Cincinnati Bearcats vs Hawaii Warriors

December 7th, 2008 kNuke Posted in NCAA Football | No Comments »

The 13-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats defeated the Hawaii Warriors in comeback fashion, 29-24.  The win by the BCS bound Bearcats marked the end of the FBS regular season.

Offense: Greg Alexander was 28-42 for 275 yards with 2 TDs and an INT.  Alexander never really looks comfortable, but he was a little more off than usual as he was harassed all night.  The offensive line didn’t provide much protection against a relentless Bearcat defense.  Also, the stiffness finally reared its ugly head as Alexander was not able to make plays with his feet for the first time this season.

The WRs played alright, but it was hard to tell, because of the pressure on Alexander.  The offensive line was the main problem, but good ole Ron Lee was involved as well.  Up by 14 in the 4th quarter, I was thinking to myself, “Please don’t let Ron Lee rear his ugly head!  All Hawaii needs is one solid drive.”  And sure enough, pick six.  Why not run screens and swing passes to eat the clock?  The defense was playing so well that a few first downs would have iced the game.  Then the play call on the safety was terrible…

Defense:  Up until the 69-yard TD pass to Mardy Gilyard, the defense was stellar.  They were putting pressure on the QB and hitting the hardest I’ve seen all year.  Holding a team to 20 points is a job well done in my book.

Special Teams:  They had a nice run without mistakes, and then BAM, a huge penalty on a FG attempt.  Why even do anything on that FG attempt, WHY?!?  They did block a FG earlier, but that penalty added 4 points on the scoreboard.  Guyton Galdeira gets a helmet sticker for his forced fumble, which was a perfect tackle.  I know Galdeira had a penalty later in the game, but that hit was huge.

Coaching:  Same story all year long.  Defense plays well, offense sputters in the second half, and the team has too many penalties.  I know that the offense scored 21 points in the 3rd quarter, but they only had one real drive.

Final Word:  Coach Mack let a signature win slip through his fingers.  This game was a good barometer to test the offense.  We all now know that the offense is still subpar.  Hopefully the team can regroup and finish off the season on a high note with a win in the Hawaii Bowl.

Side note: The green-white promotion was a stupid idea.   I hope that never comes back.  On ESPN2, there were a lot of seats unfilled; shame shame.