Miami 9/16 7:00 ESPN+

[JohnFrancis]

I was laughing at Iowa State...then the UC result wiped that smile off my face. Have to give the MAC credit...ya know with the transfer portal and extra COVID years of eligibility there's a lot more talent spread around both FBS and FCS schools...I read somewhere that some really good high school players are going without D1 offers.
FYI - look at Holy Cross and their coach/record the last couple of years, tiny enrollment, nearly beat BC who should have defeated Florida State.

[bearcatbret]

I was laughing at Iowa State...then the UC result wiped that smile off my face. Have to give the MAC credit....

The MAC 2-0 against the Big 12 this past weekend. Well, Iowa State is our homecoming opponent. Maybe we can get a win in that one. I think that any future football coach's contract at UC, there should be a cause for termination clause that if they do not beat Miami, they could be fired. Yesterday was on the coaching staff among other glaring issues.

[Bearcat Chris]

Folks, just remember that "a broken clock is right twice a day." Everything went Miami's way, and upsets happen. It appears that the Big 12 is really weak this year, so we will win a few more games, but give the new coach 3 years to prove himself.

I am concerned that if we lose badly to Oklahoma, fan interest will quickly wane, just like it has in the past. I thought the crowd Saturday night was the best crowd I have ever seen at Nippert, since I began following the UC FB program in the 70's.

B.C.

[red_n_black_attack]

It seems to me the team didn't come out with the energy needed to play a good game. They got trapped in a trap game, which falls equally on coaches and upperclassmen. Honestly, the 38,000 announced crowd was kinda meh on energy too. This is partly due to large number of Miami fans interspersed through the crowd. The student section was rocking it. The rest of the stadium tried to get rowdy several times, but it just didn't have the Nip at Night feel that we showed past few years.

Jury is still out on the coaching/playcalling. Miami got every close penalty call, and executed very well. From the upper deck, it looked like two pass interference calls were really well hidden holding/pushing/pulling by the Miami receivers. Our players missed some plays, dropped pass, missed blocks, missed tackles, letting the QB scramble, etc...

Honestly, Miami should not be playing us close int he first half, yet they have the past few years. From coaches to players to fans, we deserved that loss with overconfidence. They have played close early past few years, and this time, pulled it out. Kudos to Miami. I think the Bearcats will be okay, considering this wasn't going to be a great year any way. They will win some they aren't supposed to win, and lose one they shouldn't lose (ISU, Baylor or UH). Bowl eligible is still the realistic goal this season, not conference championships

[nolte50uc]

Saturday's loss was embarrassing - no way around it. That said, if my mind is accurate, UC got really lucky in avoiding an upset from Miami in one of Fickell's early seasons.. Coaching changes and mass roster turn-over lead to the ups-and-downs we're seeing.

My heart isn't sold on anything or anyone at this point, but my head tells me that I shouldn't make any judgment until there's been enough time to make adjustments and have the opportunity to show improvements.

[Rufus]

I agree with the above post, however I do have a problem with a coach who sticks rigidly to his game plan (especially offense) and won,'t budge from it when it's apparent that it's not working. As has been observed Jones avoids the middle like the plague. Don't know if it's by game plan or by choice but UC has gotten a rep for supplying great tight ends but yet never but just a few times was the TE. targeted out in the flat. But we would still pound the ball up the middle hoping to wear them down.

[bearcat1518]

Agree that it’s too early to panic, etc. but 3 things stick out.

1) Miami man handled us in the trenches. New coach, new players, new whatever…that shouldn’t happen. And it happened almost every play

2) Passing distribution is awful. As others have noted, very few over the middle or TE looks. Henderson had 10 catches, next highest was 3, then 1. Need to be distribute more. Keep the defense honest.

3) Kerry Coombs DB technique is awful. (I played for him…experienced it firsthand). They never turn and look for ball.

[Bearcat93]

Let’s see how Emory fares against a legit team Saturday. No TDs, an inability to throw down the middle (or accurately long) at all and a fall back to simply scrambling looks more like regression than growth.

[longtimefan]

Let’s see how Emory fares against a legit team Saturday. No TDs, an inability to throw down the middle (or accurately long) at all and a fall back to simply scrambling looks more like regression than growth.

Not sure it’s all on him. Play calling was abysmal throughout. The question is with all those poorly executed rushing plays in goal to go situations, why? Did they not trust him to make a play, or were they sticking to a game plan that simply didn’t work? Lot’s of blame to spread, not sure it’s all on Emory.

[BearcatJon]

Coach Satterfield was 25-24 at Louisville. His teams were all over the place result wise. This 2-1 start seems in line with his history. Going on the road and beating an ACC team but then losing at home to a MAC school.

[bearcatbret]

Coach Satterfield was 25-24 at Louisville. His teams were all over the place result wise. This 2-1 start seems in line with his history. Going on the road and beating an ACC team but then losing at home to a MAC school.

The thing that puzzled me is that he kept talking about playing bash ball against Pitt and it worked out in the first half. However, he kept that up in the second half against Pitt and UC stalled. Then he tried the exact same thing the entire game against Miami. At some point, he has to chance course. The Big 12 teams have enough video of UC now so it will be up to the coaching staff to start changing up the play calling. I do not want to bash too much on this team because this is exactly what Fickle did to the team last year. However, both the offense and defense need to get it together for the rest of the season.

[Bearcat93]

Yeah, definitely thought the play calling negativity impacted the Miami outcome but if Emory doesn’t overthrow Brandon the game’s momentum maybe takes a different course. I like what Satterfield did at App St, kind of hard to fully judge his Louisville results. I also think the defense didn’t play well, pretty much across the board. The second half of the Pitt game seemed to continue through the Miami game.

[Oldtimer_UC_fan]

I think people tend to forget if we make that FG at the end of regulation we are 3-0 and the complaints would be minimal. Let's give him time to recruit his own players before we are so quick to judge.

[Bearcatdave72]

I have heard a lot of complaints about play calling. Was it bad play calling that piled up 500+ yards? There will always be plays that we as fans question but overall the offense rolled between the 20's. What I observed was a team that was outhearted on every single big play. 7 times inside the 20 yard line and 20 points from that. Three trips with nothing. A total inability to get short yardage situations inside the red zone. I'm not sure that's play calling. They shouldn't have to resort to trick plays to score against Miami. They should be able to just move some folks and get the necessary yards. The tackles were constantly getting beat and they had to keep a fullback in to help block which definitely changed the game plan quite a bit. While some of it is always on the coach to make improvements, there absolutely needs to be blame on the players on the field. To me it seemed they were complacent and maybe overlooked this team. I think that started with the 2nd half at Pitt. They thought they could just do what they wanted. Those first six quarters came to easy. Hopefully the coaches don't allow that to happen going forward. Lets Go CATS!!! Beat Oklahoma!!

[D.A.H.]

I have heard a lot of complaints about play calling. Was it bad play calling that piled up 500+ yards? There will always be plays that we as fans question but overall the offense rolled between the 20's. What I observed was a team that was outhearted on every single big play. 7 times inside the 20 yard line and 20 points from that. Three trips with nothing. A total inability to get short yardage situations inside the red zone. I'm not sure that's play calling. They shouldn't have to resort to trick plays to score against Miami. They should be able to just move some folks and get the necessary yards. The tackles were constantly getting beat and they had to keep a fullback in to help block which definitely changed the game plan quite a bit. While some of it is always on the coach to make improvements, there absolutely needs to be blame on the players on the field. To me it seemed they were complacent and maybe overlooked this team. I think that started with the 2nd half at Pitt. They thought they could just do what they wanted. Those first six quarters came to easy. Hopefully the coaches don't allow that to happen going forward. Lets Go CATS!!! Beat Oklahoma!!

i do wonder if, with all of the new players and coaches, everyone in clifton understood this rivalry - face it, its Miami's super bowl. there were way too many plays where numerous guys were running on / off the field, looking to the sidelines to see what to do / where to go, esp. on defense. they did look disorganized. hopefully, as you mentioned, Miami was a wakeup call. hopefully, we see some fire, passion and clarity going forward. if not, its going to be a very long year.