Cincinnati Bearcats @ Tennessee Volunteers Football Recap

Tennessee 45, Cincinnati 23

This game was everything the Tennessee Volunteers possibly could have hoped for. It was everything the Cincinnati Bearcats prayed it wouldn’t become. Two teams trying to rebuild themselves in 2011 took opposite paths on Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. While Tennessee took a definite step forward in its evolution after being gutted by the wayward reign of former coach Lane Kiffin, Cincinnati took a clear tumble in its attempt to climb upward in the college football pecking order. One coach, UT’s Derek Dooley, walked away from this game with reason to be encouraged. Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones, after swimming through    the muck of an awful first season, will only find it that much more difficult to fix the ailments that plague his team.

After Cincinnati tied the score 14-14 midway through the first quarter, Tennessee produced 21 straight points to build a lead the Bearcats were unable to overcome. What looked like an even-steven shootout after 15 minutes of play soon turned into a blowout for the homestanding Big Orange in front of a delighted Neyland crowd. The Cincinnati defense that hemorrhaged so frequently in 2010 was once again on display in week two of the 2011 campaign. UC had difficulty stopping Tennessee sophomore quarterback Tyler Bray, who passed for a career-high 405 yards and four touchdowns. The Bearcats were fully declawed by Tennessee’s passing attack, and since the Vols are not expected to contend for the Southeastern Conference’s East Division title, that’s a particularly searing indictment of the lack of progress Cincinnati’s defense has made over the offseason. This was the first real test for the Bearcats’ defensive eleven. Quite obviously, UC flunked.

The game unraveled fairly quickly after the competitive first stanza. Through the first quarter both teams combined for 342 yards, including an outstanding outing from Cincinnati running back Isaiah Pead. The Bearcats’ meal-ticket performer accumulated 104 yards rushing on five attempts in that quarter alone. Cincinnati had reason to think it could keep pace with the Volunteers, but those hopes were dashed in very short order.

On the opening possession of the second quarter, Bray found his favorite target, Da'Rick Rogers, in the end zone for an 11-yard touchown pass to give Tennessee a 21-14 lead with 13:20 remaining in first half.

Cincinnati 's offensive attack flinched after its first quarter flurry of 14 points. In two of UC's first three possessions of the second quarter, the Bearcats were stopped on fourth-and-ones.  

After its second fourth-and-one hold, UT – given confidence by its defense – was able to withstand a personal foul penalty on its subsequent drive. The Volunteers marched to the UC 15-yard line before Bray threw his third touchdown pass of the day to Rogers, making the score 28-14 with 1:15 remaining in the first half. The rest, as they say, was history.

So were Cincinnati’s hopes of making a statement in this game with its new-look defense. There was nothing new about this defensive performance. While Tennessee now has a spring in its step, Cincinnati’s 2011 outlook just became a lot more grim.

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By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer