Two bowl games in four years. Not bad for a University of Cincinnati football program that ended a 46-year bowl drought with its appearance in the first-ever Humanitarian Bowl in 1997 and then followed last season with a trip to the Motor City Bowl.

        It's what happened in between those two bowl games — 2-9 in 1998, 3-8 in 1999 — that may provide UC fans with a reason to fret as they begin to focus on the Bearcats in 2001.

        Given that recent history, it's only natural to wonder if UC is due for another down year or two before the next bowl game rolls around.

        “We're not looking back,” UC coach Rick Minter said Monday at Nippert Stadium on the first day of full-squad, two-a-day practices. “This is a new group, new era, new coaches, new guys. Nobody was here in 1998.”

        It may have seemed to Minter as if no one were there in '98 based on that 2-9 record, but a few players remain on UC's roster who remember all too clearly what that season was like. One of them is junior defensive end Antwan Peek, who was a freshman in 1998.

        “Our biggest focus is not to let the same thing happen that happened the last time we went to a bowl,” Peek said.

        That, indeed, is the next challenge for this program. It's one thing to gear up for a minor bowl game every few years, quite another to reach the level where winning seasons become commonplace.

        If the Bearcats, who return only 11 starters, are to improve on last year's 7-5 record, they'll have to do it without the consistency that comes with an established coaching staff. Both the offensive and defensive coordinators are new. So is the offensive line coach, the defensive line coach, the linebackers coach, and the defensive backs coach.

        Dave Baldwin, former San Jose State head coach, takes over the offense. A.J. Christoff, who coached the linebackers at Southern Cal last year, will oversee the defense, which will undergo significant change.

        “Things are different,” Peek said, “a lot different. At first, a lot of the players were getting frustrated. When we didn't understand it, we were saying to ourselves, "This doesn't work. It ain't never going to work.' But the more that we worked on it, and we started learning the system, that's when we began to feel like, "OK. Maybe it will work.' Now that we know it, we feel a lot better about it.”

        Offensively, the Bearcats' strength is their front line, where four starters return, along with running backs Ray Jackson and DeMarco McCleskey. Jackson was first-team all-Conference USA last year with 808 yards. McCleskey rushed for 500 yards.

        The main focus leading up to the Sept. 2 opener at home against Purdue will be settling on a replacement for quarterback Deontey Kenner, who completed his eligibility last year with the second-most passing yardage in school history. Veterans Adam Hoover and John Leonard have the early advantage, but they'll be pushed by Highlands High product Gino Guidugli, one of the most heralded recruits in Minter's seven seasons, and another freshman, George Murray from Tallahassee, Fla. Murray has been impressive in the early going.

        Minter understands what a successful career for Guidugli could mean for the Bearcats' long-term future, but he said he won't be pressured into playing him unless he earns the spot.

        “My obligation to our team is to play the guy who gives us the best chance to win,” Minter said. “We promised Gino when we recruited him an opportunity to play as we promised George he'd get an opportunity to play. But I promised my team that we'll put the best guy out there.”

        NOTES: Nippert Stadium has been upgraded with 10,000 new red, plastic chairback seats, a new scoreboard complete with video board and an auxiliary scoreboard in the southeast corner ... The Bearcats leave campus Wednesday for the Higher Ground retreat and conference center in West Harrison, Ind., where they'll conduct workouts until Aug. 25.

UC still trying to prove itself

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