(Courtesy AP)
Compiling a list of the best moments from an entire season’s worth of football and basketball games isn’t easy. But somehow I was able to boil down all of the touchdowns, interceptions, blocks, and dunks to just 10:
- Can’t Spell Clutch Without “UC”
- Cash On The Money
- Julian Munchin’ On Hokies
- Opening With A Winn
- Temple Run For Six
- Marquette Kil-ler
- Snea-Kay! Snea-Kay!
- Julian Catches Another!
- Winn-ing With The Pass
- Global Sports Classic Title
Unfortunately there are some that didn’t make the cut. They were great plays but simply didn’t quite provide enough of a reason to place them in the top 10. Or I may have just flat out forgot about them when I was putting the list together. That’s entirely possible. So to honor those Bearcats and the plays they made this past season, here’s a compilation of the best of the rest.
RDA IV Runningback Wheels
I’ve come to the conclusion that Ralph David Abernathy is part football player, part cheetah. He’s basically a government laboratory experiment gone horribly, horribly right. Watching defensive coordinators try to plan for him, make the wrong decision, and get burned is pure entertainment no matter how you slice it. And in 2012, Cincinnati’s coaches put him in a position to do just that by way of the runningback wheel in which RDA would sprint out of the backfield and streak up the sideline. If it all went to plan, he would go completely unnoticed and the quarterback would be able to find him wide open, like during his 76 yard touchdown reception vs. Virginia Tech. Or if defensive coordinators tried to man him, typically with a linebacker, he was fast enough to sprint right past them, like during his 41 touchdown reception vs. Duke. Either way, it always produced outstanding results for Cincinnati. Let’s hope we see more of that in 2013.
Shaq Thomas Ankle-Breaker vs. Creighton
Cincinnati didn’t advance past their opening round opponent Creighton in the NCAA Tournament and that was disappointing. But what caused excitement for Bearcats fans was Shaq Thomas’ performance that day. His 12 points was a career high. Overall the swagger he displayed was that of a battled-hardened veteran, not a redshirt freshman, and against one of Cincinnati’s toughest opponents of the season no less. One of his best moments was an ankle breaking crossover against the Blue Jays that he capped with a made jumper. The collective gasp from the crowd is probably the best part about the play.
Shaq Thomas Putback Dunk vs. Creighton
Two Shaq Thomas moments? You bet. With the Bearcats fighting to keep up with the Blue Jays, Cashmere Wright tried to cut the deficit to 1 with a shot from three-point land. It clanked off the iron and popped up in the air. With players on both sides gazing at the ball, Shaq Thomas sprinted in from out of nowhere and slammed it home. Yet another crowd-pleaser from the freshman!
Greg Blair Endzone Interception vs. Pitt
The Bearcats made their presence known from the onset of their game against Big East rival Pitt. UC scored touchdowns on their first two drives and stuffed the Panthers on theirs. Cincinnati looked to be a well-oiled machine en route to a blowout win on national TV. But as the first quarter waned and the teams flipped sides to start the second, Cincinnati’s momentum started to slow as Pitt began to put together a string of first downs. After a few semi-successful drives the Panthers were sniffing the endzone and were looking to cut their deficit in half. But Blair didn’t let that happen. On 2nd-and-goal from the UC 12 yard line, Tino Sunseri floated a pass intended for his receiver running a post across the middle of the endzone. Blair read the play perfectly and picked off the pass, giving the ball back to Cincinnati’s offense and erasing any momentum the Panthers had built up over the last 10 minutes.
Sean Kilpatrick vs. Xavier
When Cincinnati beats Xavier, it’s always a cause for celebration. But for Sean Kilpatrick in particular, I’m sure he had a couple of extra fist pumps for downing the Musketeers that night and especially for his performance. Killa dropped 25 on Xavier, pacing either team by a wide margin. Considering the fact that he was straight up embarrassed during the Bearcats’ shellacking at the hands of the Musketeers the year prior, this win must have tasted even sweeter.
Arryn Chenault Drive-Halting Pick vs. Virginia Tech
Defense took center stage during the first three quarters of Cincinnati’s game against Virginia Tech earlier this year. During this time, both teams combined for just 20 points, with UC on top by a slim margin. At this point it seemed like the team with the lead this late in the game was going to survive to pull out the victory. That of course didn’t end up being the case as the Bearcats and Hokies scored more points in the fourth quarter than the previous three quarters combined. However, with Virginia Tech knocking on the door late late in the third quarter, it looked like that might be just enough for them to jump ahead for good.
But thankfully safety Arryn Chenault was there to make the play. On 1st-and-goal from the Cincinnati 13 yard line, VT quarterback Logan Thomas reared back and tried to hit his receive streaking into the end zone. But he threw it too high, the ball tipped off of the receiver’s hands, and Chenault put on his Johnny-on-the-spot hat to grab the interception. It stopped Virginia Tech’s drive cold and protected Cincinnati’s slim lead. Looking back this was an absolutely critical play. While the Bearcats and Hokies turned up the scoring in the fourth quarter, UC wound up only winning by 4. That touchdown might have been the difference between a Cincinnati loss and a Cincinnati win. It seems Chenault’s pick made it the latter.
Munchie Legaux 77 Yard Scamper vs. Pitt
Cincinnati’s quarterback Munchie Legaux is an unusual threat out of the backfield. He has the ability to burn the defense with both his legs and his arm. Against the Panthers on the opening night of the 2012 football season, Legaux shocked Pitt by doing just that. He wound up throwing for 205 yards, including a pair of touchdowns, and 117 yards on the ground. The highlight of his night was a 77 yard run that caught the Panthers completely off-guard and brought back memories of Zach Collaros’ touchdown run against South Florida a few years back. While Legaux didn’t cross the goalline, his scamper whipped the already energized crowd at Nippert Stadium into a frenzy and further established Cincinnati’s dominance over the Panthers in that game.
Did I miss any? Let me know!