BearcatLair.com - Inside The Numbers: Bearcats keep the Keg of Nails

October 24, 2009

Ryan Pence
BearcatLair.com Staff

311 Yards accounted for by replacement quarterback Zach Collaros in the Bearcats win over Louisville. 253 of those yards came via the pass, while the other 58 came by way of the quarterback keeper. Collaros epitomized the Bearcats' famous "next man in slogan" by coming in and completely dominating the Louisville defense. His performance should put Bearcat fans at ease should starter Tony Pike miss any more time. With two very winnable games coming up at Syracuse and then at home versus Connecticut, I expect to see a whole lot more of Collaros in the coming weeks.

182 Coming into the game, many expected the Bearcats run game would play a large role in the overall success of the offense. After seeing the way Collaros threw the ball, that wasn't necessarily true. But, nevertheless, the Bearcats running game showed up in a big way. In fact, one could argue that without the success of the running game, Collaros would not have been nearly as successful as he was.

7 Number of wins to start the season for the Bearcats. Seven straight wins to open up a season is impressive for anybody, but especially the Bearcats. This marks the first time since the 1954 season that a Bearcat football team started a season 7-0, and if all goes as planned, that should only be the beginning.

0 Points scored in the first quarter of today's game by the Louisville Cardinals. The Bearcats defense has been stout all season long during the opening quarter of games. The Bearcats have allowed the opposition to score a first quarter touchdown just twice this season (Rutgers and South Florida), and have only allowed a combined 23 points to their opponents so far this season in first quarters of games. The Bearcats have now outscored opponents 79-23 in the first quarter and, as any coach will tell you, a fast start is key in getting to a win.

It was also the number of times the Bearcats turned the ball over against the Cardinals this afternoon. That number speaks for itself. You go an entire game without turning the ball over once, you generally win -- especially against an inferior opponent such as Louisville. The Cardinals turned it over twice, once through the air and once on a fumble.

22 The number of touchdowns scored by Mardy Gilyard in his illustrious career at Cincinnati. That number is good for a tie atop the all-time UC leader board with Dominic Goodman for career touchdown receptions. What makes it even more impressive, is that Gilyard really never came into his own until his junior season.

35,099 The number of fans in attendance for the Bearcats homecoming thrashing of the Louisville Cardinals -- the highest attendance in Nippert Stadium history. The fans came early, and they were loud. In fact, I can't remember attending another UC game (with the exception of last year's victory over Pittsburgh) where the crowd was as electric as it was today. My hat's off to all of the Bearcat fans in attendance. Hopefully you can keep the momentum rolling when the Bearcats return home in two weeks to face the Connecticut Huskies.

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