Saturday, October 16, 1999UC sees UAB as can't-lose
2-3 Bearcats looking for first C-USA win
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati EnquirerMaybe it's not possible for a sub-.500 football team to have a must-win game. Maybe such designations need to be reserved for teams contending for playoffs and championships.
If so, then what the Cincinnati Bearcats face this afternoon at 3:30 against UAB at Nippert Stadium could well be described as a can't-lose game.
“Oh, we need to win this game,” coach Rick Minter said. “We need to win this game for our own team's sake. We don't need to sit around talking about bowls and championships. That's getting way out there. We need to get back on track.”
UAB at UC • Kickoff: 3:30p.m. today, Nippert Stadium (35,000).
• Records: UC 2-3 (0-1
C-USA); UAB 2-3 (1-1).
• TV: Fox Sports Net.
• Radio: WLW-AM 700.
• Series: UC leads 2-0 (last: 1997, UC 33-29).
• Line: UC by 6.
• What to watch: UAB undoubtedly will come armed with a trick or two. Blazers coach Watson Brown always has been a clever offensive coach, but he doesn't have the personnel to create a consistent ground game and advance the football.A loss to the Blazers (2-3, 1-1) would leave UC (2-3, 0-1) two games under .500 and buried deep in the Conference USA standings with a trip to No.25 Southern Mississippi next week and a visit to No.23 East Carolina in November.
This is a transitional season for the Bearcats, who are playing a number of first-year players. The object is mostly to improve.
However, improvement is made harder when injuries come into play.
The most recent is tight end, where junior Ashley Hunt is expected to miss the next two weeks with a collarbone injury. Offensive lineman Kirt Doolin (leg) remains questionable, and starting left tackle Mike Love and backup guard Ted Forrest were nicked up in the loss to Houston. Minter said defensive linemen Dan Wortman's health is improving.
“I thought we should have won the last two that we played,” Minter said. “The difference in this year's team and last year's team right now is at least at the very end of the game, final moments, last throw, we're right there. We're putting ourselves in a position to win.”
UAB is not only young as a team, but as a Division I program. This is its first season in C-USA. Under former Bearcats coach Watson Brown, the Blazers have been unable to gener ate a consistent offensive attack — they're 107th in the NCAA in total offense — but have scored seven of their 15 touchdowns on drives of two plays or less.
The Blazers beat the same Houston team that ruined the Bearcats' league opener by striking with three touchdown passes by quarterback Daniel Dixon that covered 31 yards or better. A vulnerability to long pass plays cost UC in two of its three defeats.
“We're not going to be a defensive unit that's going to be able to line up and knock people in the dirt,” Minter said. “We're still playing opportunistic football. We're just a young bunch. We're not good enough to overcome some inabilities in our team right now.“
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