HUNTINGTON - Here's a smidge of info about Marshall's Friday night opponent.
HUNTINGTON - Here's a smidge of info about Marshall's Friday night opponent.
The Cincinnati Bearcats had two preseason first-team All-America selections, according to Athlon magazine. They had two preseason first-team All-America selections, according to Sport Illustrated.
And they weren't the same two.
Athlon tagged cornerback Mike Mickens and defensive tackle Terrill Byrd. SI honored Mickens and punter Kevin Huber.
So, yes, UC was down to, realistically, its fourth string quarterback, but the 33-10 winners weren't exactly devoid of talent. Thus, the oddsmakers' pick of UC as the favorite.
Before the season, one had to mark this down as a Marshall loss. After 60 minutes of play, one marks this down as a Marshall loss.
But coach Mark Snyder and company can't simply shrug off the defeat. For there certainly were concerns.
First was that quarterback position.
Much of the pregame hype centered on UC's QB situation. Would it be Zach Collaros, who took a few snaps in the Bearcats' win against Akron? Would it be Chazz Anderson? Either way, the Bearcat starter would be a redshirt freshman.
MU needed to take advantage. Keep the chosen one - who turned out to be Anderson - in third-and-long situations. Put the pressure on.
And, early, apply the pressure the Thundering Herd did. A big DeQuan Bembry hit made it third-and-13 for the Bearcats. On the next series, UC faced a third-and-15. A Mario Harvey sack on the next series led to third-and-12.
Anderson was struggling.
Unfortunately for Herd fans, though, their starter, Mark Cann, is also a redshirt freshman.
That might not have been so much in focus pre-game. But it certainly was mid-game.
First half: 9-of-18 passing for 78 yards. He threw two picks in that span and was sacked twice. He tripped over a lineman.
And while Cincinnati was 2-of-8 on third downs in the first half, MU was 1-of-8.
It was surprising that Anderson in his first start - on the road - looked better than Cann. And UC coach Brian Kelly didn't pull back too much in regard to his offensive game plan. Anderson threw 26 passes. He completed 16, had two touchdowns and but one interception.
Cann finished with three interceptions and fumbled once, although that was recovered by MU.
The Herd QB, though, was too many times put under pressure by his own team.
Not to be negative, but there were entirely too many negative plays by the homestanding Herd.
A nice screen pass to Darius Passmore for nice yardage... but, wait. Whistle. Illegal block in the back by Matt Altobello.
Chubb Small made a nice 27-yard run. Then Darius Marshall was dropped for negative four.
There was an MU first down at the UC 47... then a false start by Matt Parkhurst and a Darius Marshall negative-15 yard run trying to reverse field.
"We shot ourselves in the foot,'' said MU coach Mark Snyder.
What should also be most troubling for Snyder is MU's reaction to adversity Friday night.
When things went bad for the Herd, there was no torniquet. A cut always seemed to turn into a deep wound.
Right after UC's Connor Barwin broke free for a punt block into the end zone, resulting in a safety, MU's collective head seemed down. A minute and a half later, after the free kick, Cincy was dancing in paydirt.
After Cincy's Cedric Tolbert took a glance off the hands of Cody Slate for a 33-yard interception return, Marshall seemed to get a break via an ensuing bungled Bearcats shovel pass. But when a review reversed the on-the-field call, the Herd's head drooped again. Next play: a Dominick Goodman 14-yard TD dart from Anderson.
It happened again in the third quarter, surprisingly, after MU came out roaring with a 57-yard Cody Slate TD. Right after, the Herd had UC boxed in. But the defense gave up a Mardy Gilyard 17-yard catch on the series' first down. The Bearcats rolled afterward to a score.
Cann was not the answer. He threw a headscratcher of an interception in the third which gave way to a Cincy field goal.
In the end, we saw much of the same from the Herd as in prior games versus Wisconsin and West Virginia.
Yes. Some day Cann's composure will come along.
The rest of the team, though, needs to stop being negative now.
And immediately stop the bleeding when it's a cut.
Reach Mitch Vingle at 348-4827 or mitchvin...@wvgazette.com.
HUNTINGTON - Here's a smidge of info about Marshall's Friday night opponent.
The Cincinnati Bearcats had two preseason first-team All-America selections, according to Athlon magazine. They had two preseason first-team All-America selections, according to Sport Illustrated.
And they weren't the same two.
Athlon tagged cornerback Mike Mickens and defensive tackle Terrill Byrd. SI honored Mickens and punter Kevin Huber.
So, yes, UC was down to, realistically, its fourth string quarterback, but the 33-10 winners weren't exactly devoid of talent. Thus, the oddsmakers' pick of UC as the favorite.
Before the season, one had to mark this down as a Marshall loss. After 60 minutes of play, one marks this down as a Marshall loss.
But coach Mark Snyder and company can't simply shrug off the defeat. For there certainly were concerns.
First was that quarterback position.
Much of the pregame hype centered on UC's QB situation. Would it be Zach Collaros, who took a few snaps in the Bearcats' win against Akron? Would it be Chazz Anderson? Either way, the Bearcat starter would be a redshirt freshman.
MU needed to take advantage. Keep the chosen one - who turned out to be Anderson - in third-and-long situations. Put the pressure on.
And, early, apply the pressure the Thundering Herd did. A big DeQuan Bembry hit made it third-and-13 for the Bearcats. On the next series, UC faced a third-and-15. A Mario Harvey sack on the next series led to third-and-12.
Anderson was struggling.
Unfortunately for Herd fans, though, their starter, Mark Cann, is also a redshirt freshman.
That might not have been so much in focus pre-game. But it certainly was mid-game.
First half: 9-of-18 passing for 78 yards. He threw two picks in that span and was sacked twice. He tripped over a lineman.
And while Cincinnati was 2-of-8 on third downs in the first half, MU was 1-of-8.
It was surprising that Anderson in his first start - on the road - looked better than Cann. And UC coach Brian Kelly didn't pull back too much in regard to his offensive game plan. Anderson threw 26 passes. He completed 16, had two touchdowns and but one interception.
Cann finished with three interceptions and fumbled once, although that was recovered by MU.
The Herd QB, though, was too many times put under pressure by his own team.
Not to be negative, but there were entirely too many negative plays by the homestanding Herd.
A nice screen pass to Darius Passmore for nice yardage... but, wait. Whistle. Illegal block in the back by Matt Altobello.
Chubb Small made a nice 27-yard run. Then Darius Marshall was dropped for negative four.
There was an MU first down at the UC 47... then a false start by Matt Parkhurst and a Darius Marshall negative-15 yard run trying to reverse field.
"We shot ourselves in the foot,'' said MU coach Mark Snyder.
What should also be most troubling for Snyder is MU's reaction to adversity Friday night.
When things went bad for the Herd, there was no torniquet. A cut always seemed to turn into a deep wound.
Right after UC's Connor Barwin broke free for a punt block into the end zone, resulting in a safety, MU's collective head seemed down. A minute and a half later, after the free kick, Cincy was dancing in paydirt.
After Cincy's Cedric Tolbert took a glance off the hands of Cody Slate for a 33-yard interception return, Marshall seemed to get a break via an ensuing bungled Bearcats shovel pass. But when a review reversed the on-the-field call, the Herd's head drooped again. Next play: a Dominick Goodman 14-yard TD dart from Anderson.
It happened again in the third quarter, surprisingly, after MU came out roaring with a 57-yard Cody Slate TD. Right after, the Herd had UC boxed in. But the defense gave up a Mardy Gilyard 17-yard catch on the series' first down. The Bearcats rolled afterward to a score.
Cann was not the answer. He threw a headscratcher of an interception in the third which gave way to a Cincy field goal.
In the end, we saw much of the same from the Herd as in prior games versus Wisconsin and West Virginia.
Yes. Some day Cann's composure will come along.
The rest of the team, though, needs to stop being negative now.
And immediately stop the bleeding when it's a cut.
Reach Mitch Vingle at 348-4827 or mitchvin...@wvgazette.com.
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