ESPN College Football

NEW ORLEANS -- It's been one weird week leading up to the Allstate Sugar Bowl, as almost all of the talk has centered around coaches coming and going, how the two teams are dealing with that and even 911 calls.

Hardly anybody, it seems, wants to talk about the actual game between Florida and Cincinnati. The sideshow has become the main show.

Truth is, though, this game could be remembered for a lot more in future years if the Bearcats manage to win it. It would have to go down as the biggest win in school history, and probably the best by the Big East since the current league format began in 2005.

"This is a huge opportunity for us to show that we're legitimate, because a lot of people don't think that we are," Cincinnati linebacker JK Schaffer said.

Cincinnati's credentials are tough to ignore, since the team is 12-0, ranked third in the BCS standings and has won two straight Big East titles. Still, there is always going to be some doubt about whether the Big East's best can match the cream of the crop of the SEC.

No program in college football has done more the past four years than Florida, which has won two of the past three BCS titles. The Gators were ranked No. 1 nearly all season before losing to Alabama in the SEC championship game. West Virginia's BCS wins over Georgia and Oklahoma gave the Big East a major shot in the arm; this victory would be bigger than both of those.

"We feel we can play against anybody but most times we don't get credit for that," Bearcats receiver Mardy Gilyard said. "This will show the nation that the Bearcats and the Big East can play ball just like the Big Ten, the Big 12, the SEC and the ACC. We play good ball in our conference, and we just want to showcase that to the best of our ability."

Outside of the title game, the outcome of a BCS game doesn't always matter too much. Just getting there is the key. Louisville won the 2007 Orange Bowl and saw its program tumble. Cincinnati lost last year's Orange Bowl and went 12-0 this year.

But this game could have lasting ramifications for the Bearcats, who lost the architect of their recent success when Brian Kelly went to Notre Dame. They do not want to lose their momentum like Louisville did with its coaching transition.

"If we beat Florida, that would really put us up on the map as far as recruiting and getting larger support from the Cincinnati fan base," linebacker Craig Carey said. "Top recruits in the country would start opening their eyes to Cincinnati."

And then there's history. A win would make the Bearcats 13-0, and for the rest of their lives the players could at least make the argument that they were the best team in college football in 2009.

"I'd love to have that conversation Friday night if we can pull it off," quarterback Tony Pike said.

By then maybe the talk around the Sugar Bowl will be back to the actual game.

NEW ORLEANS -- Cincinnati and Florida are both in BCS auto-bid conferences, but the similarities between the two programs pretty much end there.

You can't describe the Allstate Sugar Bowl as a true David vs. Goliath matchup since both teams compete at the highest level. And Cincinnati is actually ranked higher than the Gators, at No. 3 vs. No. 5. Yet when it comes to areas like resources, facilities and fan bases, you be hard pressed to find a more lopsided mismatch in a game of supposed BCS equals.

Florida, of course, is one of the gold standards in college football, having won two of the last three BCS championships. According to a recent Forbes Magazine survey, the Gators are the sixth-most valuable college football team in America, with a $41 million profit last season.

The school projected $59.4 million in revenue from the football program in 2009 and had an $89 million total athletic budget for the current fiscal year.

While the Gators rake in money like Big Oil, the Bearcats are more like a mom-and-pop gas station.

Even with last year's Orange Bowl berth, Cincinnati generated a little less than $14 million in revenue from its football team, placing it last among Big East schools. That added up to a profit of a little more than $1.3 million, or about what Florida spends on Gatorade.

The Cincinnati athletic department had a total budget of $26 million last year. While it officially showed a slight profit, the Bearcats are saddled with debt from construction of the Lindner Center, which was the centerpiece of the school's Varsity Village expansion project which helped get it into the Big East. In order to try and make ends meet, Cincinnati announced this spring that it would cut scholarships to three men's sports -- track, cross country and swimming.

Florida, meanwhile, recently opened a $28 million football complex that was funded entirely by boosters.

While all of the Gators' facilities are top of the line, Cincinnati tries to do more with less.

The team has to practice inside Nippert Stadium because it has no practice fields. Former coach Brian Kelly complained about how he had only 50 yards to work with his spread offense since the defense took the other half of the field. The school is scheduled to open practice fields and a bubble next season, but the project took a year longer than expected because of slow fundraising. During inclement weather during their past two BCS bowl practices, the Bearcats had to bus more than 25 miles to an indoor soccer center in Mason, Ohio, to get in their workouts.

While Cincinnati had sellout crowds nearly all season and has reached an all-time high in season-ticket sales, charmingly cozy Nippert Stadium seats only about 35,000 and has no luxury boxes or other means of generating extra revenue. At Kelly's insistence, the school is looking at ways to expand the facility, but that is still in the studying phase.

Florida, on the other hand, averaged 90,635 fans per game this season at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

"We know we're not as fortunate as everybody else, but we like that," Cincinnati linebacker Craig Carey said. "We like the building part of our team. As we kept winning and winning this year, we became the team to beat in the Big East. But playing a team like Florida, we are the underdog."

It could be years and years, if ever, before the Bearcats come close to matching the resources and advantages that Florida's program has. Still, they have a chance to one-up the Gators on the field Friday night.

"We don't look at it as David versus Goliath or little man versus big man," linebacker Andre Revels said. "We look at it as, they have pads and we have pads, they play on a football field and so do we. It's just football players going up against each other for a 'W.'"

NEW ORLEANS -- In the end, it might not have made much difference to the outcome of the game. But Cincinnati players can admit now that they may not have taken the most businesslike approach to last year's Orange Bowl.

It was the first time the program had ever reached a BCS game, and the royal treatment afforded to the team -- from a salute on the airport tarmac to police escorts everywhere they went to the lush accommodations on Miami Beach -- may have proved a little overwhelming.

"Last year, we didn't know what to expect, what kind of hype there would be," linebacker Craig Carey said. "We were almost kind of in awe of the whole situation and everything that goes with a BCS game. I wouldn't say we partied, but people really enjoyed themselves. "

Not so this year. Now in their second straight BCS game, the Bearcats arrived in New Orleans knowing what would await them. And there's not as much glitz at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Last year, they stayed in the luxurious Fontainebleau hotel and spotted celebrities like Jamie Foxx and P. Diddy wandering around. This year, they're in a more modest Marriott downtown, and apart from taking a stroll through the French Quarter on Sunday night, they haven't partaken in too many leisure activities.

And the players say that's leading to more focused preparation than before last year's game against Virginia Tech, which they lost 20-7.

"We're able to be more spearheaded on the task at hand instead of all the other things around," linebacker Andre Revels said.

The biggest thing the Bearcats learned last year is it doesn't matter how much fun you have during bowl week if you don't come home with the victory. That loss to Virginia Tech is a large part of what drove them to perfection all season.

"We've got a little chip on our shoulders from last year's game," linebacker JK Schaffer said. "We're really here to win this game."

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Once upon a time, not long ago (actually, just about 48 hours).

Team of the week: South Florida. As if there were any doubt after the Bulls' breakthrough 17-7 win at Florida State.

Best game: It didn't turn out well for the Big East, but NC State's 38-31 win over Pittsburgh had plenty of big plays and a goal-line stand in the final minute.

Biggest play: Craig Carey's interception on 4th and 2 from the Cincinnati 6-yard line in the fourth quarter. Fresno State trailed just 21-17 and could have taken the lead. Instead, the Bearcats capitalized on Carey's pick and drove the field for a touchdown.

Best call: B.J. Daniels' throwback pass to tight end Ben Busbee for an 8-yard touchdown to give South Florida a 7-0 lead. Offensive coordinator Mike Canales said he'd been saving that play all week, and when he saw the way Florida State responded to the Bulls' shifts and motion before the snap, he knew it would work.

Big Man on Campus (Offense): Mardy Gilyard, WR, Cincinnati. The Bearcats receiver had nine catches for 177 yards and scored twice, including the clinching fourth-quarter touchdown.

Big Man on Campus (Defense): George Selvie, DE, South Florida. This award could go to the entire Bulls' defensive line, which put on one of the most intimidating performances I've seen in a while. But we'll give this individual award to the unit's leader, who gets more attention than anybody else.

Big Man on Campus (Special teams): Cameron Saddler, Pitt. The freshman returned three kickoffs for 93 yards, including a 47-yarder that set up a touchdown.

Worst Hangover: Pittsburgh. The Panthers led NC State 31-17 with a little more than four minutes left in the third quarter before allowing 21 unanswered points. And they had four cracks at tying the game from the Wolfpack 8-yard line but couldn't make a play. Goodbye, 3-0 start.

Strangest moment: The Maine Black Bears did what an FCS opponent should do: they went for broke. They pulled off two onside kicks and two fake punts, including one from their own 25-yard line in the second quarter. That led to an improbable 17-13 halftime lead -- which dissolved into a 41-24 Syracuse win.

Now let's look at the future, all the way to the Year 2000 (actually, Week 5). It's neither a busy nor a great week, but league play returns. Games listed in descending order of important:

South Florida (4-0) at Syracuse (2-2): Are the Orange a bona fide bowl contender? Is South Florida just another September sensation? Time to find out the answer to both those questions.

Pittsburgh (3-1) at Louisville (1-2): Pitt overwhelmed the Cardinals last year at Heinz Field, but Louisville has receivers like Scott Long and Doug Beaumont who could give the Panthers' wobbly secondary problems.

Colorado (1-2) at West Virginia (2-1): The Mountaineers look to get revenge for last year's overtime loss in Boulder, just as they avenged their East Carolina defeat earlier this month. The struggling Buffaloes begin a tough three-game stretch, with Texas and Kansas up next.

Cincinnati (4-0, 1-0 Big East) at Miami of Ohio (0-4): The RedHawks have been outscored 173-45 this season and now must deal with the Bearcats' high-powered offense. This could get pretty, pre-ttay, pretty ugly, to paraphrase Larry David.

Byes: Rutgers, UConn

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

It was a win, and Cincinnati is 4-0 and can move on. But it was not easy.

The Bearcats held off Fresno State 28-20 at Nippert Stadium despite having the ball for only 16:18 the entire game. You can almost say they scored too quickly.

One fourth quarter sequence defined this game. Craig Carey had an interception on 4th and goal from the 2 with his team leading just 21-17. Then the Bearcats marched right down the field and scored to make things more comfortable.

More teams might try Fresno's plan of pounding the ball on the ground and controlling the clock. But not every team has a Ryan Mathews.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Cincinnati's task of stopping Jacquizz Rodgers and the Oregon State offense just got a little tougher. The team announced that linebacker Curtis Young had knee surgery on Friday and would be out three-to-six weeks.

Young had a big game against Rutgers and has 13 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack on the season. Coach Brian Kelly had said much of the offseason that Young's ability to both rush the passer from the edge and drop back in pass coverage was key to his decision to switch to a 3-4 defensive scheme this year. Now the team's top hybrid player is gone for as many as five games.

Cincinnati could use senior Craig Carey in Young's spot or turn to freshman Walter Stewart. It also makes you wonder whether defensive coordinator Bob Diaco will use more 4-3 looks while Young is out.

The Bearcats proved last year that they could keep winning even during a spate of quarterback injuries. Now they'll have to do so with one of their most important defensive players sidelined.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Two years ago, Oregon State came into Cincinnati and got shellacked 34-3. It was the first signature victory of the Brian Kelly era and the herald of what was to come. The Bearcats went on to win 10 games that year and followed it up with an 11-win Orange Bowl season in 2008.

Now in 2009, Cincinnati is in a much better position as it makes the return trip to Oregon State on Saturday. The Bearcats are ranked 17th and have established themselves as a legitimate program.

"We needed to win in '07, whether it was Oregon State or St. Louis State," Kelly said. "We just needed to win football games. I don't carry the same kind of feeling with this game. I think it will be an exciting game, but I don't think we need to prove anything."

Maybe not, but the Bearcats could certainly improve their standing by beating a well-respected Pac-10 team three time zones away from home. A win could help them inch toward top-10 status and make even more people pay attention to what Kelly is building. Plus, for all of Cincinnati's accomplishments last year, it lost its two big nonconference showdowns, at Oklahoma and against Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

"This is obviously another stepping stone for us to get to our goal," quarterback Tony Pike said. "It's something we need to do, show the country we can take a long flight, travel across the U.S. and hopefully come away with a big win."

The challenge, however, is a steep one. First of all, the Beavers (2-0) haven't lost a nonconference game in Corvallis since 1996, a streak of 26 straight victories. Cincinnati is the first ranked nonconference opponent to visit Reser Stadium since BYU in 1977.

And Kelly said this Oregon State team has more weapons than the one that came to Nippert Stadium two years ago, primarily in the Rodgers brothers -- running back Jacquizz and receiver James.

"They're both very shifty and have a lot of speed," linebacker Craig Carey said. "We've got to get them at the line of scrimmage and make sure we wrap them up. We can't let them get outside and have game-breaking plays."

Cincinnati's new-look defense, which features 10 first-year starters and a new 3-4 base, has been a hit so far in allowing just 18 points in two games. But the Beavers, who also have an experienced quarterback in Sean Canfield, will present the toughest assignment yet.

"Rutgers was unsure at quarterback and had a true freshman wide receiver," Carey said, recalling the Bearcats 47-15 win over the Scarlet Knights in Week 1. "This Oregon State offense has been together a long time, and they're experienced."

Will the defense be up for the task?

"They'd better be," Kelly said. "I think we're getting better. I'm pleased with our front seven. We still have to develop at the back end of our defense. This game will get us another step closer to learning more about our football team."

Kelly insists this game is just that -- a chance to find out more about his team. He said both his club and the Beavers, who sit just outside the Top 25, are looking to break into the next echelon. He doesn't see this as a defining moment like 2007.

But a win sure would be nice.

"Going against that kind of streak, in that kind of atmosphere against that kind of team and to pull out a win, that would be huge for us," Carey said.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

New Rutgers co-offensive coordinators Kirk Ciarrocca and Kyle Flood have to fill several holes, especially at quarterback and wide receiver, Tom Luicci writes in The Star-Ledger.

"Obviously, it's a real challenge right now," Ciarrocca said. "We're racing against the clock to get a lot of guys ready who haven't played in a meaningful college football game.

"We're confident in their ability. They have a tremendous work ethic and ability. But they're young and they don't have much experience."

• Pat Bostick is trying to stay positive, but so far it looks like he's the odd man out in Pitt's three-way quarterback battle, Paul Zeise says in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

• True freshman receiver Dwayne Difton, UConn's prized recruit in the Class of 2009, could be a starter on opening day, Desmond Conner writes in the Hartford Courant.

• South Florida running back Mike Ford, who has been suspended for the first two games, has to earn back his coaches' trust, Brett McMurphy says in the Tampa Tribune. McMurphy also speculates that Jamar Taylor might be out for the year with a knee injury.

• CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd picks Rutgers to win the Big East but focuses on Cincinnati in his league preview. (Sorry for the earlier mistake; you'd think I'd highlight it when somebody joins me in the Rutgers pick).

• Speaking of the Bearcats, homegrown products Andre Revels and Craig Carey could make a big impact on this year's team, Bill Koch writes in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

• West Virginia is using some of its height -- like 6-foot-8 Wes Lyons and 6-5 Robert Sands -- to put together a potentially dangerous field goal block unit, Mike Casazza writes in the Charleston Daily Mail.

• Chaz Thompson has finally found his niche at strong safety with Louisville, C.L. Brown says in The Courier-Journal.

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

WEST HARRISON, Ind. -- Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly has spent a lot of time this offseason talking about hybrids, and it's not because he's shopping for an environmentally-conscious car.

Kelly decided to switch to a 3-4 defense this year in large part because of the personnel he had coming back. In particular, Curtis Young and Craig Carey are what Kelly calls his "hybrid" players, because they can switch easily between playing defensive end and linebacker.

"That's why the role was invented," Kelly said. "It's natural for them be able to rush and take on a tackle but also to drop in coverage. That flexibility is built into the players we have at that position."

Young is the likely starter at that flex position, and the senior could emerge as the next star on a defense that is breaking in 10 new starters.

He played in all 14 games in 2008, registering 25 tackles and four sacks. But he was overshadowed while backing up Connor Barwin, who led the Big East in sacks and went on to become a second-round NFL draft pick.

"I took a back seat, and Connor had a great season," Young said. "I'm trying to fill his shoes, and they're big shoes to fill. But I think I'm capable of filling them."

Young is listed at 6-foot-1 and 269 pounds, and it's his combination of size and speed that makes Kelly think he's a perfect hybrid player.

"I don't think you're a hybrid unless you've got a skill set, first of all, of being able to rush the passer," Kelly said. "Second of all, can you line up over a tackle if yo put your hand in the ground.

"(Young) can do that. I'm not saying he's the second coming of a safety who can run and pick off balls. But you don't know if he's rushing, dropping or going down and playing over a tackle. And that's what he can bring to our defense."

Before he can cause all that confusion, though, Young has to make sure he's not confused himself. The coaching staff is asking a lot of him.

"It's fun, but it's very difficult, transitioning from defensive end to linebacker," he said. "You have to know all the linebacker calls and all the D-line calls, and sometimes you get mixed up with some things. But that's why we're out here (at practice).

"I love rushing the passer, but if I have to drop in coverage or play the run, it doesn't matter. I just want to line up and go."

Young is already 23 years old, having sat out the 2005 season as a partial qualifier and missing 2007 due to academic problems.

The Bearcats also have Carey, a 6-foot-4. 248-pound senior who began his career at quarterback before moving to defense last season. He's more of a linebacker than a defensive end but, like Young, can do both.

"He's probably got a skill set that's different than Curtis, in that we wouldn't ask him to be a dynamic pass rusher," Kelly said. "But he's a guy who can hold the point, if he's going to line up over a tight end, and pressure the quarterback in a pressure situation."

Overall, Kelly said the switch to a 3-4 isn't as big a deal as people make it out to be. Cincinnati moved its fronts and coverages much of the time last year. They just had different talent on hand.

"It's really not a huge change for us because we've got a hybrid player who almost plays like it's four-down (linemen)," he said. "We've evolved to that based on who our personnel is. Next year, if George Selvie wants to transfer here, we can to a four-down and let him rush off the edge."

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

CINCINNATI -- Here are some of my observations from Cincinnati's first spring practice:

• The first thing that strikes you is how many new names and numbers you have to get to know. Of course, I knew going in that the Bearcats lost basically their entire defense, but it's still a little jarring not seeing any familiar faces or names on that side of the ball.

• Coach Brian Kelly won't release a depth chart until just before the spring game, and the staff is still trying to figure out who to play where on defense. But for those of you into reading tea leaves, here was the first-team defense when 11-on-11 work began: Ricardo Matthews, Derek Wolfe and Walter Stewart on the defensive line, Craig Carey, John Hughes, Robby Armstrong and J.K. Schafer at linebacker, Marcus Barnett and Brad Jones at cornerback and Aaron Webster and Drew Frey at safety.

The odds of that being the exact starting defense in Week 1 against Rutgers are about as good as my chances of picking every Big East game correctly this season. Veteran linebacker Andre Revels was out with knee problems. And expect Curtis Young to be in there as well.

• As you can tell from the lineup, the Bearcats did have a 3-4 alignment on defense. But they didn't just have three down linemen and four linebackers in traditional spots. Linebackers would sometimes put their hand down on the line of scrimmage before the snap and other times drop back as safeties in coverage. The defense can shift to multiple looks depending on what the offense does, and I think that's the point of this switch.

• New defensive coordinator Bob Diaco is a vocal and animated guy, and along with excitable defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs, forms a lively 1-2 punch. One of the buzzwords both guys used on Tuesday was "jam." They were constantly reinforcing to the defensive backs to jam the receivers at the line of scrimmage. And Kelly, who's got a reputation as an offensive guy, spent a lot of time with the defense on Day 1.

• Demetrius Jones was with the second-team linebackers, but I didn't see anything noteworthy from him. Remember that it's early, and they're not in pads yet, so that doesn't mean much.

• Let's talk about the offense. Looks like Kelly has quite a box of toys to play with. Running backs Isaiah Pead and Darrin Williams should add a whole new dimension to the attack with their speed. Williams is an intriguing guy. He's listed at 5-foot-7, which might be generous. But he's powerfully built and has a nice burst. He could be the next mighty mite in the Big East, joining Noel Devine, Jock Sanders and Victor Anderson.

• USC transfer Vidal Hazelton is listed at 210 pounds and looks pretty thick. He was playing the inside receiver spot with the second-teamers. He could be a load over the middle, and he seems more like a slot guy than a true deep threat. Of course, we won't see him play until 2010 unless he wins his NCAA appeal.

• Tony Pike made some pretty downfield throws. He could be ready for a monster year. One of his favorite targets was sophomore D.J. Woods, who could be in line for a breakout campaign.

• The Bearcats ran a little option look with Zach Collaros and others. I don't know if that will be incorporated at all this season if Pike stays healthy, but it's another wrinkle Kelly can consider.

• Former Cincinnati All-American punter Kevin Huber was on hand, and his potential replacements got to try a few kicks. Michael Cooke had the best day on that front, and the Bearcats used some rugby style kicks.

• That's enough for Day 1. I'll have some more practice reports from other schools later on this week.