On the surface, Cincinnati is just another middle-of-the-road team in a middle-of-the-pack conference in the middle of the continent. Bearcats trying to make
Receivers hurting
name for themselves
Chang still can start openerPREVIEW OF HAWAII OPPONENTS
ELEVENTH of 13 parts
By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comIn addition to being incredibly typical, the Bearcats perform their 4-3 defense and pro-set offense in the lengthy shadows of their basketball brethren.
So it's easy to forget that this was actually a bowl team last year. Cincinnati's 7-5 season (5-2 Conference USA) ended with a 23-17 loss to Toledo in the Motor City Bowl.
When Hawaii hosts Cincinnati on Nov. 23, the Warriors could very well be fighting for a bowl spot, most likely the ConAgra Foods Hawaii Bowl. And the Bearcats could be going for the same thing ... or one of the other four bowls C-USA is tied in with.
That's not on UC coach Rick Minter's mind yet.
"Polls and bowls we don't care about in August," Minter said. "We only care about where we are in December, down the stretch run. Are we a healthy team? Are we playing well? Are we coming together? Are we winning on the road? The standings will all take care of themselves."
Minter was the conference coach of the year last fall, and freshman quarterback Gino Guidugli (6-3, 220) was a big reason why. His conference records for completions (185), yards (2,573) and touchdown passes (16) made him an easy pick for the league's freshman of the year award.
Guidugli, a Davey O'Brien Award candidate, is expected to post good numbers again since he has his three top receivers returning to the fold in LaDaris Vann (5-9, 198), Tye Keith (5-8, 187) and Jon Olinger (6-3, 225). They combined for 142 catches, 1,949 yards and 14 TDs last fall.
Three starters on the offensive line return: left guard Kirt Doolin (6-4, 300), right tackle Josh Gardner (6-4, 284) and center Josh Shneyderov (6-2, 272).
Senior running back DeMarco McCleskey (5-11, 215) led the team in rushing in two of his previous three seasons.
On defense, senior end Antwan Peek (6-2, 245) is the man. He was all-conference last fall with 12 1/2 sacks, including four in one game. He was credited with three sacks in the Bearcats scrimmage last Saturday.
Other returning starters are end Derrick Adams (6-0, 253), middle linebacker Willis Edwards (5-11, 231), safeties Doug Monaghan (6-3, 210) and Ivan Fields (5-11, 186), and cornerback Zach Norton (6-0, 184).
Matt Tupuola (6-2, 329), who has relatives in Hawaii, is slated to start at the other tackle.
Although UC has played in three bowl games in five years, it is not exactly the most exciting team in the land. But with players like Guidugli and Peek, Minter said his program is close to shedding the generic label.
"We're just inches away. We're not doing anything wrong," he said. "We just have to get that big break at the right time and win that big game to get over the hump."
All-time record: 483-504-51
Cincinnati
Against Hawaii: 1-0
Now you know: Coach Rick Minter, a former Notre Dame defensive coordinator, is entering his ninth season as Cincinnati's head coach. If his team wins nine games this year, Minter will catch Sid Gillman's (1949-54) school record of 50 career victories. One of Gillman's wins came when the Bearcats beat UH 34-0 in 1951 at Honolulu Stadium in the schools' only previous football game.
UH Athletics
