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