CINCINNATI (AP) -Quarterback Tony Pike was scheduled to have the cast on his non-throwing arm modified Monday, hoping it will speed his return for fifth-ranked Cincinnati.
Pike sat out a 41-10 victory over Louisville on Saturday, four days after having surgery on his left forearm. Sophomore backup Zach Collaros made his first collegiate start and was nearly flawless, throwing only two incomplete passes.
Coach Brian Kelly said that Pike would practice on Tuesday. The Bearcats (7-0) play Saturday at Syracuse (3-4).
“I’ll have a better feel for what he can do tomorrow, once they modify the cast,” Kelly said.
orida on Oct. 15.
Collaros took over and ran for a pair of touchdowns, helping Cincinnati pull away. Pike had surgery last Tuesday to replace the plate, and had a bulky cast placed on the forearm. He didn’t suit up against Louisville, which still had a difficult time stopping Cincinnati’s no-huddle, spread offense.
Collaros was 15 of 17 for 253 yards and three touchdowns in less than three quarters. He also ran for 52 yards, taking off on quarterback draws that suit his style of play. Pike is more of a pro-style passer, running only when there’s no other option.
Kelly said on Monday that Collaros’ big game reinforced the feeling that the Bearcats can win no matter who’s running the plays. Cincinnati is off to its best start since 1954.
“If Zach went out there and really mucked around and didn’t play well, it puts a little pressure on everybody,” Kelly said. “It gives you a definite sense when you go into practice that the kids are going to play hard for whoever the quarterback is. It helps, definitely. Now Tony feels he’s got to do whatever I have to do here to get back as quickly as possible.”
Cincinnati was fifth in the initial BCS standing that came out last week. Despite the lopsided win over Louisville, the Bearcats slipped to eighth in the standings released on Sunday – playing a lowly team cost them. A victory over Syracuse wouldn’t necessarily help, either.
ed that Cincinnati fell behind Iowa (8-0), Southern California (6-1) and TCU (7-0) in the latest rankings.
“We’re in the race and it’s a logjam,” Kelly said. “You’ve got eight to 10 teams. I don’t think there’s any clear favorite. I wasn’t surprised. I think everybody’s at the point right now where a lot of football is left. This thing is pretty fun. Nobody really has a clear ride or path. Look at what happened Saturday. A couple of seconds here or there, and Iowa is gone, Alabama’s down.”
Cincinnati has games left at home against No. 20 West Virginia on Nov. 13 and at No. 16 Pittsburgh on Dec. 5, the last game of the regular season.
“I actually think we’re in better (shape) than most teams,” Kelly said. “We’re going to play at least two Top 20 teams down the stretch here. That’s exciting for us. Everything is in front of us. We love our situation. Let’s keep playing. It’s early in the race, kind of anybody’s game.”
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