Some UC Fans Need Their Heads Checked

The Cincinnati Bearcats lost to Virginia Tech Hokies in the Military Bowl on Saturday, which sent corners of the fan base into a frenzy. Now, these fans aren’t the most mentally stable. They frequently pine for the days of Bob Huggins every time Mick Cronin’s basketball team beats an opponent by 5 and not 50. They thumb their noses at the Nippert Stadium renovations, claiming 40,000 seats is still “small time”, since Paul Brown Stadium is larger and just a few miles away.

And after UC’s disappointing loss in the Military Bowl, they reared their ugly negative heads yet again. Here are but a few of things I heard in the hours and days following the loss.

"UC’s hopes of being invited to the Big 12 or another Power 5 conference evaporated with the loss to Virginia Tech."

The performance on the field yet alone a single game has yet to determine whether or not a program jumps to a better conference. While Louisville and West Virginia both went out with a bang, the same can’t be said of Pitt and Syracuse the seasons prior to their entry into the ACC. The Panthers went just 12-14 before joining the ACC and the Orange were only slightly better going 13-12. So why would one game determine Cincinnati’s conference fate?

It doesn’t and to think otherwise is pure stupidity.

Television market size, fiscally balanced athletic department, enrollment and endowment sizes, and facilities are all more far important than a single football game. That’s been the formula since the last round of conference realignment kicked off four years ago and that will always be the formula. You’d think after a half-dozen teams made the leap some people would realize that already.

"Even if Cincinnati miraculously got a Big 12 invitation, the Military Bowl and this season proved they couldn’t win more than one game."

People said the same thing before UC made the jump from Conference USA to the Big East. Remember how that worked out for the Bearcats? Recruiting, money, and fan allegiance is all better and easier in a Power 5 conference. Give Cincinnati a couple of years in the Big 12, ACC, etc. and I guarantee you the Bearcats will be making waves like they were in the Big East.

"Gunner Kiel is a shell of a football player, a prima donna, and can’t battle through any sort of pain."

Give me a break.

Gunner Kiel was hammered against Memphis, practically fracturing his ribs, and continued to start every single game for the Bearcats in 2014. Sure he missed two games but only because he physically couldn’t throw the football. Quarterbacks use more than just their arm to rifle a ball to his receivers. The midsection and legs are equally worked on a regular basis. If one of those isn’t performing properly or fails, the quarterback can’t throw the ball like he normally would. That only amplifies as the pain gets worse, which happened to Kiel over the course of the season.

Cincinnati Bearcats

Then against Virginia Tech he took the top of a helmet to his ribs (ouch!), was pile driven into the turf (double ouch!), and all I heard for the next few hours was “he’s gutless”, “he can’t take a hit”, “he’s not a real football player”. First of all, Tommy Tuberville held Kiel out of the second half to avoid permanent injury. If he had a concussion, that’s a life changing impairment that transcends a mere football game. If playing the rest of the Military Bowl caused Kiel to eat his meals by straw while drooling out of one side of his mouth, that would be unacceptable and tragic.

Secondly, if it was the ribs, what if he had finally broken them? Does not playing through ribs that are sliced in two make Kiel less of a football player? Please.

It’s pretty clear most of the people complaining about Kiel have never played football, let alone D1 collegiate football, and have no clue in the slightest what he went through this season.

"Tommy Tuberville was a mistake. Cincinnati could have literally hired anyone else and been twice as successful."

Oh whatever! I’m riling myself up at this point.

Tuberville has gone 18-8 in his first two seasons at UC. That makes him Cincinnati’s second winningest coach in his first two years at the helm right behind Brian Kelly. Granted, the AAC now isn’t what the Big East was but given what he’s accomplished on the recruiting trail battling against Power 5 programs is quite the feat.

Could they have won a few more games? Sure. Were Ohio State, Miami, Memphis, and Virginia Tech this year frustrating? Absolutely. But would you rather have Tommy Tuberville at the helm and his 69% winning percentage or the route of UConn, South Florida, and SMU? I’d take the prestige, experience, and knowledge of Cincinnati’s current head coach over many of the recent hires since 2012. Tuberville is worth every bit of the $2+ million UC is paying him and to believe that firing him makes logical or fiscal sense is insanity.