Wednesday, September 20, 2000

UC's task: Stop IU QB

---

Randle El is double threat

By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        How elusive is Indiana quarterback Antwaan Randle El?

        The only way the University of Cincinnati Bearcats begin to prepare their defense for Saturday's game in Bloomington is to utilize a jitterbugging running back or wide receiver in practice to simulate Randle El at quarterback.

Indiana quarterback Antwaan Randle El is on the verge of becoming just the sixth college player to rush for 2,000 yards and pass for 4,000. (Associated Press photo) | ZOOM |

        The best statistic to put Randle El's explosiveness into perspective is this one: in 24 college games, the junior has rushed for 1,825 yards and passed for 4,405. Only five players in the history of college football have gained 2,000 yards rushing and 4,000 yards passing.

        Michigan State defensive tackle Robert Newkirk once said that Randle El turned football games into Tom and Jerry cartoons: “(And) I was the big cat chasing the little mouse.”

        UC defensive end Antwan Peek doesn't know exactly what to expect Saturday — he's only a sophomore, and has never faced Randle El — but at least Peek has the speed and quickness to have a chance of tackling the IU quarterback. Peek had two sacks last week in UC's near-upset of Wisconsin.

        Peek is too much of a team player to ponder the personal opportunities Saturday's game might present. But one can easily imagine him being eager to corral Randle El, whose elusiveness has exasperated so many defensive linemen over the years.

        “(Randle El) is already the leading rusher for them,” UC coach Rick Minter said. “Containing him will be the key for our defense.”

UC at INDIANA

• Kickoff: 2 p.m. Saturday     • Where: Memorial Stadium (52,354), Bloomington, Ind.     • Records: UC 2-1, IU 0-2     • TV: None     • Radio: WCKY-AM (1360)

        Because Randle El always leads the IU offense to a lot of points (38 against North Carolina State, 34 against Kentucky), anybody who ex pects to beat the Hoosiers has to score a lot of points, too. NC State and Kentucky each scored 41 points.

        Everybody's waiting for the Bearcats' passing game to get going. IU has shown itself to be vulnerable to the pass, although Minter thinks that has more to do with the teams IU has been playing than it does with IU's defensive personnel.

        “NC State and Kentucky will wind up being Top 25 clubs in passing offense,” Minter said. “They both know what they're doing throwing the football.”

        The Bearcats will take what the IU defense gives them. That's the way it was last Saturday in Wisconsin.

        “Wisconsin put more guys in the box than we could block on our runs, so we had to throw,” Minter said. “And we did a better job of throwing than we'd done the first two games. Still, I will always believe you have find a way to run the football.”

       

---

Bearcats Stories

UC's task: Stop IU QB Blowing leads IU's problem

Giants 7, Reds 3
Box, runs
Wild card? Don't think so
Receivers are NFL's new TD-makers
Bengals ticket holders consider class-action lawsuit
Complete Olympics coverage at Cincinnati.com/olympics
Are you watching the Olympics on TV? Tell us what you think
DAUGHERTY: Good or bad, U.S. lacks Karolyi's fire
Local boxer dominates opener
Two local rowers advance to finals
Herman wins SOPGA Open in pro debut
High School Highlights
Complete prep football coverage at Enquirer.com/prepfootball
Highlands plummets in national polls
Ky. Speedway expands schedule for 2001
N. Kentucky high school results
Ohio football computer ratings
Ohio high school results