written by Ryan Pence

The Cincinnati Bearcats improved their record to 2-3 on Saturday with a 45-3 thrashing of rival Miami(OH) in the Battle for the Victory Bell. The Bearcats used a dominant ground attack, and combined it with an extremely efficient passing attack that gave the Redhawks far more than they could handle.

Pead runs wild

Bearcat running back Isaiah Pead was absolutely unstoppable on Saturday. In essentially one half of action, the talented junior tailback racked up an incredible 197 yards on just 10 carries. He also finished with one touchdown, which came via an 80-yard scamper late in the first quarter. “Any time we can run the football that helps our offense,” said head coach Butch Jones. “The mark of a great running back is he gets more than what the players block for.”

Despite missing some time early in the year with an injury, Pead has still managed to account for 402 yards and 1 touchdowns this year in just two full games of action, making him one of, if not the, premiere back in the Big East Conference. In fact, his head coach compared him to another former Big East running back, who now plays on Sunday. “I think Isaiah and Steve Slaton are a little bit alike,” he said. “(Isaiah) has the ability to make people miss. He’s a big key to our offense.”

Collaros extremely efficient

Not to be in lost in the shuffle was the excellent performance by junior signal-caller Zach Collaros. Collaros managed the offense very well; completing 14 of his 17 passes for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns. All of which came in the first half. “I thought he managed the football game extremely well,” said Butch Jones. “As I’ve said before, playing quarterback in our offense is a lot like playing point guard. Zach did a great job for us tonight.”

Collaros started the game off right, hitting Armon Binns down the sideline for 48-yards and a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage. His ability to find the open receiver really opened things up and allowed the Bearcat backs to control the ground game.

Costly errors doom the Redhawks

The Redhawks were already having a tough time controlling the Bearcats offense, but some costly mistakes made things even worse. The first questionable call for the Redhawks came not even halfway through the first quarter when they decided to go for it on 4th-down from their own 34-yard line. The play blew up in their face and allowed UC, up 7-0 at the time, to double their advantage.

The mistakes didn’t end there for Miami. Costly facemask calls, pass interferences, and other personal fouls allowed UC to continue to drives and more than once turn a would be punt of field goal into six.

‘Cats strike like lightning

The Bearcats scored early and scored often in the first half. The first quarter was especially impressive. The Bearcats scored 28 points in that quarter, and there longest drive lasted just 1:41. Their other three scoring drives didn’t even make it to the one-minute mark. In the second quarter, the Bearcats did manage to put together one drive that last nearly 4-minutes, however the rest were just as short as their first-quarter counterparts. The Bearcats scored their first 28 points in what seemed like the blink of an eye, leaving the Redhawks in a hole they had no chance to climb out of.

Offense shows glimpse of potential

The Bearcat offense, a unit that has struggled to find an identity throughout the first part of this season, is really starting to show the potential to live up to the almost impossible expectations placed on them by fans this year. In their loss to Oklahoma, the Bearcats showed that they could be on the verge of something big offensively. This week, against the Redhawks, the Bearcats finally hit their stride. All in all, the Bearcats finished with 609 total yards of offense (384 on the ground, 225 through the air) and scored 45 points. Each of which marks a new season-high against FBS opponents. If the Bearcats offense continues to fire on all cylinders, they could provide a matchup nightmare for any team in the conference.

Defense leaves its mark

The game tonight will probably be remembered because of the offensive onslaught provided by the Bearcats, but the defense shouldn’t be shut out from all of the praise. They continue to show improvement as well, and continue to gain valuable experience. “When you play young kids, everything is about growth an maturity,” said Butch Jones. “To play great defense it stems up front. We have some great guys up front, and we’re going to rely on them.”

The defense allowed just 269 yards of total offense to the Redhawks, most of which came in garbage time. At halftime, the Redhawks had just 134 total yards and 3 points. Of those 134 yards, only 18 came on the ground on 13 attempts. In the end, the Redhawks would finish with just 42 yards on the ground.

Quick Statistics

- True freshman Deven Drane saw limited playing time for the Bearcats, so he will no longer be eligible for a redshirt.
- Another true freshman, Arryn Chenault, saw time in the second half and is no longer eligible for a redshirt.
- This is the Bearcats fifth straight win over Miami(OH), meaning each senior on the team (including 5th years) will leave without ever suffering a loss to the Redhawks.
- Sophomore running back Adam Fearing saw his first action of his career as well. He had a ten-yard touchdown run called back due to holding.