Temple 11/19 4:00 ESPNU

[Corporateballa]

Prater did not have much zip to his throws, but I thought he did OK, but not great. We all have to remember this was really the first playing time he’s had since coming to UC. He did seem to get more comfortable as the game progressed.

Still can’t believe that Navy beat UCF.

B.C.

Not much zip? My TV screen must be better than yours. I thought he threw the ball well for the most part. He had one poorly thrown overthrow. He threaded a couple of balls with zip. He had several easy throws that he executed with finesse.

He showed the potential to be a dynamic play maker; extended plays, converting first downs with his feet, and not turning the ball over. If there are concerns about Evan Prater, it’s not arm strength.

[Oldtimer_UC_fan]

After the 9:55 mark in the 2nd quarter, we scored exactly 6 points. Does anyone here think that will get the job done against Tulane?

[bearcatbret]

Defense Leads #25 Cincinnati Past Temple, 23-3 - University of Cincinnati Athletics (gobearcats.com)

[Oldtimer_UC_fan]

Defense Leads #25 Cincinnati Past Temple, 23-3 - University of Cincinnati Athletics (gobearcats.com)

Tulane isn't Temple. We will need to score more, and hopefully the defense keeps their score down.

[bearcatbret]

I was not able to see the second half of the game because I took the grandkids to a movie. However, reading articles, it seems that Evan did everything that he needed to do to win the game. He had the same yards passing as Ben. Sure, they scored only 2 field goals under his watch but do we know that the coaches had a plan of not to lose the game and just keep things conservative. We do not know the strategy of the coaches. Evan had zero turnovers and he salvaged the win. My observation of this team and coach is that they do not care about running up the score but just to secure the win. We beat the 17-point spread which we normally do not. We have an opportunity to beat Tulane to host the AAC championship game. The team did not have all of the bone headed mistakes and penalties that have plagued them all season. I am okay with this win and wish people would stop complaining.

And to the Tulane issue, I do not think that their defense is all that good and we can score points. I also think that UC's defense is getting better and eliminating their bad penalties.

[Jeff Burk]

After the 9:55 mark in the 2nd quarter, we scored exactly 6 points. Does anyone here think that will get the job done against Tulane?

Absolutely

[Greg7173]

Game ball to the defense for overall good play to get us the win. I saw a few missed tackles and one stupid defensive penalty but otherwise solid performance. Prater more and more reminds me of Ridder in his first two seasons. He suffers from not enough playing time and a game plan that doesn't fit his strengths. Going to Jordan Palmer's quarterback camp in the offseason should raise the level of his game and get our passing offensive back where it should be. Our offensive line play is troublesome. I think more of a concentration on a short passing game will keep defenses honest and allow a better running game. Coaching staff needs to figure out how to get better on third and fourth and short. Success there would have added 11 points to the score yesterday.

[GangstaTakester]

I was not able to see the second half of the game because I took the grandkids to a movie. However, reading articles, it seems that Evan did everything that he needed to do to win the game. He had the same yards passing as Ben. Sure, they scored only 2 field goals under his watch but do we know that the coaches had a plan of not to lose the game and just keep things conservative. We do not know the strategy of the coaches. Evan had zero turnovers and he salvaged the win. My observation of this team and coach is that they do not care about running up the score but just to secure the win. We beat the 17-point spread which we normally do not. We have an opportunity to beat Tulane to host the AAC championship game. The team did not have all of the bone headed mistakes and penalties that have plagued them all season. I am okay with this win and wish people would stop complaining.

And to the Tulane issue, I do not think that their defense is all that good and we can score points. I also think that UC's defense is getting better and eliminating their bad penalties.

I agree with the "just win" philosphy of the team. I was hoping they would keep the pedal down just to give Evan some more time in the offense moving and throwing the ball.

I really do like both kids and I don't believe there is much performance difference in them. They just do it differently. The one thing that surprised me was the number of sacks that Evan took. I thought he would be antsy in the pocket and take off first thing, but he really worked hard to stay in the pocket and actually held it too long a couple of times. While I hated to see the sacks, it did show me a level of maturity for Evan and believe he can get that internal clock adjusted with time.

I know Ben has been the target of most folks this year, but this offensive line has got to be the biggest disappointment of the year. We brought all the guys back and moved in a couple more and they have struggled. I know our center got hurt prior to the start of the season, but I heard a lot about the depth of this unit. We were sacked five times and had 8 tackles for loss. We also only had 3.0 yards per carry. Everyone talked about how well our defense played and we only had 1 sack and 5 TFLs. I thought having Evan in might loosen it up a bit, but it didn't seem to change the result much.

Whoever, plays this week, I am fired up that we have a chance to host the Championship game. I hope we are celebrating another close win next Friday evening.

[Bearcat Chris]

After the 9:55 mark in the 2nd quarter, we scored exactly 6 points. Does anyone here think that will get the job done against Tulane?

We could’ve hung another seven points on them at the end of the game. Fickel called the dogs off. Give Prater a few games, and I think he will be fine. It’s a shame CLF did not utilize him somewhat more earlier in the season, so he’d be ready now to step in during the most important part of the year.

B.C.

[RedDog]

Prater did not have much zip to his throws, but I thought he did OK, but not great. We all have to remember this was really the first playing time he’s had since coming to UC. He did seem to get more comfortable as the game progressed.

Still can’t believe that Navy beat UCF.

B.C.

Hes ready.
Additional mop up appearances wouldn't have helped at this point except maybe nerves which didn't seem to be an issue yesterday. Those aren't game intensity and all he would be doing is running clock. He is what he is at this point in his development: a pretty good passer and a very good runner. Lets hope if he starts next week that the coaches design around that. RPO's are his strength and I would utilize shorter, quicker release pass plays. Of course that would help Ben as well and it hasn't happened. Anything to help the O line which has been disappointment #1 this season. We can't consistently run on anybody which would really help the QB in the passing game and very much help RPO success.
I hope Ben is OK and maybe we can surprise folks with the two headed attack I advocated preseason. Playing them both could be a real problem for defenses.

[Bearcat93]

I think we would have benefited by playing both Ben & Evan all along. Besides obviously aiding Evan’s development, I think there would have been more options for improving the creativity of our offense. While the blocking was uneven yesterday, Evan taking sacks meant he was growing and not unnecessarily looking to run before the play developed. It’s a shame that illegal touching occurred - that was a great play by Evan.

[Lobot]

You generally don't run the backup QB when the starter is out for the game. If Prater would have gotten hurt at the end of that game running read option, you'd never hear the end if it. It would have been a possiblity that Lichtenberg had to start against Tulane this weekend.

[RedDog]

That is true but it will be difficult to win next week with Evan trying to be Ben.

[leeraymond]

Prater's game might be improved by him hitting the weight room in the off-season. He also probably needs to gain some weight. He currently is 6"4' and weighs 200 pounds. He may be a little too slight to endure a full season of contact in the Big 12. He has plenty of room for growth. I get the feeling that the coaching staff were very conservative with Prater against Temple. It will be interesting to see what happens in the game when the coaching staff gives him more advanced plays to run. I like Prater.

[Bearcat93]

Any word on the extent of Ben’s injury?