The Cincinnati Bengals decided to pass on signing Terrell Owens today, and instead they went in a younger, possibly more risky direction. Antonio Bryant signed a four year, $28 million deal today, with incentives that could make the deal worth up to $29 million. There was a lot of speculation that the Bengals would sign Owens, especially with Chad Ochocinco pushing so hard for the organization to bring him here. The Bengals were also in talks of possibly pursuing Brandon Marshall from the Denver Broncos. Instead Mike Brown and the Bengals decided to go with Bryant, who comes by way of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Last year Bryant suffered a knee injury in training camp that limited him in action during the season. He finished 2009 with 39 catches for 600 yards and four touchdowns. In 2008, however, Bryant set career highs with 83 catches for 1,248 yards and and seven scores. Bryant could be the guy they've been looking for to compliment Ochocinco on the outside. He will replace a disappointing Laveraneus Coles, who the Bengals released a short time ago.

With the signing of Bryant questions now arise as to what the Bengals will do with their first round pick in the draft. They have the 21st overall pick, a pick they would have had to trade away had they decided to pursue and sign Marshall. Its very likely that the team will go with Jermaine Gresham, a tight end out of Oklahoma. Gresham missed all of last season with the Sooners due to a knee injury. If he is fully recovered, there's a good chance he could be just the guy they've been looking for to fill the void at tight end. The Bengals thought they had that last year when they drafted Chase Coffman out of Missouri, but unfortunately he hasn't impressed and never saw the field last season. Gresham would provide the pass catching tight end the team so drastically needs.

There's also been a lot of buzz around Cincinnati saying the Bengals should try to get Cincinnati Bearcats' wideout, Mardy Gilyard if at all possible in the second round. Adding Mardy to the mix would make this offense insane! Gilyard would give Carson Palmer his down the field, breakaway threat. He would also boost the kick return game, something this team desperately needs! Its not likely that Gilyard will fall to the Bengals in the second round, but its not out of the question either. Nobody thought Rey Maualuga would fall as far as he did last year and the Bengals snatched him up in the second round. Its also very possible that the Bengals may take a chance and draft Gilyard in the first round, but that might be stretching it.

Regardless of what the Bengals do in the draft, the additions of Bryant and Matt Jones (picked up last month in free agency) have this offense taking shape as possibly being one of the most lethal in the NFL. Ochocinco, Bryant, Jones and Andre Caldwell should dramatically improve on the numbers put up by the 26th ranked passing attack from last year. And with Palmer at the helm and a solid running attack headed up by Cedric Benson, this Bengals team could be scary. They could be 2005 playoff team scary!

NFL cincinnati bengals, antonio bryant, terrell owens, chad ochocinco, brandon marshall, jermaine gresham, mardy gilyard, carson palmer, matt jones, andre caldwell, rey maualuga, cedric benson

Cincinnati Bengals' cornerback Leon Hall was cited this past Sunday for driving under the influence and driving left of center in in Clermont County on Ohio 125. It was reported that Hall had a blood-alcohol level of 0.149, which is almost twice the legal limit of 0.08 in Ohio.

Hall's attorney entered a not guilty plea this morning on his behalf. A cruiser cam shows Hall telling the officer that he was rushing home because his wife was having a baby.

The Bengals have had their fair share players with a run in with the law. Hall, a third year player out of Michigan, is just another added to the list. For a player with a bright future and one that was coming into his own last year, this would be a step back and just another offense that the media can spin and use to dig against the Bengals, again.

On a personal note and as a huge Bengals fan myself, I am giving Hall the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully more information will come out as this goes forward and we will find out that his wife was in labor and that was why he was driving erratically. Drinking and driving is never okay. If Hall has to face a DUI charge and he gets found guilty then he's just another in the long line of professional athletes that, for some reason, think its alright to drive intoxicated rather than calling a cab or a friend or a teammate and have them drive them wherever they need to go.

Hall has a very bright future with the Bengals. If found guilty, the sad part isn't so much that he made the decision he made, but that the image of the team he plays for just takes another hit. The Bengals don't do themselves any favors with the players they choose to sign that come with baggage, but in this case Hall was one of the last guys you'd expect to find getting in trouble with the law.  Hopefully he will be found not guilty and all of this will go away, Even if Hall is found not guilty you can count on the crew from ESPN covering the NFL draft in a couple weeks to talk about it along with every other player that's had a run in with the law on the Bengals.

NFL cincinnati bengals, leon hall

John Clayton of ESPN.com reports that the Cincinnati Bengals have signed defensive lineman Tank Johnson to a one-year deal. The addition of Johnson adds much needed girth to the defensive line for the Bengals. There have been projections for the upcoming NFL draft that have the Bengals taking a defensive lineman, but now with the signing of Johnson its very possible they will go in a different direction, possibly drafting an offensive lineman or even a wide receiver.

Johnson spent the last two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys where he recorded 33 tackles and three sacks. He was drafted in the second round in 2004 by the Chicago Bears but was released after serving an 8-game suspension in 2006 for a gun violation.

Johnson, 27, is two years removed from his legal issues and seems to have put it all behind him, but the fact that he signed with the Bengals, a team that has had its fair share of troubled players/convicts on the team over the last few years, will likely be the focus of most of the media outlets. While even I joke about the signing and say that its just the Bengals doing what the Bengals do, signing players with baggage, the focus should really be on the fact that the Bengals just picked up a huge piece of the defensive puzzle. Johnson will likely be a part of a three-player rotation at defensive tackle with Domata Peko and Pat Sims.

The style of defense that the Bengals defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer, runs fits Johnson perfectly. Zimmer, who is a former defensive coach with the Cowboys, will love having a big man who is athletic in the middle of his line. Johnson should be a force in the pass rush as Zimmer runs a very agressive 4-3 style which will allow him to shine and become the force up the middle the Bengals have been looking for for quite some time.

NFL cincinnati bengals, tank johnson, domata peko, pat sims, mike zimmer, dallas cowboys

Three years ago Mick Cronin was introduced as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats. It was thought by most that it would take him four or five season to get the team back to a respectable status. Here we are three years into his tenure and there has been semi-serious talk about the Bearcats making the "Big Dance." That would be a huge step in the right direction for Cronin and his boys after not even making the NIT tournament last season.

The Bearcats are 17-9 overall and 7-6 in the Big East, arguably the toughest conference in the country. After starting 0-3 in the conference, the 'Cats have won seven of their last ten. Three of their conference wins have come against two of the more respected teams in the conference, Notre Dame and twice over Georgetown. They beat Georgetown on the road which is not an easy task no matter how much the Hoyas have struggled this season. Of the Bearcats nine losses, all but two have come against teams currently ranked in the Top 25. The other two losses came against Providence, a team that could be considered as a bubble team to get into the tournament come mid-March.

The reason for the resurgence of the Bearcats is due to them finally gelling as a team. Early on in the season the Bearcats relied heavily on their top scorer, junior Deonta Vaughn (16.1 points per game). As he went, so did the team. If Vaughn went cold, the team struggled. If he was hot, the team was on fire. The maturation of freshman big-man and local talent, Yancey Gates, has made for a great inside-out game. Gates is averaging just over 10 points and 6 rebounds per game, but his emergence over the last few games has allowed the outside game to heat up even more with Dion Dixon and Larry Davis along with Vaughn. Throw in Mike Williams and you have a starting five that can play with almost any team in the Big East. Even better is that Cronin has another big man he can sub in for Gates if need be in Steve Toyloy and not miss a beat.

Before the season even started the Bearcats lost their highly touted freshman, Cashmere Wright. He was to be the man running the point, allowing Vaughn to get freed up even more and help with that outside game. Wright blew out his ACL in practice and thus had to miss the entire season. So the fact that they are having the success they are having sans Wright speaks a lot to the kind of coach Cronin is as well as how good his guys can be when they play as a team.

Can this team make the dance? It will all depend on how they play down the stretch. They started a tough stretch in their schedule last night when they took on Pittsburgh on the road. The 'Cats hung with the Panthers for a little while, even late into the second half, before PITT pulled away to take the win 85-69. That loss was somewhat expected, especially considering PITT is a top five team in the country and a team considered as being one that could make a run to the national title this year. What the Bearcats do from this point on could make or break their chances of making it into the NCAA tourney instead of the NIT.

They have a week off before they play Louisville at home. The rest of their schedule has them playing West Virginia, Syracuse, South Florida and ending the season at home against Seton Hall. Getting to 20 wins is the key. They need three wins to get there which means they will have to pull off an upset against either Louisville, West Viriginia or Syracuse, which is very possible. Making it to 20 wins and then winning a game or two in the Big East conference tournament will undoubtedly put them right there for consideration into the tournament.

Even if this team doesn't make it into the NCAA tourney, this has been a season that fans can be happy about because they weren't supposed to be here just yet. Cronin has turned this program back around quicker than anyone though he could. That makes for a very exciting end to this season and for something to look forward to next year.

College Hoops cincinnati bearcats, mick cronin, deonta vaughn, yancey gates, dion dixon, larry davis, mike williams, steve toyloy, cashmere wright, big east

There have been a lot of great catches in college football this year. The catch by North Carolina wide receiver, Hakeem Nicks, against West Virginia in the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Saturday may be the best of them all. There's no doubt this guy will be a first day draft pick come April and will be a factor on Sundays for whatever team selects him. In case you missed it, here's the amazing catch below.

College Football hakeem nicks, north carolina, west virginia, meineke car care bowl

The bowl games finally start this weekend. Fellow GetSportsInfo.com writer, Jeremy Fischer, and myself have put together our picks including how confident we are in them. In case you've never done a pick 'em game like this before, here's how it works. In addition to picking who you think will win the game, you assign a number to that pick as to how confident you think that pick is going to be right. There are 34 bowl games this year (way too many in most people's opinion, but that's beside the point), so the max number of confidence points you can give to one game is, yep, you guessed it, 34. The game you are least confident in you assign one point too, and fill in everything in between.

A lot of office pools are done like this and make it much more challenging than simply picking a winner for each game. As J-Fish states when it comes to doing a pick 'em game like this, "I have seen many strategies and I prefer the one that calls for using the higher confidence points on the bigger BCS games." He goes on to give his reasons as to why.

"Right or wrong, the larger conference teams get more coverage. The more information that is out there, the better informed pick you can make. The more informed you are, the more confident you'll be about a particular selection." Makes sense right? So picking the BCS bowl games really isn't as difficult as picking some of the more obscure games like the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl between Southern Mississippi and Troy that provide more difficulty in not only picking who will win, but deciding how confident you are in that pick.

J-Fish goes on to say, "Unless you fancy yourself as the next Jimmy the Greek, don't over analyze. The amount of games will definitely lead to paralysis-by-analysis." In my opinion, when it comes to picking some of the lower level bowl games, its almost more of a gut feeling when making that selection than anything else.

With all that said, let's get to the picks. What you'll find below is the bowl schedule starting with the first game on the docket all the way to the National Championship game on January 8th. With each pick you'll see both J-Fish's pick as well as my own with a little bit of analysis and how many confidence points (#) we have assigned to the pick we've made. Let's get to it with a look at the BCS games.

January 1st
ROSE - Penn State vs. USC
JFISH: USC (34) - Too much defense.
DICO: USC (32) - Too much USC! PSU hasn't seen anything like the Trojans this year. Ask OSU how things worked out for them. Plus this is a "home game" for the Trojans.

FEDEX ORANGE - Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
JFISH: Cincinnati (22) - 1st BCS bowl berth will drive the Bearcats.
DICO: Cincinnati (10) - Special teams could be the difference in this game. Mardy Gilyard for the Bearcats is one of the best in the country in the return game. A chance to finish the season in the Top 10 will push the Bearcats to a win.

January 2nd
ALLSTATE SUGAR - Utah vs. Alabama
JFISH: Alabama (32) - Utah hasn't faced a defense like this.
DICO: Alabama (33) - See JFISH's comments...the Utes will have a hard time stopping the 'Bama offense as well.

January 5th
TOSTITOS FIESTA - Ohio State vs. Texas
JFISH: Texas (33) - Too much speed on defense, and the Horns will be playing angry because of the whole BIG XII, BCS screw job.
DICO: Texas (31) - QB Colt McCoy will be too much even for a good Buckeyes' defense. Terrelle Pryor will see what team speed on defense is all about against the Longhorns.

January 8th
FEDEX BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP - Florida vs. Oklahoma
JFISH: Florida (26) - Tebow/Harvin will find a way.
DICO: Oklahoma (22) - Bradford leads the most potent offense in the country. Even with the loss of DeMarco Murray at RB, the Sooners won't miss a beat. Expect a high scoring affair.

COMPLETE PICKS (ALL 34 GAMES) 

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It was made official yesterday that the Cincinnati Bearcats (11-2) are headed to Miami, FL to play in the Orange Bowl against the winners of the ACC, the Virginia Tech Hokies (9-4). The No. 12 ranked and BIG EAST champion Bearcats will play in their first BCS Bowl game and with a win, could end up finishing in the top 10 in the rankings.

Its been a great season for the Bearcats, capped off by a come from behind 29-24 victory over Hawai'i Saturday night. No team in college football has had as many issues when it comes to the quarterback position this season than the Bearcats. Dustin Grutza started the season and looked like he was going to fill in very nicely for Ben Mauk who was denied a sixth year of eligibility. Unfortunately in the second game of the season against Oklahoma, Grutza broke his leg. In stepped Tony Pike who was playing well until he broke his non-throwing arm in the Akron game.

It was up to the redshirt freshmen Zach Collaros and Chazz Anderson to take over with Grutza and Pike out. Anderson played respectably until Pike was able to return in the UCONN game. Pike was able to get back into a rhythm after having to step out early in the UCONN game. From that point on, he held down the fort at the quarterback position. He didn't play great in the Bearcats' last game against Hawai'i, but I would attribute that to fatigue as well as him still recovering from his injury. Pike finished the regular season throwing 2,168 yards and 18 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He led the BIG EAST in passing efficiency with a rating of 141.07.

Pike's success is a great story for the Bearcats this season. It helped that he had a great wide receiver duo to throw to in Mardy Gilyard and Dominick Goodman. The two receivers gave defenses two different styles to have to contend with. Gilyard is the speed receiver that could blow by a defender and be in the open field before a defensive back has the chance to react. Goodman, Pike's favorite target, is the possession receiver. Pike could get the ball to him in a small window with the confidence that Goody would catch the ball and not let it go. Goodman is also a great route runner with helped in the trust factor with Pike that he knew if he threw the ball to a spot on the field, Goodman would be there.

The Bearcats' defense was led by Connor Barwin's BIG EAST leading 11 sacks. Barwin transitioned amazingly from playing tight end last season to defensive end this year. He was also a presence on special teams with three blocked punts. Defensive back Mike Mickens made a big impact this season for the Bearcats as well before getting injured and missing the last two games of the season. He finished the regular season with four interceptions and should be ready to go for the Orange Bowl game. In addition to Barwin and Mickens, the leading tackler (74) on the defense, Ryan Manalac, seemed to be involved on almost every play this year.

The Bearcats had the best season in the history of the school. The eleven wins they have is a school record. It is the first time the team has won 10 games in back-to-back seasons. They averaged almost 32,000 in attendance per game, a school record. Now comes the biggest and most important piece of the puzzle for this season, the Orange Bowl game on January 1st. A win in this BCS Bowl game would propel the team to heights they've never reached and would be a great tool when it comes to recruiting for next season and for seasons to come.

A full pregame write up for the Orange Bowl game is forthcoming when we get a little closer to the actual game. For now, enjoy the spotlight Bearcats! You deserve it. Party on South Beach, here we come!

College Football cincinnati bearcats, virginia tech hokies, orange bowl, bcs, big east, ben mauk, dustin grutza, tony pike, zach collaros, chazz anderson, mardy gilyard, dominick goodman, connor barwin, mike mickens, ryan manalac

The Cincinnati Bearcats (10-2) will play the last game of the regular season in all of college football this weekend when they travel to take on the Hawaii Warriors (7-5).  The last time these two teams met was back in 2003 when the Warriors stole a win 20-19. It was a very controversial game with the referees playing a big role in the outcome with bad calls all over the place. The game actually ended with the teams getting into a fight because of how the game went. Its hard to believe its been five years since that game.

The Bearcats officially won the BIG EAST last week and are headed to a BCS bowl game for the first time in the program's history regardless of the outcome of the game this weekend. They have won 10 game in back-to-back seasons for the first time in the school's history and are currently ranked No. 13 in the AP poll as well as in the BCS rankings. Its likely that the team will head to the Orange Bowl in Miami on January 1st. They will find out for sure on Sunday during the bowl selection show.

The Warriors have had a lot of success recently, but this season has not gone nearly as well. With Colt Brennan gone, the Warriors have struggled to find that explosive offense they have come accustomed to. First year coach Greg McMackin has lead the team to a 7-5 mark after the team went 12-1 last season and won the WAC and went on to play in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The Warriors will ironically enough, play in the Hawaii Bowl.

The Cincinnati defense has stepped up their game over the last few games. The team as a whole has 27 sacks in their last eight games after having just four in the first four games. Their led by Connor Barwin who leads the BIG EAST with 10 sacks, which ranks him tied for seventh in the country. The defense will have to shut down quarterback Greg Alexander who is coming off his best game of the season against Washington State where he threw for 315 yards and two scores. The Bearcats' have shut down opposing quarterbacks as of late and shutting down Alexander will put the Warriors in a big bind with them not having much of a rushing attack.

The Cincinnati offense has been lighting up the scoreboard both with their scores as well as racking up the yards. Quarterback Tony Pike heads up the charge for the BIG EAST leading passing offense that averages 260 yards per game. The Bearcats also lead the BIG EAST in passing efficiency with a rating of 140.6. Pike has bounced back from breaking his non-throwing arm earlier in the season to provide some stability at the position that turned into a carousel ride with injuries and projects. Pike's success has come because of the spread offense that head coach Brian Kelly runs and because he has two receivers that will likely both be named to the First Team All Big East at the end of the season, Mardy Gilyard and Dominick Goodman.

This game doesn't mean much to either team. A win by the Bearcats will set a record for wins in a season by the program. That alone could drive the Bearcats to play just as they have all season long. Under Kelly, one wouldn't expect them to go out and just think of this as a vacation. Its been a great season for the Bearcats that will be capped off in a BCS bowl game. The game kicks off at 11:30 PM EST on ESPN2.

College Football cincinnati bearcats, hawaii warriors, big east, bcs, orange bowl, greg mcmackin, greg alexander, connor barwin, tony pike, brian kelly, mardy gilyard, dominick goodman

Even before taking the field Saturday afternoon, the Cincinnati Bearcats (10-2, 6-1) knew they were champs of the BIG EAST thanks to Pittsburgh knocking off West Virginia the day before. This is the first BIG EAST title for the Bearcats which will allow them to play in a BCS Bowl game. That bowl game will either be the Orange or Sugar Bowl.

Though their game against Syracuse (3-9, 1-6) didn't matter as far as the BIG EAST title went, the Bearcats still came out and played as though it did, winning 30-10. The defense played hard and swarmed to the ball, holding the Orange quarterback, Cam Dantley, to just five yards passing going into the fourth quarter. Dantley would finish the game goinng an abysmal 6-of-23 for 59 yards, one interception and three sacks.

The Bearcats' offense kept their foot on the gas as well as quarterback Tony Pike took advantage of a defense that left a lot of cushion. Pike hit his receivers with short passes and a lot of screens that went for big yards at times. He ended the game 28-of-44 for 272 yards.

After every score for the Bearcats, oranges were hurled onto the field. Everytime it happened the public address announcer would tell fans to not throw anything of the field because the Bearcats could get penalized. That didn't stop fans from doing it though, actually it just encouraged them to do it more, mostly coming from the student section. The Bearcats didn't need any help getting penalized, however. They were hit with 10 penalties for 107 yards, something that has become a common theme for this team.

Penalties aside, this team has played well all season. They've had to overcome an early season carousel of quarterbacks after Dustin Grutza broke his leg in the second game and then Pike broke his non-throwing arm in the fourth game. In total, the Bearcats used five different quarterbacks throughout the season with redshirt freshmen, Chazz Anderson and Zach Callaros getting playing time. Notre Dame transfer Demetrius Jones got in for one play in the Louisville game as well.

The passing offense has been the most prolific in the BIG EAST regardless of who was taking snaps. That speaks to the great receivers on the team, most notably Dominick Goodman and Mardy Gilyard. The defense has played well this season too, led by Conner Barwin who leads the BIG EAST in sacks.

One welcome sight from Saturday's game was kicker Jake Rogers connecting on all three of his field goal attempts. Prior to the Syracuse game, Rogers had missed five straight tries. He connected from 45, 38 and 45 again on Saturday. Earlier in the season Rogers was being considered as an All-American candidate at his position. The five straight misses may have hurt his chances at that, but seeing him hit his attempts on Saturday is a good sign going into the final game of the season and into whatever bowl game the Bearcats are invited to.

Its been an amazing season. The Bearcats, under second year head coach Brian Kelly, have now won 10 games in back-to-back season. Kelly has taken this team from obscurity and as a bottom feeder in the BIG EAST to champs of the conference. When asked if he's done all he can in Cincinnati, Kelly responded saying, "There's so much more to accomplish. We averaged around 31,000 fans; we need to see 35,000. We can show that not only do we play for BIG EAST championships, we now want to get into the conversation for the national championship." With the recruiting going on in Cincinnati, that idea is becoming more and more of a possibility.

The Bearcats have one game left on the schedule. They travel to play Hawaii Saturday night. They will learn their BCS bowl fate come Sunday evening. All indications are pointing to the Orange Bowl, but the Sugar Bowl is a possibility as well. They would end up taking on the winner of the ACC most likely, which would either be Boston College or Virginia Tech.

College Football cincinnati bearcats, syracuse orange, big east, bcs, orange bowl, sugar bowl, cam dantley, tony pike, dustin grutza, chazz anderson, zach callaros, demetrius jones, dominick goodman, mardy gilyard, jake rogers, brian kelly, boston college, virginia tech

The No. 16 Cincinnati Bearcats (9-2, 5-1) are on the verge of winning their first BIG EAST Conference title. They can do so with a win over the Syracuse Orange (3-8, 1-5) this Saturday or if Pittsburgh beats West Virginia Friday afternoon. Both the Bearcats and the Orange are coming off big wins with Cincinnati beating PITT for the first time ever and Syracuse upsetting Notre Dame in South Bend. On paper Syracuse shouldn't stand a chance this weekend, but crazier things have happened.

The series between these two teams is tied 4-4, with the Bearcats winning the last three including a 52-31 thrashing last year in Syracuse. No game in this series could end up being more important than the one this weekend. Cincinnati could very well be playing for the conference title should WVU beat PITT. Syracuse is playing for both pride and for their head coach, Greg Robinson, who will coach his final game for the Orange Saturday afternoon.

The Bearcats have been led by the strong quarterback play of Tony Pike over the last few games. Pike had a career day against PITT last weekend going 26-for-32 for 309 yards and three touchdowns. His solid play has made many forget the fact that he broke his non-throwing arm earlier in the season and missed a couple games. He leads an offense that ranks first in the BIG EAST in passing yards per game (258.9) and passing efficiency (142.4). Best of all, he showed in the PITT game that he's not afraid to take a hit on that broken arm that's being held together with a plate an six screws. He has also showed some mobility in the last couple games, scrambling out of the pocket to make plays either with his arm or his feet. Pike is mixing the ball around well, but his two favorite targets are still his big playmakers in Mardy Gilyard and Dominick Goodman, both of which were on the receiving end of a score this past week.

The Bearcats' defense has had a stretch of tough games in the last month or so, but they have risen to the challenge and shut down big name players like Pat White, Noel Divine, and even LeSean McCoy last week. The defense is led by defensive end, Connor Barwin, who leads the BIG EAST with 10 sacks and ranks seventh in the country in that category. Unfortunately the defense will be without their biggest playmaker, Mike Mickens, for a second straight game. He will be out the rest of the regular season after having knee surgery earlier this week.

Syracuse has had a really rough go of it this year. Their three wins have come against Notheastern, Louisville and Notre Dame, none of which are really anything to brag about considering the seasons those teams are having. Running back Curtis Brinkley leads the Orange offense. Without him, there really wouldn't be much offense. The team as a whole is only averaging 275.5 yards of offense and less than 19 points per game. Compare that to Cincinnati's 376.8 yards and almost 27 points per game, and you can see why Syracuse is having such a bad season. In addition to the offense not putting up very good numbers, the defense has struggled as well giving up almost 33 points per game. Unfortunately for coach Robinnson, all these numbers combined with a bad last few seasons led to his demise at the school.

It will be senior day down at Nippert Stadium this weekend. Look for senior quarterback Dustin Grutza to get some play time, possibly early on if Cincinnati can jump out to a big lead. Another way Grutza may get a lot of playing time this weekend is if PITT beats WVU Friday. If that happens, this game will be just a formality for the Bearcats.

The winner of the BIG EAST will likely go to the Orange Bowl, but there is a chance that they go to the Sugar Bowl as well. It would be fitting and ironic if the game this weekend ended up mattering and the Bearcats beat the Orange to go earn a trip to the Orange Bowl.

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Tony Pike had a career night Saturday leading the No. 19 Cincinnati Bearcats (9-2, 5-1) to a 28-21 victory over the No. 20 Pittsburgh Panthers (7-2, 3-2). It was the first win for the Bearcats over the Panthers in eight tries in what has become known as the River City Rivalry, and it couldn't have come at a better time. With the win, Cincinnati is now firmly in the driver's seat to win the BIG EAST Conference title and earn a trip to the Orange Bowl.

The Bearcats have now knocked off three teams in the Top 25 in the last month or so. In addition to that, they have, for the first time in school history, secured all three of their rivalry trophies (Victory Bell from Miami (OH) rivalry, Keg of Nails from Louisville rivalry, River City Rivalry Trophy from Pittsburgh rivalry). The next trophy they're looking to add to their collection is the BIG EAST Conference trophy.

Pike threw three touchdowns to three different receivers Saturday night. He finished the game 26-for-32 for 309 yards. He ran the no-huddle, spread offense to near perfection and showed now ill effects of his broken non-throwing arm that he suffered earlier in the season.

The Bearcats fell behind early 7-0, but they wouldn't stay down or behind for long. Pike led Cincinnati on a 99-yard drive the first time they got the ball. The drive would end with a 20-yard hook-up with Marcus Barnett for a touchdown. From that point the Bearcats' defense took over and kept the Pittsburgh offense off the scoreboard. The Panthers were down 28-7 at one point before they made an attempt at a comeback.

Pittsburgh cut the lead to seven points with 1:22 left to play and then chaos ensued. The defense came up with a huge stop with what looked like the final play of the game and the students and fans rushed the field. The referees stopped them and pushed everyone back as they put four seconds back on the clock. And then chaos happened again.

It appeared that the Bearcats' defense had sacked Panthers' quarterback Bill Stull so the students rushed the field again. But Stull had gotten the ball away and the lateral-fest began, with fans on the field. Oranges were flying all over the place as well. The students turned around and ran back and then stormed the field one more time after the Bearcats recovered the ball on one of the lateral attempts. It was a crazy finish to an amazing night.

With the win, the Bearcats moved up to No. 16 in both the AP poll as well as the BCS rankings. They are one win away from winning the BIG EAST. If they beat Syracuse this coming Saturday afternoon, the BIG EAST title is their's and with that comes a berth in a BCS Bowl, most likely the Orange Bowl in Miami, FL.

College Football cincinnati bearcats, pittsburgh panthers, tony pike, big east, bcs, orange bowl, marcus barnett, bill stull

The River City Rivalry comes to Nippert Stadium Saturday night when the No. 19 Cincinnati Bearcats (8-2, 4-1) take on the No. 20 Pittsburgh Panthers (7-2, 3-1). This has been a one-sided rivalry with Pittsburgh taking all seven contests. If the Bearcats were to win it would be the first time ever that they will have in their possession the Victory Bell (from the rivalry game with Miami (OH)), the Keg of Nails (rivalry with Louisville) and the 46-inch tall, 96 pound River City Rivalry Trophy.

Both teams are coming off wins over Louisville. Pittsburgh beat the Cardinals 41-7 two weeks ago. They had a bye last week. Cincinnati beat Louisville last week, 28-20. It was their first win over the Cards in six years. The winner of the game this weekend takes control of the BIG EAST and very well could end up winning the conference which would guarantee them a BCS bowl game.

The Bearcats have had back-to-back emotional games against West Virginia and Louisville. Both games were on the road and both went the Bearcats way and could very well help them in their game against PITT.

Cincinnati has made it to where they are at this point in the season thanks in large part to having the best passing attack in the BIG EAST. They average 253.9 yards passing per game. There was a question as to whether Tony Pike would play this week after leaving the Louisville game early due to injury, but it appears he is OK and will start this weekend. The Bearcats have used five total quarterbacks this season due to injuries. Pike has the majority of the starts and is second in the BIG EAST in passing efficiency (137.5). It helps that he has great receivers to throw to in Mardy Gilyard and Dominick Goodman.

While the Bearcats have a strong passing game, the Panthers have one of the best rushing attacks in the BIG EAST. They're led their sophomore running back, LeSean McCoy who has 1,043 yards on 210 carries. That's an average of 5.0 yards per attempt. He also has 16 touchdowns this season. The Bearcats have done well against the run for most of the season. They will have to keep McCoy in check and force junior quarterback Bill Stull to beat them. Stull has only thrown for 1,778 yards and five scores this season. He doesn't have a multi touchdown game this year. If the Bearcats can force the game onto his shoulders either by shutting down McCoy or by getting out ahead by a good margin on the scoreboard, their first win in this rivalry may finally come to pass.

The game kicks off at 7:15 pm and will air on ESPN2. Its the fourth game in a row to be broadcast on one of the ESPN networks. Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly delcared this game as the Ring of Red game. The Bearcats will sport their all red uniforms for the first time since 2003. Coach Kelly is asking for fans to participate by wearing red to the game as well. So remember to come early, be loud, wear RED!

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Over the last two days the last two awards in baseball were given out. The Most Valuable Player honor is considered the greatest award in the game and this year it went to St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman, Albert Pujols, and Boston Red Sox second baseman, Dustin Pedroia.

This is Pujols' second MVP award as he won it back in 2006 also. He came up just short in 2006 when the Philadelphia Phillies' Ryan Howard was voted as the MVP. That was the same season the Cardinals won the World Series thanks in large part to Pujols. When Howard was given the award Pujols said that he didn't think any player whose team did not make the playoffs, which the Phillies did not in 2006, should win the award. Well, the Cardinals didn't make the playoffs this year, but of course that just mean that Pujols would retract what he said about Howard a couple years ago. And he did just that.

Pujols beat out Howard this time around receiving 18 of the possible 30 votes. Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers came in third in voting with Los Angeles Dodgers' newcomer Manny Ramirez finishing fourth. Pujols finished the 2008 season batting .357 with 37 homers and 116 RBIs playing with an elbow injury that required surgery. Howard his 48 homeruns and had 146 RBIs.

Pedroia became the first second baseman to win the AL MVP award in almost half a century (Nellie Fox of the Chicago White Sox, 1959). Last season he won the AL Rookie of the year in addition to a World Series championship ring. Earlier this month he also received his first Gold Glove award.

Batting .326 with 17 homeruns and 83 RBIs to go with 20 stolen bases, Pedroia beat out Minnesota Twins' first baseman Justin Morneau and teammate Kevin Youkilis. He received 16 of the 28 possible first place votes. Pedroia lead the AL in hits, runs and doubles and helped get the Red Sox to a wild-card berth. With this award, Pedroia becomes the 20th player to win both the Rookie of the Year award and an MVP honor in their career.

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There weren't many changes in the polls this week as all but three ranked teams won their games. One difference of note from last week to this week is that the number of first place votes are now spread out between three teams, not just two. The votes are now split between Alabama (42), Texas Tech (21) and Florida (2). The reason for that is due to the Florida Gators domination of South Carolina this weekend.

The Gators have been rolling over the past couple months, going 6-0 now after their surprising loss to Mississippi. To think, had they not lost that game, the Gators would likely be the number one team in the country. With the 56-6 smackdown they laid on the Gamecocks this weekend, the Gators have put themselves in prime position to make the BCS championship game should they beat Alabama in the final game of the season and then go on to win the SEC championship game. If Texas Tech should falter against Oklahoma next weekend or in the Big 12 championship game should they make it there, that would help the Gators' chances as well.

Other than Florida stealing a couple of the first place votes in this week's AP Top 25, there weren't many moves up or down in the rankings. South Carolina fell back out of the Top 25 after losing to Florida. Florida State fell out as well after losing to Boston College Saturday night. With those two teams falling out of the Top 25, two teams must replace them. Those two teams would be Miami (FL) and Oregon. North Carolina fell from No. 20 to No. 25 after being beat by now No. 22 Maryland. The only other significant movement was Cincinnati and Pittsburgh moving up to No. 19 and No. 20 respectively.

The complete list of the AP Top 25 looks like this:

1. Alabama 11-0
2. Texas Tech 10-0
3. Florida 9-1
4. Texas 10-1
5. Oklahoma 9-1
6. USC 9-1
7. Penn State 10-1
8. Utah 11-0
9. Boise State 10-0
10. Ohio State 9-2
11. Oklahoma State 9-2
12. Missouri 9-2
13. Georgia 9-2
14. Ball State 10-0
15. TCU 9-2
16. BYU 10-1
17. Michigan State 9-2
18. LSU 7-3
19. Cincinnati 8-2
20. Pittsburgh 7-2
21. Oregon State 7-3
22. Maryland 7-3
23. Miami (FL) 7-3
24. Oregon 8-3
25. North Carolina 7-3

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Its been sixyears since the Keg of Nails resided in Cincinnati. Its back now and could stay here for quite some time. The Bearcats went into Papa John's Cardinal Stadium on a chilly, rainy Friday night and slipped out with a 28-20 victory. It marks just the second time they've beat the Cardinals in 11 years.

It was a tale of two halves as No. 22 Cincinnati (8-2, 4-1) had somewhat of a rough first half while Louisville (5-5, 1-4) was looking like the team that has dominated this rivalry for years. The Cardinals took a 17-14 lead going into the half, but then the second half started and two very different teams came out of the locker room.

The Cardinals made some key mistakes throughout the second half including penalties to negate big plays as well as turnovers that the Bearcats took advantage of. Louisville caused a fumble on the Bearcats opening drive of the second half at their own 9-yard line. The Cincinnati defense stepped up and held them to a field goal, and those three points would be all Louisville would get in the second half.

"I think we can say the rivalry is back," coach Brian Kelly said. "There was a lot of emotion out on the field in this game."

The Bearcats came into this game with a chip on their shoulder after having lost a heartbreaker 28-23 to the Cardinals last season at home. "It means a lot for this program to come in here and win the Keg of Nails," wide receiver Dominick Goodman said. "We'd like to keep it for a long, long time." Goodman is a big reason why the Bearcats now possess the Keg of Nails. He had yet another big game against Louisville, catching nine passes for 134 yards and one touchdown.

Even in the rainy conditions, coach Kelly turned to his quarterback Tony Pike to lead this team in the second half even after having a sub-par first half. Pike answered the call, finishing he game 19-for-33 for 250 yards and two scores. His touchdown pass to Goodman was a thing of beauty. Pike put the ball up for Goodman and he laid out, parallel to the ground, in the endzone for the score. That touchdown put the Bearcats ahead for good. Pike would leave the game in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury.

Enter season starting quarterback, Dustin Grutza who hadn't played in a game since breaking his leg against Oklahoma on September 6th. Grutza showed no signs of being rusty as he led the Bearcats down the field on a five play, 72-yard drive.  He hooked up with Goodman on a key play on the drive for a 24-yard gain on third-and-5 that put the ball on the Louisville 43 yard line.

Running back John Goebel would finish out the drive with a big 37-yard dash followed by a 6-yard run for the score. That put the Bearcats up comfortably 28-20 and the defense did the rest.

If there was any negative to take from this game from the Bearcats perspective, its the sudden inaccuracy of kicker Jake Rogers. He missed three field goals in the game, this coming off missing one against West Virginia last week. Before last week he had only missed one attempt. Coach Kelly has a decision to make for next week as to whether to send Rogers back out there or go in a different direction.

Louisville had their chances to take control of the game and to even get back into it when they fell behind in the second half. Questionable play-calling from their coaching staff and penalties that killed drives sent the Cardinals to their third loss in a row. That last time Louisville lost three in a row was back in 1997.

Louisville quarterback Hunter Cantwell had a decent game throwing for 204 yards and a touchdown, but he had a key interception that ended a solid drive. The offensive line for the Cardinals did a good job of giving Cantwell protection throughout the game, but the Cincinnati defense came up with key stops when it mattered.

It wasn't easy, but the Bearcats got the monkey off their backs when it comes to this rivaly with Louisville. Cincinnati has made a statement now that they're making a run at the BIG EAST title and a BCS Bowl bid. After coming off a huge win on the road last week against West Virginia and now another big road win against Louisville, the only team that really stands in their way of a conference title and the BCS is Pittsburgh. The Panthers come into Nippert Stadium next Saturday night for a primetime game on ESPN2. The River City Rivalry is the last piece of the BCS puzzle for the Bearcats.

The Cincinnati fans made their presence known last night and helped create a crazy atmosphere at a surprisingly non-sold out Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. The fans had a lot to celebrate about at the end of the game, and celebrate we did. For this weekend, and at least until their game again next season, Bearcat fans, this Keg's for you!

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