With BCS berth in sight, Cincy must get past rival Louisville

Nov 12, 2008 - 6:59 PM By Barry Werner PA SportsTicker Staff Writer

The sticking point for Rutgers proved to the turning point for Cincinnati.

In 2006, the Scarlet Knights marched into Cincinnati with an undefeated record, suddenly the darling of college football.

They left having been handled, 30-11, the start of a surge by the Bearcats that currently sees them with inside track to the Big East's BCS slot and a spot in the Orange Bowl.

Including that win over Rutgers, Cincinnati has gone 21-5 in its last 26 games. The Bearcats need victories over Louisville, Pittsburgh and Syracuse to lock up the Big East title this season.

Cincinnati, West Virginia and Pittsburgh are all 3-1 in the conference. But the 7-2 Bearcats control their destiny. First up is Louisville and the battle for the Keg of Nails on Friday, the Bearcats' final road conference clash.

There is a bit of a revenge factor here as Cincinnati wasn't able to defeat the Cardinals for Mark D'Antonio, now at Michigan State, or current coach Brian Kelly. Louisville has won five straight, including a 70-7 demolition in 2004, and nine of 10.



"It's not much of a rivalry if you don't beat the other team, so we need to make this a rivalry," Kelly said this week. "Our seniors know that."

The Bearcats are coming off a gut-check victory over West Virginia, one that could have easily been a stomach-turning point - in the wrong direction.

Cincinnati led 20-7 with 1:11 left. However, a safety, touchdown, recovered on-side kick and 52-yard field goal as regulation expired sent the game into an improbable overtime.

"Momentum obviously was not on our side," Kelly understated. "Clearly, a lesser team would have folded under those circumstances."

Even more improbable was Cincy holding West Virginia to a field goal in overtime before scoring the game-winning touchdown. Kelly wants to make sure his team puts that game in its rear-view mirror and focuses on the Cardinals.

"If we go down and play lousy at Louisville and lose the game it diminishes it (the victory) greatly," he said. "I think it's just another step toward ... you validate your program with championships.

"This gives us another week to be in contention for a championship. I think that's the ultimate validation."

Coincidentally, Kelly and Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe are each in their second year at their respective schools.

While Kelly is 18-5, Kragthorpe is 11-10. The 10 losses are more than his predecessor Bobby Petrino suffered in going 41-9 and before bailing to the Atlanta Falcons.

At 5-4 overall and 1-3 in the conference, Kragthorpe isn't ready to look to next year.

"We're going to fight," Kragthorpe said. "I'm convinced we have a team of fighters. They're frustrated, but they're frustrated in a good way. ... I still feel good about this team. I feel good about our chances."

Kragthorpe is impressed with Kelly's body of work.

"He's done an excellent job," Louisville's coach said. "Establishing a system and then taking a guy and just plugging him into it and telling him, 'Hey, you just go play football and deal the cards.'"

Despite back-to-back road losses to Pittsburgh and lowly Syracuse, Kelly looks at Louisville as a program to emulate.

"We're not there yet," Kelly said. "We've got more things we need to accomplish. Louisville has been consistent as a program."

Bearcat quarterback Tony Pike has shown immense heart, playing despite a broken left arm that is in a cast. Pike suffered the injury against Akron and missed two games.

"It was a difficult time for him, but he's gotten through it," Kelly said. "There's nothing now that would be in front of him other than dealing with the adversity of not winning that he can't handle."

Pike knows what a win over Louisville would mean to the program.

"We were 1-14 coming in against West Virginia," Pike said. "The guys in that room that I've been here with, we've never beaten West Virginia. Now we're going to try to get the Keg of Nails, which we've also never seen."

Kelly has been wowed by Pike, a 6-6, 225-pound junior who has thrown for 1,229 yards and 10 touchdowns.

"He could be the best player in the Big East," Kelly said. "He could be that marquee player. Without question, he has that ability."

And Kelly is confident that Pike and his teammates can bring a BCS berth to Cincinnati.

"We're starting to get those things," Kelly said. "We're only into the second year of this and we've got a lot of work to do, but what I've learned is that we can do it here. You can win a championship at the University of Cincinnati."