2007 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

Last updated

2007 Cincinnati Bearcats football
Cincinnati University Bearcats textlogo.svg
PapaJohns.com Bowl champion
Conference Big East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 20
APNo. 17
Record10–3 (4–3 Big East)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn (1st season)
Offensive scheme Multiple
Defensive coordinatorJoe Tresey (1st season)
Base defense 4–3
Home stadium Nippert Stadium
Seasons
  2006
2008  
2007 Big East Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 6 West Virginia $+  5 2   11 2  
Connecticut +  5 2   9 4  
No. 17 Cincinnati  4 3   10 3  
South Florida  4 3   9 4  
Rutgers  3 4   8 5  
Louisville  3 4   6 6  
Pittsburgh  3 4   5 7  
Syracuse  1 6   2 10  
  • $ BCS representative as conference champion
  • + Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2007 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team, coached by Brian Kelly, played its home games in Nippert Stadium, as it has since 1923. This was Kelly's first complete season with the Bearcats, having coached them to a 2724 win against Western Michigan in the 2007 International Bowl.

Contents

The 2007 season was a breakthrough for Cincinnati football, as it saw the Bearcats break into the national rankings for the first time since 1976. The Bearcats' highest rank of their 2007 campaign was 15th in the AP Poll.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m. Southeast Missouri State * ESPN360 W 59–320,223
September 67:30 p.m. Oregon State *
  • Nippert Stadium
  • Cincinnati, OH
ESPN W 34–325,020
September 1512:00 p.m.at Miami (OH) * ESPN+ W 47–1022,421
September 227:30 p.m. Marshall *
  • Nippert Stadium
  • Cincinnati, OH
ESPN+W 40–1435,097
September 2910:00 p.m.at San Diego State *No. 24 Versus W 52–2324,647
October 68:00 p.m.at No. 21 Rutgers No. 20 ESPN2 W 28–2343,768
October 137:00 p.m. Louisville Dagger-14-plain.pngNo. 15
ESPNU L 24–2835,097
October 2012:00 p.m.at Pittsburgh No. 23
ESPN+L 17–2433,423
November 33:30 p.m.at No. 20 South Florida ABC/ESPNW 38–3357,379
November 103:30 p.m.No. 16 Connecticut
  • Nippert Stadium
  • Cincinnati, OH
ESPNUW 27–330,943
November 177:45 p.m.No. 5 West Virginia No. 21
  • Nippert Stadium
  • Cincinnati, OH
ESPNL 23–2835,097
November 247:15 p.m.at Syracuse No. 24ESPNUW 52–3130,040
December 221:00 p.m.vs. Southern Miss *No. 20ESPN2W 31–2135,258
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP RVRV24201523RVRV2124202017
Coaches Poll RVRVRV241723RVRVRV25RV242320
Harris Not releasedRV241723RVRVRV24242120Not released
BCS Not released2322242322Not released

Roster

(as of October 16, 2007) Archived April 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

Wide receivers

  •  1 Mardy GilyardJunior
  •  2 David Wess – Junior
  • 14 Earnest Jackson – Senior
  • 16 Dominick GoodmanJunior
  • 24 Jared Martin – Redshirt.svg Sophomore
  • 33 Kurt Shoemaker – Junior
  • 38 Tomaz Hilton – Freshman
  • 81 Antwuan Giddens – Senior
  • 82 Joey Thomas – Freshman
  • 84 Orion Woodard – Freshman
  • 85 Marcus Barnett – Redshirt.svg Freshman
  • 86 Armon BinnsFreshman
  • 87 Charley Howard – Redshirt.svg Sophomore
  • 88 Adrien RobinsonFreshman

Offensive line

  • 56 Chris Jurek – Redshirt.svg Sophomore
  • 59 Alex Hoffman – Freshman
  • 60 Jason Kelce – Redshirt.svg Freshman
  • 63 Blake McCroskey – Freshman
  • 64 Chris Flores – Senior
  • 65 T.J. Franklin – Freshman
  • 66 Sam Griffin – Freshman
  • 68 Craig Parmenter – Freshman
  • 69 Frank Becker – Freshman
  • 70 C. J. Cobb – Redshirt.svg Freshman
  • 71 Jeff Linkenbach – Redshirt.svg Sophomore
  • 72 Digger Bujnoch – Senior
  • 73 Mario Duenas – Senior
  • 74 Ken Rodriguez – Senior
  • 76 Trevor Canfield – Junior
  • 78 Taylor Porter – Redshirt.svg Sophomore
  • 79 Khalil El-Amin – Junior

Tight ends

  • 19 Ben Guidugli – Redshirt.svg Freshman
  • 34 Nick DeFilippo – Junior
  • 35 Marcus Waugh – Sophomore
  • 83 Kazeem Alli – Redshirt.svg Sophomore
  • 89 Connor BarwinJunior

Fullbacks

  • 86 Doug Jones – Senior
 

Quarterbacks

Running backs

  •  5 Mike Daniels – Senior
  • 11 Bradley Glatthaar – Senior
  • 20 Jacob Ramsey – Sophomore
  • 22 John Goebel – Sophomore
  • 23 Butler Benton – Senior
  • 32 Montez Patterson – Freshman
  • 48 Greg Moore – Senior

Defensive line

  • 10 Lamonte Nelms – Junior
  • 12 Anthony Hoke – Senior
  • 40 John Hughes – Freshman
  • 53 Randy Martinez – Freshman
  • 54 Jon Newton – Senior
  • 67 Adam Hoppel – Junior
  • 75 Thomas Claggett – Junior
  • 82 Angelo Craig – Senior
  • 90 Ricardo Mathews – Sophomore
  • 91 Tyler Clifford – Sophomore
  • 94 Rob Trigg – Freshman
  • 95 Terrill ByrdJunior
  • 98 Ralston Reeves – Redshirt.svg Freshman
  • 99 Chris Harrison – Redshirt.svg Freshman
 

Linebackers

  •  3 Delbert Ferguson – Junior
  •  9 Alex Delisi – Redshirt.svg Freshman
  • 31 Jon Carpenter – Senior
  • 37 Anthony Williams – Senior
  • 42 Corey Smith – Junior
  • 43 Robby Armstrong – Redshirt.svg Freshman
  • 45 Ryan Manalac – Junior
  • 47 Collin McCafferty – Redshirt.svg Freshman
  • 49 Torry Cornett – Junior
  • 27 Jeremy Matthews – Freshman
  • 52 Ricardo Thompson – Freshman
  • 55 Leo Morgan – Senior
  • 57 Obadiah Cheatham – Redshirt.svg Freshman

Defensive backs

  •  4 Drew Frey – Freshman
  •  6 DeAngelo Smith – Junior
  • 13 Haruki NakamuraSenior
  • 17 Aaron Webster – Sophomore
  • 17 Bryant Thomas – Freshman
  • 18 Cedric Tolbert – Junior
  • 21 Mike Mickens – Junior
  • 25 Brad Jones – Redshirt.svg Sophomore
  • 26 Martez Williams – Redshirt.svg Freshman
  • 32 Justin Moore – Redshirt.svg Sophomore
  • 36 Jason Whitehead – Sophomore
  • 37 Deon Reed – Freshman
  • 39 Mike Latessa – Freshman
  • 41 Tahree McQueen – Freshman
  • 44 Evan Sparks – Senior
  • 46 Scott Johnson – Freshman

Punters

Kickers

  • 92 Brandon Yingling – Junior
  • 97 Jake Rogers – Redshirt.svg Freshman

Deep Snapper

  • 51 Alex Apyan – Freshman
  • 93 Mike Windt Redshirt.svg Freshman
  • 96 Tom DeTemple – Freshman
† Starter at position     * Injured; will not play in 2007.

Coaching staff

Brian Kelly – Head coach

Keith Gilmore – Assistant head coach/defensive line

Jeff Quinn – Offensive coordinator/offensive line

Joe Tresey – Defensive coordinator

Kerry Coombs – Defensive backs coach

Mike Elston – Recruiting/special teams/tight ends

Greg Forest – Quarterbacks coach

Tim Hinton – Linebackers coach

Ernest Jones – Running backs coach

Charley Molnar – Wide receivers coach

John Widecan – Assistant AD/football operations

Brad Bury – Student assistant

Paul Longo – Strength and conditioning

Jesse Minter – Defensive graduate assistant

Michael Painter – Offensive staff intern

Adam Shorter – Offensive graduate assistant

Marty Spieler – Defensive staff intern

Erin Clayton – Administrative assistant

Jacob Flint – Assistant strength coach

Maria Gruber – Administrative coordinator

Matt Louis – Administrative coordinator

John Sells – Video coordinator

Game summaries

Southeast Missouri State

1234Total
SE Missouri State03003
Cincinnati613202059

The games was the first regular season game for new coach, Brian Kelly. The Bearcats' 59-3 victory was the most lopsided in school history since beating Louisiana-Monroe, then known as Northeast Louisiana, 63-0 in 1977. The Bearcats' 615 yards was the third most in school history. [1]

Oregon State

1234Total
Oregon State03003
Cincinnati3724034

Miami University

1234Total
Cincinnati161071447
Miami University037010
After the game UC's band plays in front of the scoreboard showing the final score Miami vs UC 2007 score board.jpg
After the game UC's band plays in front of the scoreboard showing the final score

Dustin Grutza, who started in place of the injured UC quarterback Ben Mauk threw for two scores to lead the Bearcats to a 47-10 win over the Miami RedHawks. UC defense dominated the game with a fumble recovery, three interceptions, a blocked punt, and five sacks. [2]

Marshall

1234Total
Marshall260614
Cincinnati121401440

San Diego State

1234Total
Cincinnati72871052
San Diego State3701323

Rutgers

1234Total
Cincinnati7021028
Rutgers7103323

Louisville

1234Total
Louisville777728
Cincinnati1407324

Pittsburgh

1234Total
Cincinnati1070017
Pittsburgh3731124

South Florida

1234Total
Cincinnati3170038
#20 South Florida1467633

The 31 points scored in the first quarter is a Cincinnati record for most points scored in a single quarter.

Connecticut

1234Total
#16 Connecticut03003
Cincinnati1307727

West Virginia

1234Total
#5 West Virginia7140728
Cincinnati7301323

Cincinnati came into the game predicted by some to upset the mountaineers. However, for the majority of the game West Virginia used their punishing ground attack to build a 21-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter. However, after a costly fumble leading to another West Virginia touchdown, the Bearcats rallied. Their defense force two fumbles and a punt by the Mountaineers, and the offense cashed in with two touchdowns. After UC's second touchdown and a failed two-point conversion, West Virginia recovered an onside kick attempt and managed to run out the clock, handing the Bearcats their third loss.

Syracuse

1234Total
Cincinnati1414141052
Syracuse31414031

PapaJohns.com Bowl

1234Total
Southern Miss707721
Cincinnati01417031

. The Cincinnati Bearcats led by Quarterback Ben Mauk ended Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower's 17-year tenure as head coach at Southern Miss in losing fashion, 31-21. Mauk went 30-52 for 334 yards, 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Mauk became the 3rd player in Cincinnati history to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. His favorite target was Dominick Goodman who caught 7 passes for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns. The defense was led by DeAngelo Smith who had a whopping 3 interceptions. For Southern Miss, Jeremy Young went 18-32 for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns, but 3 interceptions. Damion Fletcher led the team in rushing and receiving, with 155 yards on 29 carries on the ground and 7 catches for 50 yards through the air. Southern Miss jumped to an early 7-0 lead on a 10-yard pass from Young to Shawn Nelson in the 1st quarter. In the 2nd quarter, Cincinnati struck back when Mauk threw both touchdown passes to Goodman to end the half. In the 3rd quarter Mauk hooked up with Ernest Jackson for 29 yards and a touchdown to make it 21-7 in favor of the Bearcats. Young then had a 1-yard run with 6:48 to play in the 3rd to make it 21-14. Cincinnati then pulled away when Mauk hit Antwuan Giddens for his last touchdown. A field goal by Jake Rogers made it 31-14 Bearcats, and they never looked back. [3]

Awards and milestones

All-Americans

Big East Conference honors

Offensive player of the week

  • Week 3: Dustin Grutza [4]
  • Week 5: Ben Mauk [4]
  • Week 13: Ben Mauk [4]

Defensive player of the week

  • Week 1: Mike Mickens [4]
  • Week 6: Ryan Manalac [4]
  • Week 10: Haruki Nakamura [4]

Special teams player of the week

  • Week 2: Jacob Rogers [4]
  • Week 6: Kevin Huber [4]

Big East Conference All-Conference First Team

  • Terrill Byrd, DL
  • Mike Mickens, DB
  • Haruki Nakamura, DB
  • Kevin Huber, P

[4]

Big East Conference All-Conference Second Team

  • Marcus Barnett, WR
  • Trevor Canfield, OL
  • Anthony Hoke, DL
  • DeAngelo Smith, DB

[4]

Players in the 2008 NFL draft

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
Haruki Nakamura S 6206 Baltimore Ravens
Angelo Craig DE 7244 Cincinnati Bengals

References

  1. "Bearcats 59, Indians 3". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 1, 2007. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2008.
  2. "Cincinnati 47, Miami (Ohio) 10". ESPN. Associated Press. September 15, 2007. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
  3. "Mauk, Bearcats spoil Bower's final game at Southern Miss". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 22, 2007. Archived from the original on January 1, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "2011 Cincinnati Media Guide" (PDF). University of Cincinnati Athletics. Retrieved December 22, 2018.