Gino Guidugli looks for an open man against Miami University. (Jeff Swinger/The Enquirer)

CINCINNATI AT ARMY

Kickoff: 1 p.m. today, Michie Stadium, West Point, N.Y. Records: UC 2-3 (1-1 Conference USA), Army 0-4 (0-3). Radio: WLW-AM (700). Series: UC leads 3-2. Line: UC by 14 1/2. What to watch: Junior quarterback Zac Dahman made his first start of the season for Army last week against TCU and connected on his first three passes for 103 yards. Running back Carlton Jones rushed for 108 yards on 25 carries vs. the Horned Frogs. The Bearcats should be able to move the ball against an Army defense that allows an average of 531.5 yards per game as they attempt to stretch the Black Knights' losing streak to 20. UC Team stats Army 381 Offense avg. 320 175 Avg. by rush 158 206 Avg. by pass 162 338.8 Defense avg. 531.5 115.2 Avg. by rush 240.5 223.6 Avg. by pass 291 21.8 Avg. pts. for 15.5 24.2 Avg. pts. against 37

WEST POINT, N.Y. - On his first trip here as an 18-year-old freshman, Gino Guidugli figured the highlight would be seeing the sights at the U.S. Military Academy.

But on Sept. 8, 2001, Guidugli unexpectedly made his first appearance in a UC game against Army. He took over after Adam Hoover went down in the second quarter, and rallied the Bearcats to a 24-21 victory, passing for 311 yards and three touchdowns.

Guidugli has been the Bearcats' starting quarterback ever since.

"I remember everybody telling me to be calm and just go out there and do what you can do," Guidugli said. "I was just trying to focus on what the plays were, so I didn't really think about it that much."

Four years later, Guidugli returns to Michie Stadium for a 1 p.m. game today against the Black Knights. He needs 150 passing yards to become the first UC quarterback to reach 10,000 and 20 to reach 10,000 in total offense.

Revisiting Army for the first time since his debut will be nostalgic for Guidugli, but what he's really focused on is salvaging a UC season that's off to a disappointing 2-3 start. The Bearcats are 1-1 in Conference USA and badly need a victory as they head into an off week.

Army (0-4, 0-3) has lost 19 straight games - the nation's longest current losing streak - including 15 straight at home.

After UC's loss last week to Alabama-Birmingham, Guidugli talked about straightening out the Bearcats' problems before it's too late.

He believes they've made progress.

"I thought we had a real focused practice this week," he said Friday. "We're ready to get things going early in this game."

UC coach Mark Dantonio calls this a pivotal game for his team, borrowing from the old Army recruiting slogan to make his point.

"What we have to do is be all that we can be," he said. "We need to be 3-3 coming out of the break. Nobody is taking Army lightly. They've got some good players. They're going to compete hard and give it everything they've got."

Under first-year coach Bobby Ross, a veteran of the NFL and the college game, the Black Knights have focused on improving their running attack.

After ranking last nationally in rushing with an average of 63.5 yards a game, they're averaging 158 yards on the ground this year, with junior running back Carlton Jones averaging 88 yards.

Zac Dahman is expected to make his second straight start at quarterback. He was 12-of-26 for 214 yards last week against Texas Christian.

"There's not a whole lot of margin for error for us," Ross said. "We have to play very efficient, cut back on penalties, don't turn the ball over and have a good ground game."

UC's statistics through its first five games under Dantonio are strikingly similar to those through the first five games of last season under Rick Minter.

The Bearcats are averaging 381 yards of total offense compared with 391 in 2003. Their passing yardage is up to 206 from 185, their rushing yardage down from 210 to 175.

"We had two games I felt like we could have won if we played just a little better," Guidugli said. "We've just got to make sure we make every inch count."

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com