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Tony Pike didn't have one of those rally-the-troops moments in the huddle after he replaced injured quarterback Dustin Grutza late in the Oklahoma game. He couldn't because Cincinnati doesn't huddle much on offense.

	AP Photo/Al Behrman
	Tony Pike will make his first career start Saturday.

Instead, Pike addressed his teammates on the sideline.

"I told them, 'I know what happened is sad,'" Pike recalled. "'But at the same time I'm confident in myself and ready to go out and lead this team.'"

From that moment and perhaps for the rest of the season, Cincinnati became Pike's team. Grutza broke his right fibula and suffered ankle damage that required surgery, and Bearcats coach Brian Kelly said he is operating as if Grutza won't return this season.

That leaves the offense up to Pike, a junior who will make his first career start Saturday against Miami (Ohio) in Nippert Stadium. So far, he looks the part.

"Any time you go from a backup -- or from a career backup in his case -- to being the starter, your attention picks up," Kelly said. "I've seen that change in his demeanor, and I know our players have a great deal of confidence in him."

Pike won't be thrown to the wolves without any experience. He appeared in five games as the third-stringer last year. He challenged Grutza in training camp this August and spent time running the first team offense. He played in the second half of the opener against Eastern Kentucky and led Cincinnati to a touchdown in the final minute at Oklahoma.

The Bearcats had a bye last week, and Kelly closed practice in part to get Pike ready. While Kelly said the offense won't have to change because Pike knows the playbook and the pace so well, he'll still tailor some things to fit the new quarterback's strengths. At 6-foot-6, Pike has a stronger arm than Grutza or even last year's starter, Ben Mauk.

"I feel like I can stretch the ball down field a little bit," Pike said. "And that should open up the short game and the running game, which I think will be positive in the end."

Mauk and Grutza excelled at making plays on the run out of the pocket. Given his size alone, you wouldn't think Pike is as mobile. But he did run for 67 yards on only three carries in his collegiate debut against Southeast Missouri State last season.

"In high school, I wanted to run the ball a lot more," he said. "But I separated my shoulder my senior year which really limited me, and it's always kind of followed me that I'm just a passer.

"I think I can get out of the pocket and make a guy or two miss. I'm definitely not going to be as flashy as Dustin or Ben. But at the same time I think I can go out there and get positive yards if the protection breaks down or no receiver gets open."

The Cincinnati native had several offers from MAC schools out of high school but said interest dried up after he got hurt his senior year. The Bearcats stuck with him and offered him a chance to grayshirt, allowing him to go through preseason practice in 2004 and enroll in January 2005.

After three years of not getting much playing time, Pike admitted he got a little frustrated. But he said he told himself to stay ready because he was just a snap away from an opportunity. That opportunity, unfortunately, came as a result of an injury to his good friend Grutza.

Pike doesn't have to be great right away for the Bearcats to win. The schedule is kind the next month, with games against Akron, Marshall and scuffling Rutgers following this week. Cincinnati then has another week off before a major test at Connecticut.

How well Pike handles this transition might very well determine whether the Bearcats are serious Big East contenders.

"I tried to get the point across to our offense that we're not going to miss a beat," Pike said. "As good as our defense is, if we can keep the offense going, we can do something special here."