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Cincinnati drubs Syracuse to sew up Big East title outright

Nov 29, 2008 - 10:21 PM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Cincinnati wanted no part of backing into a title.

Tony Pike threw for two touchdowns to lift the 16th-ranked Bearcats to a 30-10 victory over Syracuse and the outright Big East Conference championship on Saturday.

Although Cincinnati (10-2, 6-1 Big East) already had clinched a share of the conference crown and was assured of the automatic BCS berth and a likely slot in the Orange Bowl, it showed little complacency in dominating the Orange (3-9, 1-6) for its second straight 10-win season.

"I think the thing that we stressed is we didn't want to share it," Bearcats defensive end Connor Barwin said. "I know last year UConn shared it with West Virginia, but no one talked about UConn. We had to prepare and stay focused, and we thought we would come out and win."

In winning their fifth consecutive game, the Bearcats also captured their first league title since winning the Missouri Valley Conference in 1964.

"Well we finished what we started. We started this year with the goal to become the Big East Champions," Bearcats coach Brian Kelly said. "I think we have showed the city of Cincinnati and others associated that, yes, in fact that if you can do it in Piscataway, New Jersey and Morgantown, West Virginia, you can do it in Cincinnati.

"It is a great day to be a Bearcat. We're excited for what we're able to do in a very short period of time."

Pike, who is playing with a broken left forearm that sidelined him for two games earlier in the season, finished 28-of-44 for 272 yards and connected on second-half scoring passes to Kazeem Ali and Jacob Ramsey.

Marshwan Gilyard hauled in 11 receptions for 114 yards and fellow wide Dominick Goodman had eight catches for 74 yards for Cincinnati, which closes out its regular season at Hawaii on December 6.

"I was trying to keep everyone from seeing me cry or anything," Gilyard said. "It was touching to see everyone come together and go out with a bang. (Former head coach Mark) Dantonio told us that we could win the Big East, and now it is right in our face. I'm just lost for words because it is utter bliss."

The loss ended the Greg Robinson era at Syracuse with a thud. Robinson, who was fired earlier this month, finished 10-37 in his four seasons.

The Orange managed just 211 yards of offense, one-third of which came after Cincinnati had built an insurmountable 30-3 edge.

"Not good. Not good at all," Robinson said. "I wish we could have played better. I would have liked to finish it with a win. But whatever, it is what it is."

The Bearcats' forced Syracuse into eight three-and-outs and limited the Orange to just four first downs through three quarters.

Yet despite the wide edge in play, Cincinnati held just a 13-3 halftime lead on John Goebel's 10-yard scoring run and a pair of field goals by Jake Rogers.

Linebacker Corey Smith's interception of Syracuse quarterback Cameron Dantley early in the third quarter helped break the game open. Dantley completed just 6-of-23 passes for 59 yards with one interception and one TD.

Pike needed just five plays to get the Bearcats in the end zone, tossing an 8-yard pass in the left flat to Ali to make it 20-3 midway through the third.

"They don't want to stop playing," Kelly said. "For us, there wasn't a challenge for us today except the intrinsic motivation to go out and play your best. When you get that from your group because it is a game, you don't have to worry about those things. Teams that have to worry about that, the message isn't right.

"Our guys can't wait to play, and they will go out to Hawaii and play hard. We finish out the season by representing the Big East in the BCS bowl."