The University of Cincinnati football team sharply disagrees with those who have written them out of the postseason bowl picture, and the Bearcats plan to do something about it.
UC (6-2, 1-2 Conference USA) hopes to turn heads by beating C-USA leader Southern Mississippi (5-2, 3-0) at Nippert Stadium today. Kickoff, originally scheduled for 1 p.m., has been switched to 3:30 p.m. to accommodate television.
The game will be aired live in Cincinnati on the former SportsChannel, which changes its name to Fox Sports Net beginning today.
''If a team finishes 9-2, there should be a place for them to go,'' UC offensive tackle Jason Fabini said. ''But if we don't beat Southern Miss, it may be all for naught.''
The Bearcats have not been to a bowl game since 1950, and they average only 18,916 fans per home game. Those are two strikes against them, but if they thunder home with a 9-2 record, they could have an at-large shot at four bowls (Boise Humanitarian, Motor City, Independence or Las Vegas).
''We have to make life hard on the bowl people by going out and winning,'' UC coach Rick Minter said. ''Every game is a championship game for us. We have no more room for error.''
Beating Southern Miss, which is ranked 24th nationally by the Associated Press, could be UC's most difficult task of 1997. This is the first time the Bearcats have faced a ranked team this year, and Southern Miss is a 4 1/2-point favorite.
Minter concedes that UC has played itself out of its six-game league race, after losses at Tulane and Houston.
''I sincerely believe Southern Miss will win the conference,'' Minter said. ''But we don't want them to go unblemished. Our goal is to be a spoiler.''
Rain, which is possible today, would not spoil Minter's day. Southern Miss is a better passing team than UC, and wet weather could slow down USM passer Lee Roberts and his top receiver, Sherrod Gideon.
''It'd be nice if it were 30-something degrees and raining, so they would have to make some weather adjustments,'' Minter said.
It won't be that cold today, with temperatures forecast in the 50s. But the weather rarely affects what UC does offensively, which is run incessantly and try to hit some big-strike passes.
Defensively, UC will try to disrupt Southern Miss' timing with constant pressure. One thing is certain. The Bearcats cannot be outgained by more than 200 total yards, as they were in last week's 34-31 double overtime win at Miami, and expect to win again.
''We've got to play a lot better than last week,'' Fabini said. ''This is a big, physical team coming in here.''
Among Minter's concerns is the tough Southern Miss defense, which ranks 11th nationally in rushing defense (93.3 yards per game) and 23rd in scoring defense (17.7).
''There has been nobody who's run the ball up and down the field on them,'' Minter said. ''This may be the best team we'll play all year.''
It is Homecoming, and UC expects more than 20,000 fans.
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