The Sid Gillman Bowl X
Was going to call this the Bulldoodoo Bowl because it’s bulldoodoo that both Cincinnati and UConn lost to USF with a similar bulldoodoo margin, a fumble returned for a touchdown. But might as well keep it clean and pay homage to traditions of both programs. Which are much deeper than freaking USF. There was a parent of a player who actually assumed UConn was playing football in the 1880s. We’re doing very well in recognizing the ancient past before our FBS present. The present is a result of much blood, sweat and tears from over 100 years. The past does sell and we are recognized as one of the older FBS programs in the minds of many. Also bulldoodoo is our all-time record against the Cincinnati Bearcats, 2-7. But that really is a reflection of how deep football tradition is in Ohio, enough to field a second BCS football team in the Bearcats and several FBS-level programs. The professional Ohio League was one of the precursors to the NFL, which initially was a combination of professional circuits from the Great Lakes region.
We will be going into the mythical Nippert Stadium, despite whatever anyone says about it being a dump. It is the fourth oldest FBS playing site and fifth oldest stadium in FBS college football. Winners of 25 Super Bowls as head coaches come from Sid Gillman’s coaching tree, including the head coach of last season’s NFL champion, John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens. Gillman spent 6 of his 10 college seasons at Cincinnati, before heading to the AFL and forever changing professional football offenses. Places such as Wesleyan University and Trinity College in Connecticut are examples of places that have older playing sites, both of whom were UConn’s regular foes in our earlier days as a member of the New England Conference. Trinity has the 10th overall oldest playing site and Wesleyan was playing on their site earlier.
We got to experience the offensive wits of TJ Weist. There seems to be little doubt that he will at the worst get an offensive coordinator job. But we lost the damn game because of dropped passes. And special teams. But dropped passes more so than special teams. Boyle and his wide receivers corps could easily have made some big plays. But instead, the ball was allowed to go to the ground. Boyle’s desperation late in the game got so bad that he is lucky he did not throw an interception. But some say it is the right time to start the Boyle era and let him get the experience he needs. The football progam did also pay a common price to start a true freshman quarterback during the season but Boyle does show signs of promise.
The Bearcats are a strong team, all around. Their loss to USF is the biggest upset in AAC conference play so far. They are not the same offense as they were under Brian Kelly and Butch Jones. They seem to operate more of a pass-oriented pro offense under the phantom champion head coach of the 2004 Auburn Tigers, Tommy Tuberville.
How he left Texas Tech is something that will be stuck in the mind of Texas Tech fans for a very long time. UConn fans make a big deal out of Edsall leaving after the Fiesta Bowl? Tuberville walked out in the middle of a meal with recruits, excusing himself, never coming back, on his way to mighty Cincinnati. That also does go to show that some AAC jobs are actually more attractive than some “Power 5” jobs.
UConn and Cincinnati both outgained USF in yardage. But turnovers ruined games for both teams, even with UConn only having one turnover. UConn’s running game has completely changed under TJ Weist and gained 207 yards in the first game. The offensive line is functioning very well, once again. But if the passing game held up, the USF game was been there for UConn’s taking.
Surprisingly and delightfully, UConn is stronger in the running game than the passing game while Cinncinati is stronger passing than running. The keys for either team will be being able to stop the offensive strengths of the opponents on defense; very likely, it will be the UConn passing D and the Bearcats rushing D deciding the game. Unless UConn suddenly develops a strong passing game. UConn may have a tougher time containing Cinncinati’s pass offense but interceptions will be key.
We hit rock bottom in the FBS era with this loss against USF. I may consider wearing paper bags to the rest of the home games, don’t know. But this was supposed to be where USF hits rock bottom.
We do show signs of being able to move the chains very well, we just need to execute when throwing the ball. It’s amazing how much the shift of errors occurred. Regardless, this is the start of a new era for UConn’s offense. We do have the talent.
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