At the University of Cincinnati, they produce big, important football games the way McDonald's spits out hamburgers. It seems every other week the Bearcats are engaged in a contest crucial to the future of their program.

        First Purdue gave UC a rare shot against a ranked Big Ten opponent on national television. Then Miami offered the flavor of a heated backyard rivalry. Finally, Louisville and East Carolina provided the Bearcats with chances to make major inroads toward their first Conference USA championship and a Liberty Bowl bid.

        UC lost them all, even though three of the four games were played at Nippert Stadium.

        Not to worry. Thanks to college football's forgiving postseason setup and Conference USA's four bowl affiliations, the Bearcats have been afforded still another chance to salvage something meaningful from the 2001 season when they play Memphis in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium at 2 p.m today. If they win, they will assure themselves of at least a second straight invitation to the Motor City Bowl in Pontiac, Mich., and could be in line for the galleryfurniture.com Bowl in Houston.

        If the Bearcats lose, even though they haven't beaten a team with a winning record all season, they could still slip into the Motor City Bowl with a win at home next week over Louisiana-Monroe.

        At 5-4 overall, 4-2 in the league, UC needs one more victory to become bowl-eligible. Memphis is 5-5 overall, 3-3 in the league, and looking for its first winning season since 1994. And yes, the Tigers still harbor hopes of going to the Motor City Bowl as well.

        “We've lost two shots at the title,” UC coach Rick Minter said. “They both slipped by us. Our shots left now are to be bowl-qualifiable. Five-and-two in the league will guarantee us a bowl spot. Four-and-three in the league doesn't guarantee us one.”

        If UC goes to the Motor City Bowl, the Bearcats will face Toledo of the Mid-American Conference on Dec.29 at the Silverdome. If they play in the galleryfurniture.com Bowl, they will face a still-undetermined representative from the Big 12 Conference on Dec. 28 in the Astrodome.

        This would have been much easier to sort out if East Carolina had beaten Southern Miss on Friday, but when the Pirates lost for the second straight week at home, their once-certain invitation to the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala., was thrown into doubt. GMAC officials, who get first crack at C-USA after the league champion (Louisville) is designated for the Liberty Bowl, are expected to meet Sunday afternoon. After they make their decision, the galleryfurniture.com Bowl has the next pick, followed by the Motor City Bowl.

        “It's still wide open,” said Brian Teter, a C-USA assistant commissioner.

        UC quarterback Gino Guidugli, forced to leave UC's game against East Carolina two weeks ago with a sprained left shoulder, benefitted from the rest provided by last week's break in the schedule and is expected to start today after practicing all week.

UNLV likely to push UC Bearcats can clinch bowl berth

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