The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Nice to see UC/UCF get a mention.

https://www.si.com/college-football/2018...redictions

WEEK 12 (NOV. 17): CINCINNATI @ UCF
It might seem bold to predict GameDay going to a Group of Five game, but it actually makes a lot of sense when you take a long look at Week 12. As things stand in the AP poll heading into Week 8, this is the only matchup of the weekend between two ranked teams. Miami at Virginia Tech had some appeal early in the year, but both have dropped games to bad teams. Duke at Clemson could become an option if the Blue Devils win their next four games, but that’s a tough thing to rely on. This seems like a great week for GameDay to go to an unconventional location, which they’ve done at least once per season in recent years. Jacksonville State vs. Kennesaw State from the Atlanta Braves’ SunTrust Park could be an option; GameDay has done an FCS game in four of the last five years.

The safer call is that ESPN will reward UCF for a winning streak that should be at 22 games by the time this matchup rolls around. Discussions of UCF’s playoff candidacy will continue to grow if it avoids an upset, setting this game up as a recognition of the Knights’ accomplishments over the past two seasons. Cincinnati is also undefeated and could stay that way if it beats Temple on the road and holds off South Florida (another currently undefeated team) at home, setting up a chance to take the AAC East lead by beating UCF. Also, GameDay has never been to Orlando and Cincinnati has never so much as played in a GameDay game. It makes sense.

Confidence level: Medium

Fun to dream, and this wuld be cool. I just don't think UC will still be undefeated then.

(10-18-2018 09:11 PM)bearcatdp Wrote:  Fun to dream, and this wuld be cool. I just don't think UC will still be undefeated then.

Yep, an exciting possibility. Let's check back on this after 4 pm on Saturday. I think Temple will be among UC's two toughest remaining games based upon their turnaround and how UC will match up with their strengths.

(10-18-2018 09:11 PM)bearcatdp Wrote:  Fun to dream, and this wuld be cool. I just don't think UC will still be undefeated then.

few things that could still work for them though..

-even if UC picks up a loss, I'd like to think they'd still be ranked at 10-1. two ranked teams would be more intriguing than anything else going on that weekend.
-could still be a battle for the AAC east if UC only has one loss
-Gameday to Orlando would be more about UCF's accomplishments than anything else.

I don't see it happening more because of the disrespect ESPN has shown in the past towards the G5 and the AAC, I could see them slapping us in the face extra hard and going to a D1-AA program.

Kind of crazy that we've never been a part of a Gameday game considering the success we had in the Big East.

If both teams are unbeaten I'd be shocked if Gameday wasn't there that week.

(10-19-2018 08:29 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  If both teams are unbeaten I'd be shocked if Gameday wasn't there that week.

I wouldn't, although the ESPN team might welcome the warm Florida weather then.

(10-19-2018 08:32 AM)bearcatfan Wrote:  

(10-19-2018 08:29 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  If both teams are unbeaten I'd be shocked if Gameday wasn't there that week.

I wouldn't, although the ESPN team might welcome the warm Florida weather then.

If Gameday is there and viewership is high, it's another data point in the AAC's negotiation for big bucks in the new TV deal. Does ESPN want to give the AAC that chip right now in this poker game?

Game Day has been to Yale, Villanova, UCF, Troy, Southern, South Florida, SMU, Richmond, Northern Illinois, Kansas, Incarnate World, Hampton, Grambling State, East Carolina, Delaware State, Buffalo, Amherst, Williams College, Temple, Houston, Florida A&M, North Dakota State, Harvard, James, Madison and the three service academies. Yet--- they have never done a game involving the Bearcats.

Something stinks.

(10-19-2018 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Game Day has been to Yale, Villanova, UCF, Troy, Southern, South Florida, SMU, Richmond, Northern Illinois, Kansas, Incarnate World, Hampton, Grambling State, East Carolina, Delaware State, Buffalo, Amherst, Williams College, Temple, Houston, Florida A&M, North Dakota State, Harvard, James, Madison and the three service academies. Yet--- they have never done a game involving the Bearcats.

Something stinks.

They've gotten more expansive in recent years, but UC has been mediocre to dreadful during those years. They usually pick a week or two where there isn't a big marquee p5 game to cover an interesting game involving non-P5 teams. It's only a matter of time if UC continues to bring the program back.

(10-19-2018 09:03 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(10-19-2018 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Game Day has been to Yale, Villanova, UCF, Troy, Southern, South Florida, SMU, Richmond, Northern Illinois, Kansas, Incarnate World, Hampton, Grambling State, East Carolina, Delaware State, Buffalo, Amherst, Williams College, Temple, Houston, Florida A&M, North Dakota State, Harvard, James, Madison and the three service academies. Yet--- they have never done a game involving the Bearcats.

Something stinks.

They've gotten more expansive in recent years, but UC has been mediocre to dreadful during those years. They usually pick a week or two where there isn't a big marquee p5 game to cover an interesting game involving non-P5 teams. It's only a matter of time if UC continues to bring the program back.

Yeah but what about 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012? They went to Houston in 2011, Vanderbilt in 2008, Williams College in 2007.

Edit: And to top it off given our history in BB they have never been to UC for the basketball version of the show. However, they have been to Vanderbilt, Temple, Northern Iowa, Nebraska, Mississippi State, Creighton, Wichita State, Texas Tech, Southern Illinois, SMU, Saint Mary's, Marquette, LSU, LaSalle, Iowa State, Colorado, Clemson, Cal, Butler, Boston College, Baylor, Washington, Virginia Tech, Miami(FL), Georgia Tech, Kansas State (4X), Pitt (7X)

(10-19-2018 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Game Day has been to Yale, Villanova, UCF, Troy, Southern, South Florida, SMU, Richmond, Northern Illinois, Kansas, Incarnate World, Hampton, Grambling State, East Carolina, Delaware State, Buffalo, Amherst, Williams College, Temple, Houston, Florida A&M, North Dakota State, Harvard, James, Madison and the three service academies. Yet--- they have never done a game involving the Bearcats.

Something stinks.

Wow, never knew they'd road tripped to all those places and still missed the Wrigley Field of College Football. At UCF this season certainly provides an abundance of feel good story lines about both teams and the AAC. Cincy's resurgence and UCF's winning streak among them.

If I'm a Boise State fan, or any fan in the MWC, there is good reason to be worried. The case is being made every weekend that the AAC is rapidly ascending above the rest of the G5. And it appears to be sustainable growth given the size and quality of the universities, the recruiting base, market size and national interest.

Let's keep winning, finish the season ranked and win our bowl game and next year we should be preseason ranked. We have a young coach, young players and a rising program that should draw their interest. I don't know how else to get the spotlight on our program than that.

FWIW, is it just me but I can't stand Lee Corso. His shtick has gotten old and he looks and acts like he gets hourly Vitamin B injections so he can move around and have basic bodily functions. Whatever.

(10-19-2018 09:03 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(10-19-2018 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Game Day has been to Yale, Villanova, UCF, Troy, Southern, South Florida, SMU, Richmond, Northern Illinois, Kansas, Incarnate World, Hampton, Grambling State, East Carolina, Delaware State, Buffalo, Amherst, Williams College, Temple, Houston, Florida A&M, North Dakota State, Harvard, James, Madison and the three service academies. Yet--- they have never done a game involving the Bearcats.

Something stinks.

They've gotten more expansive in recent years, but UC has been mediocre to dreadful during those years. They usually pick a week or two where there isn't a big marquee p5 game to cover an interesting game involving non-P5 teams. It's only a matter of time if UC continues to bring the program back.

And really, even when we were way up there, they only had two decent options to choose from at UC: #5 WVU vs. #25 UC in 2007 and #20 Pitt vs. #19 UC in 2008...all of those games had other higher profile matchups (OSU-Michigan and #15 Clemson vs. #12 BC in 2007 and #2 Texas Tech vs. #5 Oklahoma in 2008). The game that probably would've had the best shot (#5 Cincinnati vs. #22 WVU in 2009) was a Friday game, but even that would've been up against #4 TCU vs. #16 Utah and #10 Iowa vs. #11 Ohio State.

Chalk it up to us being fairly unlucky. The one thing I will say is I think we would have a pretty phenomenal backdrop for a Gameday using McMicken Lawn...

(10-19-2018 09:16 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(10-19-2018 09:03 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(10-19-2018 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Game Day has been to Yale, Villanova, UCF, Troy, Southern, South Florida, SMU, Richmond, Northern Illinois, Kansas, Incarnate World, Hampton, Grambling State, East Carolina, Delaware State, Buffalo, Amherst, Williams College, Temple, Houston, Florida A&M, North Dakota State, Harvard, James, Madison and the three service academies. Yet--- they have never done a game involving the Bearcats.

Something stinks.

They've gotten more expansive in recent years, but UC has been mediocre to dreadful during those years. They usually pick a week or two where there isn't a big marquee p5 game to cover an interesting game involving non-P5 teams. It's only a matter of time if UC continues to bring the program back.

And really, even when we were way up there, they only had two decent options to choose from at UC: #5 WVU vs. #25 UC in 2007 and #20 Pitt vs. #19 UC in 2008...all of those games had other higher profile matchups (OSU-Michigan and #15 Clemson vs. #12 BC in 2007 and #2 Texas Tech vs. #5 Oklahoma in 2008). The game that probably would've had the best shot (#5 Cincinnati vs. #22 WVU in 2009) was a Friday game, but even that would've been up against #4 TCU vs. #16 Utah and #10 Iowa vs. #11 Ohio State.

Chalk it up to us being fairly unlucky. The one thing I will say is I think we would have a pretty phenomenal backdrop for a Gameday using McMicken Lawn...

Absolutely. I have dreams of gameday coming for the USF game if both are unbeaten, but I think the story is better for them if they go to UCF.

(10-19-2018 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Game Day has been to Yale, Villanova, UCF, Troy, Southern, South Florida, SMU, Richmond, Northern Illinois, Kansas, Incarnate World, Hampton, Grambling State, East Carolina, Delaware State, Buffalo, Amherst, Williams College, Temple, Houston, Florida A&M, North Dakota State, Harvard, James, Madison and the three service academies. Yet--- they have never done a game involving the Bearcats.

Something stinks.

Add BG to the list. The 4 letter will throw in a lower division Gameday, if one weekend a year permits it. My personal opinion is this is a way to show they care about non-Cartel 5 teams. Hey look we are objective. Frankly, the non-Cartel 5 teams are ones they do not see as threatening.

With that said, UC/ucf could be an option if both are still undefeated and another Cartel 5 game does not trump. However, they will want to devalue the AAC content as much as possible, especially come renewal time. So, I see them passing on this one.

ROAD TRIP!

ESPN sent their GameDay broadcast crew (Herbstreit and Musburger) to our 2009 match up against Uconn, but for some reason they didn't have GameDay that day. Anyone remember why?

(10-19-2018 09:30 AM)bearcatmill Wrote:  

(10-19-2018 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Game Day has been to Yale, Villanova, UCF, Troy, Southern, South Florida, SMU, Richmond, Northern Illinois, Kansas, Incarnate World, Hampton, Grambling State, East Carolina, Delaware State, Buffalo, Amherst, Williams College, Temple, Houston, Florida A&M, North Dakota State, Harvard, James, Madison and the three service academies. Yet--- they have never done a game involving the Bearcats.

Something stinks.

Add BG to the list. The 4 letter will throw in a lower division Gameday, if one weekend a year permits it. My personal opinion is this is a way to show they care about non-Cartel 5 teams. Hey look we are objective. Frankly, the non-Cartel 5 teams are ones they do not see as threatening.

With that said, UC/ucf could be an option if both are still undefeated and another Cartel 5 game does not trump. However, they will want to devalue the AAC content as much as possible, especially come renewal time. So, I see them passing on this one.

Bolded, my hypothesis as well. They don't want to put arrows in Aresco's quiver prior to contract negotiations in 2019 when they'll want to suggest P6 is just putting lipstick on a G5 pig. But the viewership numbers Aresco brings make a compelling case for TV money at least approaching P5 levels.

(10-19-2018 12:37 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  ESPN sent their GameDay broadcast crew (Herbstreit and Musburger) to our 2009 match up against Uconn, but for some reason they didn't have GameDay that day. Anyone remember why?

They were at Air Force-Army for Gameday...not sure why, that was the week of #16 Ohio State vs. #11 Penn State (3:30pm on ABC) and #3 Alabama vs. #9 LSU (3:30pm on CBS). They had a split ABC primetime game that day...we were one and Oklahoma at Nebraska was the other.

Related...but god was our defense awful that year. Never really understood what anyone saw in Diaco after that.