Bearcats Find Themselves Once Again In Pummelling Of Northwestern State

(Courtesy Times Union)

Yes it’s tough to draw conclusions from a win against a FCS opponent. The final score of 66-9 wasn’t outright surprising the way Cincinnati has obliterated opponents from the lower subdivision in recent years. And normally we wouldn’t learn a ton about this team based purely on the scoreboard because of that caveat.

But after UC’s Jekyll and Hyde performances in the first two weeks of the season, how they played last night, not necessarily the final score, is what encouraged me the most. There was penetration on every one of the Demons’ offensive snaps and overall the front seven swarmed to the football, both things we didn’t see last week again Illinois. On the opposite side of the ball the offense was creative (especially with the case of Ralph David Abernathy) and finished drives. The Bearcats scored a touchdown on 7 of their 12 drives. It’s probably unrealistic to expect that kind of efficiency from this offense from here on out, and with the defense UC has they don’t need it, but they showed great signs heading into the remainder of the season.

More observations after the jump.

The utilization of the runningbacks was much better this week.

Against Illinois offensive coordinator Eddie Gran insisted upon sending Ralph David Abernathy up the middle on nearly every running play and especially down by the goal line. All 161 lbs of him was stuffed more often than not. Tonight he ran RDA up the middle a bit but mainly on zone reads, which is fine in my eyes since it forces the defense to pause and think before crashing downfield.

Plus there was a solid rotation between Abernathy and Williams. They split time tonight with the starters (along with Tion Green) and most importantly they were used properly. For example, on Cincinnati’s second touchdown of the game the Bearcats were down by the goal line. It took them three tries to get in but it was Williams who was inserted as the runningback each time. Abernathy never got on the field. It seems Gran now has a better understanding of the runningbacks at his disposal and hopefully uses them like he did tonight for the remainder of the season.

We have a fullback, damnit!

Jared Golden had a nice catch and run, his second in a Bearcats uniform but by far his longest. The fullback in this offense should be a weapon out of the backfield just like any other back and Golden showed early signs that he can perform that role for Cincinnati.

Brendon Kay is now, Bennie Coney is the future

With Munchie Legaux sidelined for the season, Brendon Kay is entrenched as the starting quarterback for the Bearcats. And after his performance tonight (12/14, 277 yards, 4 touchdowns), it made me question why he wasn’t the starter from day 1. Again, these were numbers he put up against a FCS opponent but the offense displayed far better balance than I’ve seen all season, Purdue included. Kay has the arm to keep defenses from stacking the box, which allows his ball carriers the luxury of facing minimal defenders on their runs, which then opens up more space at the second and third level for the receivers to exploit. It’s offensive efficiency at its finest.

Also tonight we got to see redshirt freshman Bennie Coney for the first time. He was nearly as sharp as Brendon Kay completing all five of his passes for 60 yards and a touchdown. All of the reps he earns tonight will only make him a better quarterback if and when he’s the starting quarterback in 2014. Of course Gunner Kiel will be in the mix but Coney’s in-game experience from games like these will give him a leg up heading into next season.

Still need to clean up those penalties

Despite from all of the good the Bearcats showed us tonight they still had major issues with penalties. They were damn near flawless against Purdue in week 1 but the mistakes they made against Illinois were a major factor in them losing that game. These will happen but a veteran team like Cincinnati shouldn’t be committing 13 penalties for 131 yards in a game ever. And especially against a FCS opponent where the Bearcats should dominate in all areas. Cincinnati’s talent and depth was able to overcome these penalties tonight but it could cost them against better teams later in the season.