Be careful for what you wish for!

[Bearcat Chris]

The last three games have gotten me very worried.....On the surface, the move to the BIG 12 is quite amazing and a seems to be good thing, but I live in "realville", and I am increasingly concerned that we will become an average BIG 12 team, and am worried what will happen when we have back to back 7-5 seasons (or worse).

Being one of the "big fish" in the AAC has been quite gratifying. Look at the fan interest, the Bowl games we have gone to, and the press coverage (local and national) we have gotten. Being a "Big fish in a medium sized pond" has its advantages.

There won't be any Temples or Navy in the BIG 12. Each week will be games against teams as good as, or better than Central Florida.

Sure, this year's team lost 9 players to the NFL, but we are still "well staffed", and the last three games have lead me to believe that the move to the BIG 12 may not be a happy experience, no matter how well CLF recruits. Let's see how fan enthusiasm will be in 3 years after several lackluster seasons. Attendance at Nippert will be back to 15K, and we may all be wishing for the Saturday games against ECU and USF......Just my thoughts.

B.C.

P.S. Thank God the ECU and Tulane games are at home. My money says we will win out, and end up at the Liberty Bowl at 10-2.

[GangstaTakester]

I was thinking that this morning also. I think it says so much about us as UC fans. We have had an amazing run the last couple of years and now with 2 wins people are jumping off the wagon. I'm not sure we are big time as far as a fan base. We were tied for the longest winning streak in conference history, we have the winningest coach, and to read the quotes from people we have the worst coaches in the history of the program. It is easy to show up when you are undefeated, but when did "just being a ranked team" because so bad. We have 2 loses, and they looked pretty bad yesterday, but if we win out we still have a chance at the NY6 bowl. If we win out, who are the competitors? Most teams end the season with a couple, few loses, but this crowd can't take it.

[London 'Cat]

I’m not going that far yet. The team has issues and so does the coaching staff. But the recruiting seems to be going well and UC can win out from here. Yesterday did expose some weaknesses in the team but also shows room to improve. They know how to fix it and if they are successful, they won’t lose any momentum they have built over the last few years.

[Chewbacca2099]

I think the fanbase will be fine. Especially these next 2 years when Texas/OK have to come to Nippert. Guranteed sellouts. The worst thing that could happen is Bryant comes back AGAIN, everyone is ready to see what Prater can do and they need to get him in more often this year so he is ready for Big12 play.

[Rufus]

The big powerhouses didn't become powerhouses with just two, three, four, years of recruiting. They become powerhouses by becoming destination places to play their "craft". CLF knows that also. He also knows that heading into the Big 12 will allow players he recruits to play at a destination place that is up and coming. It's going to take a few years to go from being a big fish in a small pond to being a perennial top twenty in the power five. Ben Bryant unfortunately is not a QB that can elevate a powerhouse program but neither was the two from UCF. Evan Prater may or may not be the QB to do so but time will tell. The glaring problem in the game last evening was inability to be efficient in passing. We need to recruit better players at all positions. UC's staff has it's work cut out for sure but it's not beyond unfathomable

[richard k.]

The big powerhouses didn't become powerhouses with just two, three, four, years of recruiting. They become powerhouses by becoming destination places to play their "craft". CLF knows that also. He also knows that heading into the Big 12 will allow players he recruits to play at a destination place that is up and coming. It's going to take a few years to go from being a big fish in a small pond to being a perennial top twenty in the power five. Ben Bryant unfortunately is not a QB that can elevate a powerhouse program but neither was the two from UCF. Evan Prater may or may not be the QB to do so but time will tell. The glaring problem in the game last evening was inability to be efficient in passing. We need to recruit better players at all positions. UC's staff has it's work cut out for sure but it's not beyond unfathomable

I give the coaching staff all the benefit of expertise - they have forgotten, and still remember, more than I will ever know about football. That said, yesterday looked to me like UCF decided to stuff the run and let's see if Bryant can beat us - and, obviously, he didn't. As a lot of people have already observed, if we're to be a top 25 team or so this year it may well be that Ben isn't the guy - again, that said, the coaches do this for a living and if they are putting him out there, I have to believe that they think he is our best chance for a "w" but it seems to me if we are to keep our heads above water in the 12, the guy behind center, whoever he is, has to have a broader and better skill set.






































































































































































ucf

[Rufus]

I agree with you. BB just might the best bet this year and turning to E.P. next year. UCF were aware of the qb's limitations and exploited them.

[GangstaTakester]

I don't mean to be an apologist for Ben Bryant, but why does he take so much of the blame when our wide receivers dropped about 5 very catchable balls, our center can't snap the ball in the shotgun (he is consistently very low with his snaps), and our RBS can't break tackles or the offensive line can't create holes? He is dreadfully slow, he missed a few throws yesterday, and the fumble at the end was horrible. However, we were outplayed in many ways yesterday. If your center can't snap, the line can't block, and the receivers can't catch, it doesn't matter who is quarterbacking. I just think he has become the sole focus of everyone's anger and I'm not sure I understand why. He makes throws we have not seen in years. Is it just that everyone believes Prater is going to be great?

[longtimefan]

Sure, it wasn’t all on Ben Bryant yesterday. Mainly we lost because we couldn’t run the ball, and we couldn’t stop the UCF running game. We got the ball down with about 4 minutes left and scored a TD. Then the defense just couldn’t get a stop. But, the defense was on the field way too much because of all the 3 and outs. So, this loss was on everybody.

[bearcatbret]

Watching this team is like getting teeth pulled. They just look ugly on both sides of the ball. When the click, they are really good but most of the time, I struggle watching (or listening). It is kind of like the slow down traffic jam because of a car wreck.

[UC4me]

The last three games have gotten me very worried.....On the surface, the move to the BIG 12 is quite amazing and a seems to be good thing, but I live in "realville", and I am increasingly concerned that we will become an average BIG 12 team, and am worried what will happen when we have back to back 7-5 seasons (or worse).

Being one of the "big fish" in the AAC has been quite gratifying. Look at the fan interest, the Bowl games we have gone to, and the press coverage (local and national) we have gotten. Being a "Big fish in a medium sized pond" has its advantages.

There won't be any Temples or Navy in the BIG 12. Each week will be games against teams as good as, or better than Central Florida.

Sure, this year's team lost 9 players to the NFL, but we are still "well staffed", and the last three games have lead me to believe that the move to the BIG 12 may not be a happy experience, no matter how well CLF recruits. Let's see how fan enthusiasm will be in 3 years after several lackluster seasons. Attendance at Nippert will be back to 15K, and we may all be wishing for the Saturday games against ECU and USF......Just my thoughts.

B.C.

P.S. Thank God the ECU and Tulane games are at home. My money says we will win out, and end up at the Liberty Bowl at 10-2.

I remember you actually said very similar things the last time we were looking to make a jump to a better conference. I remember because I had only recently been told about BearcatNews by a friend and because I totally agreed with you at the time. This time, I completely, but respectfully, disagree with you. If we stayed in the AAC, the magic we experienced last year simply would not happen again. We did everything we could possibly do last year and still needed a ton of help to get where we got. It is also shocking to me that two weeks ago, Coach LF was the winningest coach in UC history, and this week, according to many, he doesn't know diddly squat. But, we could not hope to keep him around if the University said, "Nah, we want to stay a mid-level program. We were a breeding ground for coaches and would continue to be. That was miserable every three years. We have a legitimate path to a national championship starting next year that would require no magic and no help from a single other school. Our players will continue to get better as well. We can already play with the big boys, so let's go do it regularly. I am sure there are more reasons, but the last I will mention here is that moving up raises everything for our entire university and student body. Nope, for me, I am all in on the Big 12, even if we go 7-5.

[Jeff Burk]

I remember you actually said very similar things the last time we were looking to make a jump to a better conference. I remember because I had only recently been told about BearcatNews by a friend and because I totally agreed with you at the time. This time, I completely, but respectfully, disagree with you. If we stayed in the AAC, the magic we experienced last year simply would not happen again. We did everything we could possibly do last year and still needed a ton of help to get where we got. It is also shocking to me that two weeks ago, Coach LF was the winningest coach in UC history, and this week, according to many, he doesn't know diddly squat. But, we could not hope to keep him around if the University said, "Nah, we want to stay a mid-level program. We were a breeding ground for coaches and would continue to be. That was miserable every three years. We have a legitimate path to a national championship starting next year that would require no magic and no help from a single other school. Our players will continue to get better as well. We can already play with the big boys, so let's go do it regularly. I am sure there are more reasons, but the last I will mention here is that moving up raises everything for our entire university and student body. Nope, for me, I am all in on the Big 12, even if we go 7-5.

Totally agree, the move to the BIG 12 is good on all levels. I am excited about it.

[Rufus]

I will say this. If you have aspirations of becoming a perennial power every year then you have to find talented people to assist you in that endeavor. I don't lay the blame totally on BB. But hiring coaches and coordinators simply because they have previous ties is not the best method of operation. Gino G as much as I love him as a player is not ready for the coordinators position. I'll just leave that there.

[red_n_black_attack]

The last three games....

P.S. Thank God the ECU and Tulane games are at home. My money says we will win out, and end up at the Liberty Bowl at 10-2.

If we win out including victory over UCF or Houston in conference championship game, I think a 10-2 AAC champ represents G5 in Cotton Bowl. Coastal Carolina and App St and Sun Belt just don't have the respect writers and coaches are starting to give the AAC. I mean seriously, how does UCF lose to ECU (not drop much in voting) and then jump that high just by virtue of win against us. There are many more tough AAC teams than Sun Belt and we could benefit.

Plus, Liberty is independent so unlikely to get the NY6 bid.

[True Bearcat]

The last three games have gotten me very worried.....On the surface, the move to the BIG 12 is quite amazing and a seems to be good thing, but I live in "realville", and I am increasingly concerned that we will become an average BIG 12 team, and am worried what will happen when we have back to back 7-5 seasons (or worse).

Being one of the "big fish" in the AAC has been quite gratifying. Look at the fan interest, the Bowl games we have gone to, and the press coverage (local and national) we have gotten. Being a "Big fish in a medium sized pond" has its advantages.

There won't be any Temples or Navy in the BIG 12. Each week will be games against teams as good as, or better than Central Florida.

Sure, this year's team lost 9 players to the NFL, but we are still "well staffed", and the last three games have lead me to believe that the move to the BIG 12 may not be a happy experience, no matter how well CLF recruits. Let's see how fan enthusiasm will be in 3 years after several lackluster seasons. Attendance at Nippert will be back to 15K, and we may all be wishing for the Saturday games against ECU and USF......Just my thoughts.

B.C.

P.S. Thank God the ECU and Tulane games are at home. My money says we will win out, and end up at the Liberty Bowl at 10-2.

I can't believe Cincinnati lost a football game! They are now unworthy of a different conference affiliation! There is a famous meme from Futurama that says "Can't tell if serious or joking." And it fits in perfectly with the above statement. Although Temple and Navy will not be joining the Cats on this part of the journey there still are the Kansas, Texas Techs, West Virginias of the world. The Bearcats long ago out grew their current conference, and should have been in the ACC or Big 12 for over a decade now, but what is, is. Will Cincinnati lose some sporting events? Yes, will the current 2 stars and 3 stars be the main target of recruiting? Doubtful. More talent will come, more coaching monies will come. There is nothing negative about moving to the Big 12 at this point except maybe a 6-6 season in the next few years. To be a large fish in a small pond is great, but to grow into the largest fish in a larger pond is awesome.