Thursday, October 07, 1999
UC enters C-USA with a lot on line
Bearcats have momentum, shot at bowl berth
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
They've been doing it in the Big Ten, the Pac-10 and the Southeastern Conference for years, but the idea of playing games that count for something — that produce a league champion — remains relatively new to the Cincinnati Bearcats.
And what's even fresher is that not just the champion in Conference USA will be rewarded.
UC (2-2) will open its fourth C-USA season on the road against Houston (2-2, 0-1) at 3:30p.m. Saturday at Robertson Stadium. The Bearcats will enter that game holding fast to the goal of winning a league championship and encouraged to believe it's possible by a win against Wisconsin and a competitive loss at Ohio State.
The team that wins the conference will get the opportunity to play in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, but two other members also will be presented with bowl bids. One will be invited to the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, and another to the Mobile Bowl in Alabama.
“We're in October, in control of our destiny,” UC coach Rick Minter said. “And that's all you can ask for right now.”
Actually, Minter could ask for a more experienced team and a less competitive conference. He'd get neither, but he could ask.
Minter does not hesitate to remind anyone who'll listen that the Bearcats are the youngest team in C-USA. He isn't complaining when he examines the teams that will compete for those three bowl bids, but he has noticed East Carolina's 5-0 start, Louisville's 43-point-per-game offense behind quarterback Chris Redman, Southern Mississippi's defensive performances against Texas A&M and Nebraska, and Memphis' near upset of Tennessee.
Although ECU is the only team with fewer than two
losses, six teams are at .500 or better as the conference schedule heats up with tonight's game between Louisville and Army.
What most concerns Minter about entering C-USA play is that a majority of the teams rely on defensive speed and an approach to playing defense best described as disruptive.
UC's strength has been its ability to spread the field on offense and make quick decisions, which has produced an average output of 411.8 yards — 29th in Division I — and a completion percentage of .580. Quarterback Deontey Kenner has been sacked just once.
Teams willing to gamble defensively and blitz Kenner could cause substantial problems for the Bearcats. They think they'll see more of this at Houston than against Ohio State, which was content to rely on its superior strength and nearly was burned as a result.
“That's what's propelled these teams into having opportunities to win some of the games they've been in,” Minter said. “This team we're playing is up against it already. This is a team that's 0-1. The champion in this league has had no losses or one, so two losses would really put them behind the 8-ball.”
UC and Houston are developing a rivalry of sorts. It hasn't meant much at the gate, with last year's game played before 16,886 at Nippert Stadium, but the past two games between the two were decided by a combined four points.
“If we want to have any say, any possibility of reaching our goals, now's the time,” Minter said. “The great thing about conference play is your season's not over after four games — good, bad or .500.”
UC at HOUSTON
• Records: Both teams are 2-2
• When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
• TV/radio: WLW-AM (700)
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