Kelly’s first full Bearcat season was a “10”

By Darrell Laurant  |   Wednesday, January 16, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Cincinnati Bearcats
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(First in a series on Big East football teams and the 2007 season)

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI BEARCATS

Record: 10-3 (ranked 17th in the final AP poll)

Bowl result: 31-21 over Southern Mississippi in the PapaJohns.com Bowl.

High points: Upset Rutgers, 28-23; beat nationally ranked South Florida, 38-33; beat Oregon State 34-3; went over 50 points three times and 40 points twice; led the nation in takeaways (42) and interceptions (28).

Low points: Lost to Pitt for the seventh straight time, suffered close losses to West Virginia and Louisville that prevented a higher ranking.

Major losses: QB Ben Mauk, RBs Butler Benton and Greg Moore, 270-pound FB Doug Jones, WR Earnest Jackson, DB Haruki Nakamura; OT Digger Bujnoch, DE Anthony Hoke, LB Anthony Williams.

Top returnees: QB Dustin Grutza, RB Jacob Ramsey, WR Dominic Goodman, WR Marcus Barnett, DB Marshawn Gilyard, LB Corey Smith, DB DeAngelo Smith, DB Mike Mickens, LG Trevor Canfield, DT Terrill Byrd, P Kevin Huber.

2008 Outlook: Mentioned for both the Michigan and UCLA jobs, Kelly wound up signing a five-year extension. Cincinnati finished 10-3 and 17th ranked, was 16th nationally in scoring offense and 13th in scoring defense. The Bearcats led the nation in interceptions and takeaways and finished near the top in sacks. Senior QB Ben Mauk, a transfer from Wake Forest, milked more than 3,000 passing yards out of Kelly's spread offense.

With defensive linemen Terrill Byrd (eight sacks) and Adam Hoopel and defensive backs Mike Mickens and DeAngelo Smith (14 interceptions between them) keying a deep 'D', punter Kevin Huber (a first-team All-American) returning and former starting QB Dustin Grutza stepping back into the limelight as Mauk departs, the Bearcats could be even better in '08. The thing is, that may not be reflected in their record -- Oklahoma and Hawaii, two BCS bowl teams, have been added to the schedule.
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