It was all good just a week ago, the Bearcats went on the road to beat Pitt in a game most had them losing before the season started. After starting 2-0, everything was all gravy for Scott Satterfield and his team, they had Miami of Ohio coming in to Nippert Stadium for the Battle of the Victory Bell and all seemed well. How could they lose to a team that they’ve beaten 16 times in a row and that’s even counting Tommy Tuberville years, that’s a hell of a feat right? (We aren’t here to talk about Senator Tuberville)
Fast forward to Saturday night at Nippert Stadium, it was a Nipp At Night gathering that the Bearcats were the favorite. From the first play, everybody in the stadium knew it was going to be a battle as Gage Larvadain beat Justin Harris on a 79 yard go route for a touchdown. The Bearcats would battle back, but their red zone woes and inability to get pressure on Brett Gabbert ended up hurting them in the end. A gusty fourth down fake punt almost led them to a victory in regulation, but Carter Brown’s 35 yard field goal was blocked after a missed assignment by an edge blocker. Overtime, penalties and big plays by Miami came back to bite the home team in the back side as they lost 31-24, breaking the streak. Miami even planted their flag on the Nippert Stadium turf. Miami was overjoyed, Bearcat fans pissed and disappointed. On the last play that was an interception fans threw beer in to the end zone almost striking players, Neil Meyer, myself and others. It was the vibe of a game that was given away, you could see it on the players faces as they excited the field, you could feel it in the stadium.
Can the Bearcats bounce back?
“You can’t cry over spilled milk, you look at it for a day, you have to clean it up and move on to your next beverage, you move on to next game which will be Oklahoma,” said defensive end Jowon Briggs after the loss to Miami.
The Bearcats will start Big 12 play on Saturday at Nippert Stadium at noon with Oklahoma coming. Fox Noon Kickoff will be in the building and a lot of eyes will be on the Bearcats, they will have a chance to right their wrongs against one of the better teams in the conference, will they be able to stop the avalanche from happening or was the Miami loss just a start of what is to come this season? We will find out because it doesn’t get much easier as they have a short week to get ready for BYU before they receive a bye? What will the Bearcats record be heading into the bye? Saturday, will determine scope this team should be looked at in the near future.
