By Richard Scott
Enquirer contributor

Cincinnati, which will be off this weekend, needs the breather, having lost three consecutive games after a 3-0 start.

"The open date, I'll be honest, is coming at a good time," coach Rick Minter said after Saturday's 31-14 loss at UAB. "We're hurt, we're banged up, we're sore. It's been a long, grueling nine to 10 weeks since we started camp. We need to recover this week."

Quarterback Gino Guidugli played against UAB with an injured left knee, while running back Richard Hall missed the game with a concussion. Safeties Franklin Callicott and JaJuan Hall were limited by injuries and defensive end Trent Cole limped off the field with a right leg injury at one point. He returned to the field and finished the game, but like many of his teammates, he could use some time off.

The Bearcats also will spend the open date working on correcting the shortcomings of the past three weeks, especially in the passing game - both offensively and defensively.

Between Guidugli's injured knee, the youth and inexperience among the receivers, and too many dropped passes, the Bearcats rank among the bottom four teams in Conference USA in both passing yards per game and passing efficiency. The defense also struggled against UAB, allowing touchdown passes of 95 and 56 yards.

"We've got to work on us," Minter said. "The things we're doing (in the past three games) haven't been about our opponents. They've been about us. We've got find ways to get better."

The Bearcats must find those ways immediately. With a 1-2 record in C-USA, UC plays Army Oct. 25 before three consecutive conference games on the road.