Cincinnati vs Miami Thursday October 1

[NYUConn]

I feel bad for that dude who flew 1,116 miles to fly a #FireAlGolden sign.

I mean, I guess he was vindicated?

 

[don356]

I went up and sat in our box at Nippert and watched most of the game. Fun game to watch, observations::
-Cincy kicker is outstanding. He hit one from 50 or so in the first half and i don't know what it looked like on tv, but he had enough on it that it might have cleared from 75. Little guy with quite a strike. Not sure i've ever seen a ball hit that strong.
-Cincy qb throw/wr catch down the middle of the field in first half was about as nice a pass play as you will see.
-Cincy d started numerous frosh, and they made mistakes but appear to be getting better. Big kids up front including one tackle who is over 300lbs and made two plays on 3rd and short that were freaky. He threw on offensive lineman like he was a tackling dummy and the kid has to be over 300lbs.
-Miami is big, but somewhat slow. Cincy appeared better conditioned and it showed by the end of the game.
-It would not suprise me if Cincy runs off a big win streak in the conference. If they limit turnovers, and their defense matures, it's going to hard to keep up scoring with them.
-Root for the AAC teams as it only helps tv situation and the likelihood teams like Ucon, Cincy, etc. get their shots and do not get marginalized.

 

[Confident Carl]

The conference isn't awful. But if you have to measure a conference by the number of premiere programs in it, it is awful. If we had FSU and Clemson, we'd be P5.

Mike Aresco (although he wouldn't use the word awful) agrees with you and so do I.
Read what he said in an interview with the Orlando Sun this summer:

Sentinel: Now that we've seen the college football playoff system play out for at least one year, what are your initial thoughts on how it's going to impact your conference in the next couple of years?

Aresco: I think there are two ways, two things that we've got to think about, what's our realistic path to being in a playoff when you have a really outstanding team and this year we had three really good tri-champions, but we did not have a nationally ranked top 10 team. Now, last year, two years ago, we did in UCF. Although, I don't think people appreciated UCF as much until they won the Fiesta Bowl in the convincing fashion that they did. I don't think there's any question that two years ago they might have been a contender for one of those four spots...but we didn't have a team like that last year to test what the committee is gonna do. That's what I'm hoping for, I'm hoping we do have some elite teams in this conference as we go forward. I'm hoping that we have some undefeated, one-loss teams that are winning those nonconference games...We play the toughest nonconference schedule in the country and if we can win those games coming in, we can see what the committee will do. That's one part of it. The second, I do not like the narrow path to the one slot with the group of five. I'm glad we have it, but I would really rather have a little wider...I think there are usually gonna be two, possibly even three deserving teams from the so-called group of five. I'd love to see a little broader access, but that's the reality we have right now and we have to deal with it. It's not easy to get that one as some writers call the "golden ticket." We came close last year. You could argue that if UCF had lost one fewer game or Cincinnati, they'd have been right in the mix. So it's a narrower path and that's really something that we're gonna have to work hard at to see if we can develop elite teams and obviously strengthen the conference overall which I think we're doing. I think our lower tier teams hired outstanding coaches that are gonna rebuild those programs, that's gonna be a significant marker. I think that's been affecting us in basketball a bit too. I don't think our role here is as respected as it needs to be. Once that changes, I think that gives us another boost.

As of right now, Temple, Memphis, Navy and Houston have an opportunity to move up in the rankings. It's still early and a lot of football to play.

 

[itgoeslike]

The conference isn't awful. But if you have to measure a conference by the number of premiere programs in it, it is awful. If we had FSU and Clemson, we'd be P5.

I hear you. But, getting a conference win against a team that just beat Miami, Penn State or Louisville is more interesting than beating a team that just got blown out by them.

 

[kobe]

We are the most talented team in the conference but have no discipline thanks to this coaching staff. It sucks that unless Temple losing 3 conference games, we really have nothing to play for this season and it is barely October.

 

[huskymedic]

We are the most talented team in the conference...

LOL... really? You need to watch more games.

 

[kobe]

LOL... really? You need to watch more games.

#1 in the country in total offense, #1 in the country in most first downs. Dead last in turnover margin. Just beat Miami-FL with our best running back (9.6 YPC) and our two best receivers in Holton and Chris Moore out with injuries. We aren't unbeaten because our team is too undisciplined.

 

[traitor71]

#1 in the country in total offense, #1 in the country in most first downs. Dead last in turnover margin. Just beat Miami-FL with our best running back (9.6 YPC) and our two best receivers in Holton and Chris Moore out with injuries. We aren't unbeaten because our team is too undisciplined.

Storming the field aside, beating Miami doesn't exactly mean too much, outside of maybe being the final nail in Al Golden's coffin. There is no denying the way Cincy can play offense though, gotta say that.