Tony Pike will miss three to four weeks after breaking his non-throwing arm in Saturday afternoon's game against the Akron Zips. Prior to the injury Pike had connected with Mardy Gilyard for two scores, helping to keep the Bearcats in the game at the Rubber Bowl. The Bearcats already lost their first string starting QB when Dustin Grutza broke his leg in the second game of the season against Oklahoma. Pike finished the game with 320 yards and the two scores to Gilyard. The Bearcats went on to win the game 17-15 thanks to a 48-yard field goal by Jake Rogers with 7:45 left in the game.

With Grutza out indefinitely (there is speculation that he could be back in time for the South Florida game on October 30th) and now Pike out for at least three to four weeks, the Bearcats are in a tough spot at the most important position on offense. Red shirt freshman, Zach Collaros, stepped in when Pike went down, but he, as I was told by an eye witness that was at the game, "he looked like a deer in headlights." Collaros went 1-for-4 for only two yards in his limited action. Not a great audition to be the go-to guy come the Bearcats next game.

So the question becomes, who will be the starter this Friday night when the team travels to play Marshall? The top three candidates are likely to be Collaros, fellow red shirt freshman Chazz Anderson, or Notre Dame transfer Demetrius Jones. I could see why Jones didn't take over wen Grutza went down with Pike having already been in the system and getting playing time last year, but why he wasn't the guy to come in Saturday was somewhat confusing. Maybe he's not ready? Maybe I'm missing something or haven't heard something related to his playing status? If he's ready, Jones has to be the guy that Brian Kelly goes with this week.

Its a short week for the Cats. Another out of conference loss before getting into conference play in a couple weeks could really hurt their chances of winning the Big East. Head coach Brian Kelly has a tough decision ahead of him. He's done well with the decisions he's made to this point (see his move of Conner Barwin from TE to DB), so whatever he decides, I'm good with it.

UPDATE: After listening to Brian Kelly on Lance McAlister's show last night, it sounds like they're going to go with a combo of Callaros and Anderson throughout the game this week against Marshall. When asked why he's not playing Jones, Kelly said it was because if they did, they would have to limit their playbook even more than they do with either of the other two options at QB. So the answer to why Jones isn't playing yet is simply because he can't pick up the playbook. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come for the guy that we all thought would be the guy behind center for the next few years. If it is, maybe Kelly should consider moving him to WR. He's got the talent...but apprently not the ability to retain what he needs...which is odd considering he started last year for Notre Dame. I can't imagine Kelly's playbook is more complex than Charlie Weis'...but then again maybe it is.

bearcats, tony pike, dustin grutza, mardy gilyard, jake rogers, zach collaros, chazz anderson, demetrius jones, brian kelly, lance mcalister, charlie weis