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Tony Pike returned from an injury to his non-throwing arm and had a record day Friday, passing for six touchdowns in a 49-36 victory over Illinois that left fifth-ranked Cincinnati unbeaten and back to full strength.

The senior quarterback started for the first time since Oct. 15 and broke the school record for touchdown passes.

Two of them went to Mardy Gilyard, who also ran back a kickoff for a score.

Cincinnati (11-0) remained one of six unbeaten Bowl Subdivision teams. The Bearcats finish their regular season next weekend in Pittsburgh, aiming for their second consecutive Big East title.

The Illini (3-8) couldn’t handle a spread offense that’s different from anything they’d see in the Big Ten. Cincinnati had 35 points in the first half alone — as many as the Illini allowed in any full Big Ten game.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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Quarterback Zach Collaros will start for fifth-ranked Cincinnati against West Virginia on Friday night, with Tony Pike expected to play as well for the first time since he hurt his non-throwing arm.


Coach Brian Kelly announced Tuesday that Collaros will be his starter. The sophomore backup has played spectacularly and kept the Bearcats (9-0) in the national title conversation while Pike heals from surgery to replace a metal plate in his left forearm.

Collaros threw for 480 yards — the second-highest total in school history — during a 47-45 win over Connecticut on Saturday night. Pike warmed up before the game but didn’t play. Kelly said the senior will run some plays against West Virginia (7-2).

“We’re going to try to put a couple different packages in and just go from there,” Pike said after practice Tuesday. “Obviously getting back out there and practicing is one thing, but in the game it’s a different speed. That’s the biggest thing.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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Notre Dame linebacker Brian Smith cannot wait to play against Navy on Saturday.

And not just to test the No. 19 Irish’s run defense against the Midshipmen’s rushing attack.

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound junior injured his right knee in the first quarter against Navy last season on what he called an illegal cut block.

“They got the flag for it, but the 15 yards is not a good trade-off,” Smith said of the injury that kept him out of the final two games of 2008.

Personal vendettas aside, Smith and the Irish (6-2) will be challenged in the run game by the Midshipmen (6-3) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.


Click here to read the full article – By Tony Krausz of The Journal Gazette

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That’s right, the number 8 (or 9 depending on what poll you look at ) UC Bearcats are coming down to Tampa to take on your 21st ranked Bulls this Thursday night for a Big East tilt featured on ESPN.


The last time these teams met was also featured on ESPN. I’m sure Bulls fans can remember. It was a game that saw the Bearcats “upset” the number 23 team in the country at the time, 24-10. The Bearcats used that win to take five straight in route to the Big East Championship and a birth in the Orange Bowl. Following their loss, the Bulls lost two of three down the stretch but rallied to beat Memphis in the much anticipated magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl.

Regarding this year’s game; Bulls fans should remember who Tony Pike is. He was the guy who played last season with a soft cast protecting his surgically repaired broken left arm and threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns. After UC’s drubbing of Miami of Ohio two weeks ago, Pike has thrown a touchdown pass in 15 straight games.


Click here to read the full article – By Ian Preuth of abcactionnews.com

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Jim Tressel shares the concerns of Buckeye Nation about his team’s offense and the production of quarterback Terrelle Pryor, but the Ohio State football coach today said he and Pryor share one important characteristic as the Buckeyes (5-1, 3-0) sit atop the Big Ten standings with Iowa (6-0, 2-0).

“To me the thing that is probably the No.1 trait I see in Terrelle is, first, he wants to be on a winning team,” Tressel said. “So if you’re doing what might lead to winning, that’s No.1.”

Despite Pryor’s six interceptions — two more than he had as a freshman all of last season — and despite his sometimes off-target throws, he has for the most part taken care of the ball, Tressel said. It’s just that thus far, halfway through this season, there haven’t been those yardage explosions, either by him or the offense, that many were anticipating.

“I don’t think Terrelle would enjoy rushing for 110 (yards) and throwing for 300 and being 1-5, being 2-4,” Tressel said. “I don’t think that would interest him.”


Click here to read the full article – By Tim May of THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Things had gone so smoothly for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats during their first two games that they had yet to face a deficit.

Everything they tried on offense seemed to work and their defense was rarely put in a tough spot.

That all changed Saturday night at Oregon State when the Bearcats trailed, 6-0, early in the game because the offense was having a difficult time getting untracked before a raucous crowd a long way from home.

But the Bearcats did what they had to do. They pulled together, relied on their defense for the first time this season, made the offensive plays when they had to, and flew home in the early hours of Sunday morning with an impressive 28-18 victory over the Beavers, who had been ranked No. 24 in the USA Today coaches’ poll.

Click here to read the full article – By Bill Koch of cincinnati.com

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