from the cincy enqurier.....
UC pounds Indiana State 40-7
After slow start, Bearcats' offense wakes up in second half
By Bill Koch • [email protected] • September 11, 2010
CINCINNATI -- Only the University of Cincinnati players and assistant coaches know just how agitated head coach Butch Jones was at halftime Saturday.
But even if he was a bit vociferous, it was Jones’ message more than his decibel level that made an impression on his players.
“He said our team has to take on his character,” said UC running back John Goebel. “He’s very passionate. We weren’t used to that at first but in the second half you saw a little bit how a Butch Jones-run team is.”
Spurred on by Jones’ message, the Bearcats were a different team in the second half from the one that struggled to a 12-7 halftime lead.
UC scored 28 unanswered points in the third quarter to pull away from Indiana State on the way to a 40-7 victory before a Nippert Stadium crowd of 30,807, giving Jones his first win as UC’s head coach.
“They came out and they played with the energy that’s required in our football program,” Jones said. “I challenged them. It’s all about emotion and passion. Football is meant to be played with passion.”
For the Bearcats (1-1), the offensive production was a long time coming after they fell, 28-14, to Fresno State last week in their season opener.
“I think after we got stopped in the first half, I don’t want to say people were hanging their heads, but people were frustrated,” said quarterback Zach Collaros. “In the second half, we ran the ball well, especially to the left side.”
Indiana State, from the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision, came in with a 1-0 record after a lopsided win over a Division II school in its opener and held its own for one half.
Eventually, though, the Bearcats’ superior depth and talent took their toll against the Sycamores, who had gone 2-53 in the previous five seasons.
After gaining only 15 yards last week, UC rushed for 263 on the ground, even though it played without starting running back Isaiah Pead, who was out with a swollen knee.
Sophomore Darrin Williams, making his first UC start, gained a career-high 117 yards on 13 carries.
“This is what we all work for as a backup or a guy who’s just been waiting in the wings,” Williams said. “The way the team believed in me helped me. I wasn’t nervous. It just was like practice and the line blocked tremendous.”
The Bearcats also received a nice boost from senior John Goebel, who gained 75 yards on nine carries and scored two touchdowns.
On its first possession of the second half, UC drove from its own 35 to score in seven plays on Goebel’s 3-yard run. The big play in the drive was Goebel’s 28-yard run.
After Indiana State went three and out, UC scored again on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Collaros to Armon Binns to make it 26-7 with 8:22 left in the third quarter.
Reuben Haley then recovered a fumble at the Indiana State 10 on a botched
punt attempt and Goebel scored again from one yard out to give UC a 33-7 lead with 6:57 to go.
The Bearcats had scored 21 points in a little more than eight minutes. By the fourth quarter began, Jones was playing backups on both sides of the ball.
“We needed to get our intensity up, our passion up, and start having more fun out there,” said linebacker JK Schaffer, who led UC with nine tackles.
Things were quite a bit different in the first half when the UC offense scored only 10 points, with the defense chipping in a safety.
The Bearcats, who lost only two fumbles all of last season, lost two in the first half – both by D.J. Woods. One came on a kick return after the safety, the other after a completion near the UC 35-yard line.
The second fumble, recovered by the Sycamores’ Santino Davis, resulted in Indiana State’s only touchdown of the first half, with Fouch passing 18 yards to tight end Alex Jones to make it 12-7 with 2:10 left in the half.
There were a few boos as the Bearcats left the field at halftime to regroup.
“In the second half, we established the line of scrimmage like we have to,” Jones said. “I was very encouraged by the physicality up front. I thought we took a step in the right direction.”
UC pounds Indiana State 40-7
After slow start, Bearcats' offense wakes up in second half
By Bill Koch • [email protected] • September 11, 2010
CINCINNATI -- Only the University of Cincinnati players and assistant coaches know just how agitated head coach Butch Jones was at halftime Saturday.
But even if he was a bit vociferous, it was Jones’ message more than his decibel level that made an impression on his players.
“He said our team has to take on his character,” said UC running back John Goebel. “He’s very passionate. We weren’t used to that at first but in the second half you saw a little bit how a Butch Jones-run team is.”
Spurred on by Jones’ message, the Bearcats were a different team in the second half from the one that struggled to a 12-7 halftime lead.
UC scored 28 unanswered points in the third quarter to pull away from Indiana State on the way to a 40-7 victory before a Nippert Stadium crowd of 30,807, giving Jones his first win as UC’s head coach.
“They came out and they played with the energy that’s required in our football program,” Jones said. “I challenged them. It’s all about emotion and passion. Football is meant to be played with passion.”
For the Bearcats (1-1), the offensive production was a long time coming after they fell, 28-14, to Fresno State last week in their season opener.
“I think after we got stopped in the first half, I don’t want to say people were hanging their heads, but people were frustrated,” said quarterback Zach Collaros. “In the second half, we ran the ball well, especially to the left side.”
Indiana State, from the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision, came in with a 1-0 record after a lopsided win over a Division II school in its opener and held its own for one half.
Eventually, though, the Bearcats’ superior depth and talent took their toll against the Sycamores, who had gone 2-53 in the previous five seasons.
After gaining only 15 yards last week, UC rushed for 263 on the ground, even though it played without starting running back Isaiah Pead, who was out with a swollen knee.
Sophomore Darrin Williams, making his first UC start, gained a career-high 117 yards on 13 carries.
“This is what we all work for as a backup or a guy who’s just been waiting in the wings,” Williams said. “The way the team believed in me helped me. I wasn’t nervous. It just was like practice and the line blocked tremendous.”
The Bearcats also received a nice boost from senior John Goebel, who gained 75 yards on nine carries and scored two touchdowns.
On its first possession of the second half, UC drove from its own 35 to score in seven plays on Goebel’s 3-yard run. The big play in the drive was Goebel’s 28-yard run.
After Indiana State went three and out, UC scored again on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Collaros to Armon Binns to make it 26-7 with 8:22 left in the third quarter.
Reuben Haley then recovered a fumble at the Indiana State 10 on a botched
punt attempt and Goebel scored again from one yard out to give UC a 33-7 lead with 6:57 to go.
The Bearcats had scored 21 points in a little more than eight minutes. By the fourth quarter began, Jones was playing backups on both sides of the ball.
“We needed to get our intensity up, our passion up, and start having more fun out there,” said linebacker JK Schaffer, who led UC with nine tackles.
Things were quite a bit different in the first half when the UC offense scored only 10 points, with the defense chipping in a safety.
The Bearcats, who lost only two fumbles all of last season, lost two in the first half – both by D.J. Woods. One came on a kick return after the safety, the other after a completion near the UC 35-yard line.
The second fumble, recovered by the Sycamores’ Santino Davis, resulted in Indiana State’s only touchdown of the first half, with Fouch passing 18 yards to tight end Alex Jones to make it 12-7 with 2:10 left in the half.
There were a few boos as the Bearcats left the field at halftime to regroup.
“In the second half, we established the line of scrimmage like we have to,” Jones said. “I was very encouraged by the physicality up front. I thought we took a step in the right direction.”