get the passing game going. The only real time they were allowed to use the play action pass for big plays was when Antwon Bailey started running consistently between the tackles. Once Cincinnati bottled him up, the passing game became a moot point.

Specials teams was phenomenal today with Isaiah Pead returning punts. Go figure. You get your best player the ball and he delivers. Pat O’Donnell booted some massive punts and Tony Miliano, while missing his first field goal, settled down as he usually does and nailed his next few. Overall, I can’t say too many bad things about this unit. They had one of their best games of the season.

The Bearcats are 8 – 3 and still very much in control of their BCS bowl hopes. At this point, I just love watching Cincinnati win again. The week after a W is so much more fun than a loss.

#BeatUConn