Sunday, October 06, 2002
UC's Minter rushes to judgment
Miami's ground game the difference
By Mark Schmetzer
Enquirer contributor
For Rick Minter, the bottom line in Cincinnati's 31-26 loss to Miami on Saturday was on the stat sheet next to “Net Yards Rushing.”
“They had 161, very good,” the Bearcats coach said. “We had 89, very bad.”
Minter allowed for other possibilities, but to him, the rushing game told the story.
“They beat us in our backyard,” Minter said. “We made too many errors in the fourth quarter. Miami's a good football team, but I'm more concerned with the fact that we couldn't stop the run in a one-back offense.”
Miami junior Luke Clemens, who posted his first career 100-yard game in UC's loss to the RedHawks last season, ravaged the Bearcats for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Sophomore Mike Smith, who had gained 11 yards this season and 14 in his career going into the game, tacked on 68 on nine carries.
“Clemens is a good runner,” Minter said. “He's a little stronger than he looked on tape. They ran right through us.”
UC still might have pulled out the victory if it had been more efficient in key situations.
Late in the second quarter, Miami faced a third-and-1 on the Bearcats 8. RedHawks quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and Clemens ran an option play to the right that Miami had seldom used in the red zone. Clemens carried to the 2 and scored on the next play, giving the RedHawks a 17-14 halftime lead.
The Bearcats lost another lead when Miami scored on what it calls its “Hootenanny” play, which involves the “swinging gate” alignment for field goals and extra points that leaves the snapper, holder and kicker lined up by themselves in the middle of the field. This time, on fourth-and-6 from the UC 13, redshirt freshman quarterback-holder Josh Betts shoveled the first pass of his career to redshirt freshman tight end Tyler Vogel for a touchdown that gave Miami the lead for good 24-21.
“It's not really a trick alignment,” Bearcats senior cornerback Blue Adams said. “It's just the way they came out. We've lined up against it before. It caught us off-guard a little bit. They just line up like that to see how we're going to react. Usually, they kick a field goal, but I guess they saw something they liked.”
Added Minter: “We watch that stuff every week. They did a good job of execution. When they run that swinging gate, they have three or four little options.”
Almost as big was senior Jonathan Ruffin's 33-yard field goal attempt that misfired when the snap from junior center Josh Shneyderov skidded along the ground and freshman holder Joe Wolke couldn't get the ball upright. Ruffin's kick skidded back to center, leaving UC down 31-26 with 6:46 left.
“For the second week in a row, we had a botched field goal with a veteran center,” Minter said. “That didn't cost us the game, but it's what it does to your psyche. If you make it, it's 31-29 and you've got a little more momentum because they can feel it slipping away. The kicking game proved to be the margin in the game.”
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UC's Minter rushes to judgment
