Cincinnati Bearcats
Big East
In the end, Cincinnati tied for the Big East title with a 5-2 mark. Louisville and Rutgers garnered most of the national attention out of the Big East, and rightfully so, but the Bearcats deserve some recognition too. The expectations were not very high for Coach Butch Jones’ team and a share of the Big East title is something this group can build off of in the coming seasons. Back-to-back bowl wins would not hurt either.
2012 Record: 9-3, 5-2
Coach: Butch Jones
Coach Bowl Record: 1-2
Big Wins: 9/29 Virginia Tech (27-24), 11/3 Syracuse (35-24)
Bad Losses: 10/20 at Toledo (23-29), 11/17 Rutgers (3-10)
Strengths:
George Winn has spent most of his career as a backup, but the 5-11 senior came on strong during his senior season. Last season Winn carried the ball just 40 times. In 2012 Winn carried the ball 227 times for 1,204 yards and 12 scores. That surprising production catapulted the Bearcats rushing offense into the best in the conference. Quarterback Munchie Legaux, besides having one of the best names in all of college football, brings another running threat to the team. Coach Jones will not call Legaux’s number as a rusher too often, but he is an elusive quarterback who is not afraid to scramble. Legaux has not been a consistent passer and his accuracy is still a work in progress, but the Bearcats can move the ball through the air. With Winn setting up the passing game, and the dual-threat ability of Legaux, Cincinnati can catch the opposition by surprise when they do pass…even if it does not look very pretty. However, Brendon Kay took over the starting job late in the year. Kay is also a dual-threat quarterback and as long as he can throw fewer interceptions and keep his completion percentage up, Kay should stay the starter.
Weaknesses:
The Bearcats will allow quite a few yards, but they have done a great job keeping the opposition out of the end zone. Despite allowing nearly 375 yards per game, the Bearcats have the 13th best scoring defense in the country. With senior ends Walter Stewart and Dan Giordano leading the way getting into the backfield, the opposition will be under pressure. And linebacker Greg Blair is a big time tackler who has done a great job stuffing the run. As long as Cincinnati can continue getting pressure on the quarterback and continue keeping the opposition mostly out of the end zone, this a Cincinnati squad that is deceptively good. The next season or two may go very well for Coach Jones and company and winning a bowl game would be a great start.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: George Winn, RB, 1,204 yards
Passing: Munchie Legaux, QB, 1,716 yards
Receiving: Travis Kelce, TE, 599 yards
Tackles: Greg Blair, LB, 123
Sacks: Walter Stewart, DE, 5.0; Dan Giordano, DE, 5.0
Interceptions: Camerron Cheatham, CB, 3
2012 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 211.36 (25th in nation, 1st in conference)
Passing Offense: 226.18 (64, 4)
Total Offense: 437.55 (40, 2)
Scoring Offense: 30.73 (49, 2)
Rushing Defense: 138.82 (34, 3)
Pass Defense: 235.00 (58, 5)
Total Defense: 373.82 (41, 5)
Scoring Defense: 17.18 (13, 2)
Turnover Margin: .27 (46, 4)
Sacks: 2.36 (36, 2)
Sacks Allowed: 1.27 (26, 3)
Recent Bowl Appearances:
2011 Liberty Bowl Vanderbilt (31-24)
2009 Sugar Bowl Florida (24-51)
2008 Orange Bowl Virginia Tech (7-20)
2007 PapaJohns.com Bowl Southern Mississippi (31-21)
2006 International Bowl Western Michigan (27-24)
*all team stats through 11/24
