Louisville Cardinals @ Cincinnati Bearcats Football Recap

Cincinnati 25, Louisville 16

The Cincinnati Bearcats’ vaunted offense was contained by any reasonable measure on Saturday afternoon at Nippert Stadium in the heart of the Queen City. A Cincinnati program that hangs its hat on its offense was unable to bust out all over. The full-flower flourishing the Bearcats hope for on the offensive side of the ball simply didn’t materialize.

Yet, UC scratched out enough points to enter the win column. This says something about the Bearcats’ resilience, and it also shows all too clearly what’s wrong with the team that fell short against the sons of Cincinnati.

For the fourth time in 2011, the Louisville Cardinals got a stellar performance from their young defense, only to have it unrewarded by an offense that simply cannot find its way. The Cardinals got a score on defense and held Cincinnati to just 330 yards of total offense, but were worn down in the second half. After taking a 16-7 lead into the locker room, Louisville was outscored 18-0 in the second half and lost by nine points. Just a small pinch of offense could have enabled the Cardinals to maintain leverage in terms of both the scoreboard and the in-game flow of momentum, but when UL needed a play from its youthful offense in the second half, the well ran dry, and that’s why Cincinnati prevailed.

After being held in check for most of the first half, the Bearcats found an offensive rhythm in the second half. Quarterback Zach Collaros made big plays throwing the ball and ran in a crucial touchdown on fourth and goal to close the margin to 16-14 in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, tailback Isaiah Pead broke away for a 50-yard touchdown that gave Cincinnati a lead it would not relinquish. Defensively, UC made even more of an effort to ensure that it didn’t slip to the bottom of the Big East’s pecking order. Despite giving up a pair of big throws in the first half, the Bearcats regrouped my flexing their muscles up front. UC’s defensive line harassed, hurried and rushed the Louisville offense in the second half, holding the Cardinals to just four second half first downs and preventing UL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater from being able to do anything of consequence at all. Bridgewater finished 17 of 28 for 195 yards and no touchdowns with one interception. Louisville isn’t able to unleash an imposing vertical passing game on opponents, which means that the UL running game is a sitting duck. That larger dynamic is exactly what got the Cardinals into trouble after halftime. Coach Charlie Strong’s team mustered just 70 rushing yards for the game; it’s little wonder that Louisville’s nine-point halftime lead vanished into the Ohio afternoon.

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By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer