Last Updated on December 17, 2009 9:00 pm by drew
Sugar Bowl
New Orleans,
The defense started getting ready to try to stop Tim Tebow and Florida in the biggest bowl game in Cincinnati‘s history.
After a tumultuous week, it all felt good.
The Bearcats (12-0) began practice for the Sugar Bowl on Thursday, one week after coach Brian Kelly told his players at their annual football banquet that he was headed for Notre Dame. The past seven days have been filled with anger, rumors and a lot of uncertainty.
Finally, they got back to football on Thursday, working out in front of Nippert Stadium’s empty seats.
“This was kind of therapy for all of us – the kids included – to get back out here and do what they love,” said offensive coordinator and interim coach Jeff Quinn.
Mentally, they were aching for it.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SPORTSBETTING.com have made
No BCS bowl team had a worse week than
Some of the players had tears, others wore angry expressions when the left their meeting with Kelly, who was introduced in
On Wednesday, Central Michigan head coach Butch Jones agreed to a five-year contract, came to
Jones plans to stay in the background leading up to the bowl, letting the players and coaches carry on the way they have throughout the best season in school history. Quinn, who was announced as interim coach the day that Kelly left, addressed the team after practice Thursday at the 30-yard line, nodding his head and pointing his finger to emphasize his points during his speech.
“It was just about getting back out here and putting everything that happened last week away,” Pike said. “It kind of stinks that the media gets surrounded with coach Kelly and the coaching stuff, and at the same time we just finished a 12-0 season and you don’t hear much about that. It was about being able to get back to football and letting the business part of it go.”
Their focus isn’t completely sharp yet. Senior offensive tackle Jeff Linkenbach acknowledged that the past seven days still seemed like a blur.
“A little bit, yeah,” he said. “And last week was finals week on top of that. So it was a little rough with that. Then we had some time off, time to refocus and clear your mind.
“It’s a rough situation, but we’re ready to move on and try to get ready to play
The Bearcats will practice through next Tuesday, take off for Christmas, then fly to
Pike said the first practice without Kelly was sharp, an indication that the time off worked.
“I think guys had to get away for a few days,” Pike said. “The level of focus is where it was the last week of the season. From what I saw today, guys are locked in and ready to buy into what these coaches are saying.”
2010 Sugar Bowl
Teams:
Kickoff: Jan. 1, 2010 at 8PM ET
Venue: Superdome
TV: FOX
Odds:
Posted: 12/17/09 9:00PM ET