BearcatReport.com - Eers get Pead on

November 14, 2009

Scott Springer
BearcatReport.com Staff Writer

They say there's more than one way to skin a cat.

If so, no one's figured it out yet as the Bearcats are out to their first 10-0 start.

There's also more than one way to win a game which Brian Kelly has proven yet again with Friday night's 24-21 win over West Virginia (the first win ever against the Mountaineers at Nippert Stadium).

In this one, Zach Collaros didn't single-handedly throw the Bearcats to victory. Neither did Tony Pike, but they BOTH played. Also, there was nothing close to 480 yards through the air, but there was 216 on the ground.

After 231 yards rushing against Connecticut, UC has found a running game in back-to-back weeks. However, on this night with Jake Ramsey out with a foot sprain, it was Isaiah Pead carrying the load as the Brian Kelly spread took on a ball control rushing flavor on Friday the 13th.

The result?

Isaiah Pead with a UC record number of carries (18) and yards 175. Almost like high school (about 100 yards away by his calculations).

"Jake went down, 'next man in' as the slogan goes and I was running the plays that were called," said Pead who went over the century mark for the first time this year. "The line was doing tremendously good, I was reading the blocks well and Kelly I guess just gained confidence in me. The line was hot, I was hot, so they just kept calling the run plays."

For a guy that broke Archie Griffin's running records at Columbus Eastmoor Academy, Isaiah Pead has been a patient man in an offense that rarely awards the running back. But, if it means winning, Kelly is all about it and is not concerned with style points.

"I don't care how we score points, I don't care what it looks like, I just want to win," claimed Kelly.
He'll even gladly accept Isaiah Pead's touchdown that almost was a fumble until it was reviewed, overturned and called a score.

"John Goebel came to me and said I went from 'zero to hero'," said Pead of what surely was a controversial play for WVU fans. "I was praying while I was sitting on the sidelines, just saying, 'I hope I got in,' I was relieved."

In addition to foiling West Virginia's defense with the run, UC also threw some confusion into the Mountaineers by using two quarterbacks in a most unusual way. Zach Collaros played most of the game, but twice gave way to Tony Pike in the red zone.

And, twice it worked.

The first time, it was a single pass-Pike to Armon Binns for his first TD throw since the South Florida game. In the second half, it took a few more plays but Pike hit D.J. Woods from six yards out.

If you were playing a version of college Fantasy football, Pike was a nice pick-up delivering two scores after Collaros and worked the 'Cats into position.

Funny thing is, neither quarterback knew it was coming. Collaros knew he'd be the starter and Pike knew he'd play, but neither knew when.

"It kind of caught us off-guard," said Collaros afterward. "As long as we score, it doesn't matter to me how it happens. We had talked about Tony getting a series, but nothing about getting down to the nine-yard line and 'Zach, you're coming out and Tony's coming in,' it kind of caught me off guard."

"Me too," chimed in Pike.

How much notice did #15 get that he was replacing #12?

"When we got to the red zone and I went in there," laughed Pike. "He said, 'Pike!' and I was just kind of following along the sidelines. I thought he was calling me to talk about a play or something and he told me to go in. I had trouble getting my chinstrap buckled and everything so quick."

In the end, it was somewhat of an off night for the passing game, although 17-24 for 205 yards is not what you'd call a terrible night for Zach Collaros. It's just that he's set the bar so high in the games he's started. For Pike, two completions, both for touchdowns, you can't argue with that.

Now, Pike must wait for the Illinois game for more action as he's slated to resume his starting role on the 27th.

Why even play him in against West Virginia? Well, to clean off the rust for one thing and that's now been accomplished. Also, Coach Kelly figured red zone plays were actually less risky for Pike.

"In the short field area, the red zone area, there was about three to four percent pressure in that area based upon film breakdown and tendencies," said Kelly. "You get a lot more bracket coverage and Tony can fit it in the tightest spots in bracket coverage. He can see it a little bit better than Zach."

Still Kelly wondered aloud afterward, "I don't think anybody's ever done that before, that's kind of crazy."

Now the 'crazy train' that Kelly engineers has some time off, before reconvening at Nippert the day after Thanksgiving against Illinois. With Isaiah Pead running for 175 yards and Jacob Ramsey out with the foot injury, Coach Kelly now plans to sit Ramsey against Illinois and save him for the Pitt showdown on December 5th.

Or, maybe Kelly will start a "running back controversy" by saying Ramsey's still his starter even though Pead gained 175 yards. Who knows?

All I know is, however Kelly "plays it" it seems to work. Even on this night, Kelly was still "playing" after the game. He was greeted after his post-game press conference by a few gentlemen in sport coats.

Politely, Kelly commented, "Nice jackets," to the guests after the game.
They were nice jackets. Especially the special embroidery that read, "Rose Bowl".

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