CINCINNATI (AP) -Pass. Run. Score. Blink. Do it again.
In its season debut, Cincinnati’s offense was breathtaking.
The Bearcats averaged 1 minute, 56 seconds on five scoring drives in the first half at Rutgers, a 47-15 victory so thorough that it earned Cincinnati a spot at No. 23 in the AP poll released Tuesday and got the attention of the rest of the Big East.
The defending champions might actually be better this time around.
“Absolutely,” said senior quarterback Tony Pike, who was nearly perfect in the best performance of his career. “I think we have a lot more weapons this year at every position, that I would put up against anyone in the country.”
Coach Brian Kelly has looked forward to this for three years.
He arrived at Cincinnati with a reputation for wide-open, no-huddle offense run at breathtaking pace. The Bearcats looked that way at times in 2007, when quarterback Ben Mauk was still hampered by a shoulder injury and players were learning the system. Last year, the offense had to go conservative because three quarterbacks got hurt.
won the Big East and went to the Orange Bowl was a testament to Kelly’s adaptability. Now, with Pike running a veteran offense that knows the system, everyone can see the creativity.
“We are three years into it,” Kelly said. “There is a better understanding as to what the expectations are day in and day out. We thought we could get it going last year, but we ran into a lot of injuries at the quarterback position.”
They had it all going on Monday at Rutgers. First possession: Pike completes all six of his passes for 71 yards on a touchdown drive so methodical that Rutgers calls a timeout just to let the defense take a deep breath and try to gain its footing.
No chance of that.
Pike made only one mistake in the first half, forcing a screen pass into coverage for an interception. He was 20 of 25 for 286 yards as Cincinnati pulled ahead 31-7 in the first half, scoring on every drive except for the one that ended with the interception.
Those five scoring drives averaged 1 minute, 56 seconds and left the defense breathless.
“The game plan was to get Rutgers on their heels, play after play,” offensive lineman Jeff Linkenbach said. “They were on their heels and it’s hard to react when we are running a play every 10 seconds.”
tough catches. The running backs also got involved, combining for 87 yards in receptions.
Kelly also unveiled his version of the wildcat offense. Redshirt freshman Travis Kelce, who moved from quarterback to tight end this season, scored a pair of touchdowns on runs close to the goal line.
At times, Cincinnati seemed to be toying with Rutgers.
“You never think the game is going to come that easy,” Pike said. “We had our work cut out for us, but it just so happened that we got into a groove and built a level of consistency that we sometimes lacked last year.”
Having showed how good they could be, the Bearcats will have to show whether they can be that good again.
A defense that lost 10 starters from last season struggled on the opening drive and benefited from Rutgers’ lack of an experienced quarterback. Three interceptions helped the offense get that big early lead. It won’t be so easy against teams with a proven passer.
Kelly plans to make some changes in the defense before the next game Saturday at home against Southeast Missouri State.
“We are a work in progress there,” Kelly said. “We did some good things, but we have some work to do there.”
The offense’s challenge is to keep it going. Much of that rests with Pike, who broke his left forearm last season – he still has a plate and screws in the nonpassing arm – but returned and led Cincinnati to its first Big East title.
“Tony has to do it consistently,” Kelly said. “He has to be able to answer the bell, week after week. Talk to me in about six or seven weeks and if he is still doing this, then he will be a guy you need to really pay attention to because I think he can do some very good things.”
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