Bill Koch broke the bad news this morning that star lineman, sack machine, and all-around havoc wreaker Walter Stewart will miss the Toledo game tonight due to an upper body injury:
"Senior defensive end Walter Stewart will not play due to an undisclosed upper body injury that he suffered in last week’s game against Fordham. Stewart continued to play after sustaining the injury.There’s no word yet on how long Stewart will be out, but indications are that it will be for more than this game. That’s a huge blow for a UC team that faces a six-game stretch of Big East Conference games beginning next week at Louisville."
Obviously this is a huge blow for the Bearcats. In the immediate future Cincinnati faces a team tonight that does pretty much whatever it wants to on offense. Missing Walt will be a gamechanger. Can the Bearcats stand up in the face of adversity and emerge triumphant? Well that remains to be seen. For now expect redshirt freshman Silverberry Mouhon and Brandon Mills to fill the enormous shoes of big #54.
What is even more troubling is the possibility of Walter Stewart missing an extended portion of the season. Immediately after returning from Toledo the Bearcats will head to Louisville in the biggest game of the season. The winner will have an inside track to a Big East championship. It’s unclear just how long Walt will be out but if he does have to miss the clash with Louisville let’s hope he is back in the lineup by Rutgers in mid-November.