IBC

I'm blogging LIVE from Cincinnati watching the UC / West Virginia game. This is probably the biggest game in UC Football history... which isn't saying as much as it would for a Harvard or LSU, but it's still got Nippert stadium, where I was earlier, hopping!

UC won the toss and elected to receive. The opening kick leaves UC starting from their own 30.

UC goes 3 and out on their first posession, though Mauk made a valiant effort on 3rd and 13.

UC has not been able to stop the run, be it white, Slaton... whoever.
This is NOT an auspicious start...

and, of course, a WVU TD ensues... all you can do is hope they answer back.
While discussing the drive, the fairly obvious observation "UC can't stop the run at all" was followed by the comment "Well, it's the thought that counts" by one of my classmates." I'm going to translate that as "I shouldn't have started drinking at 11 am."

Hey! A UC First down!

Hey! Another one! Big gain on third down, putting UC in Figgie range...
Immediately followed by a blitz and sack.

How come no entry about UC superfan Nick Lachey announcing the lineups for ESPN?

A little trivia... UC has one of the oldest fields in the country. UC has been playing on the field at Nippert stadium since 1902. Only Penn's Franklin Field is older. Nippert Stadium itself is the 10th oldest stadium in the country.

UC going for it on 4th and 14... this is good, I made an argument that UC should have gone for it on 4th and 1 during the first series, only to be shouted down by my fellow viewers. After WVU's drive they didn't think it was such a bad idea anymore.
And instead Ben Mauk pooches the ball! Nicely done, but I'm not sure the defense can stop West Virginia.

Huge 3rd down coming up in the battle of field position!

And huge success - that is the kind of stuff that changes the ol' mo.

HUGE stop for the UC defense! Absolutely huge...

Speaking of Huge.. how about that punt! Wow.
And now UC with a stupid personal foul. This team gets hit with a ridiculous number of personal foul/stupid penalties.
Not surprising since you have guys failing "Intro to Jazz"

That was a friggin BOMB of a punt.

Y'know... if these guys weren't so stupid they'd be a great team. 7 Holding calls last week. Seven.
Nie work by Mauk. He's no White, but he is a pretty good runner.

Marlins wrote:That was a friggin BOMB of a punt.

71 yard punt meet 70 yard TD pass. Here comes Cincy!

Mauk to Barnett for a TD! Great throw on the run...

Mauk has a great shot at breaking UC's single season TD record, 26. He has 22 with a game and three quarters to go, plus a Bowl game.

WVU starting at their own 39... and WVU gets hit with a Hold. UC stopped Devine on the play... then UC follows up with a facemask penalty... yeesh. The replay looks more like he got him by the shoulder pads. I'm still pissed that you can't challenge penalties in football. if you're going to have challenges, you should be able to challenge any call.

West Virginia forced to punt... and downed at the 5. Gonna be a LONG drive if UC is going to put up points.

And Mauk fumbles it, giving WVU the ball at UC's 14. Gotta take care of that ball Ben, WVU doesn't turn over the ball much so UC needs to be more careful.

Big play on 3rd and 10 for UC... for an interception!

Hooooo! Hoooooo! Hooooo! UC!

Barnett with another big gain! Too bad it was for naught, since UC can't make anything of the next set of downs.
Then a promising punt by Huber turns into a touchback...

Now Gabe's got me thinking about Chipotle... Mentioning Chipotle of course gets everyone else watching the game thinking about Chipotle... we might have to send someone out with a shopping list... Quickly!

The announcers on the radio broadcast (I refuse to listen to ESPN) commented that White isn't likely to be drafted in the NFL and will in fact, most likely be drafted for baseball after his senior year.
With the godawful QB situations so many teams have... I have to think this kid could do a better job than some of the schlubs out there. hell, Drew Bledsoe got a call from one team! Drew Bledsoe!

Meanwhile, West Virginia has scored again, making the score 14-7 West Virginia.
A quick poll of the room finds that the 6 out of 7 of us in attendance will all support WVU in a BCS game. The seventh is a fan of Ohio State and doesn't give two farts about the Big East but would consider it as long as they don't play OSU.

Guillard (sp?) with a nice return, picking up 31 yards, getting out to the 35.
Followed immediately by a nice rushing gain by Mauk.

The Mauk run is followed by a drunken pontification by Mr It's-the-Thought-That-Counts on running QB's in the NFL versus College and Michael Vick.
To sum up. NFL QB's can't run because they're too financially valuable. This didn't apply to Vick because he had no arm, so all his value was in his running ability.
makes sense.

Jake Rogers picks up a figgie, bringing UC to within 4.