The Cincinnati Bearcats are in a familiar place as college postseason rolls around. The team has a new head coach for the third time in nine years and is tied for first-place in the Big East conference to earn a share of the title for the fourth time in five years.
The team had a chance to play in a BCS bowl, but will have to settle for the Belk Bowl on Thursday against a Duke team that snapped the nation's longest bowl-less streak by making its first postseason appearance since 1994.
The Bearcats have been one of the best defensive teams in the Big East, but will have to deal with changes at the top after head coach Butch Jones left to take the same job at Tennessee after the season ended. Jones makes it three coaches in a row (including Brian Kelly and Mark Dantonio) who have left the school after three years on the job.
"This industry can be crazy at times," athletic director Whit Babcock said to the Associated Press.
The new head coach is Tommy Tuberville, who came over from Texas Tech, but he will not lead the team in the bowl game. Defensive line coach Steve Stripling will serve as interim coach for a team that went 9-3 and finished tied with four other teams for first place in the Big East. The Bearcats had the chance to be in a BCS bowl game, but were passed over for Louisville by virtue of its BCS ranking.
"The situation, the way that it is - so close to a game - these guys need the direction of the people that had been working with them," Tuberville said. "I think it gives them the best opportunity to be successful."
Cincinnati has dealt with quarterback issues all season and was very successful after making a change from struggling Munchie Legaux last month to Brendan Kay, who has started the past four games. The senior has made the most of his chance and has led the Bearcats to two straight wins, including a 34-17 victory to close out the regular season against Connecticut.
Kay passed for 245 yards and two touchdowns without an interception on 19-of-29 attempts in the win and also caught a touchdown pass from fellow senior and tight end Travis Kelce. Kay tossed both of his touchdown passes to Kelce, who is leading the Bearcats this season with 40 receptions for 599 yards and seven touchdowns.
Running back George Winn has been the most consistent player for the Bearcats on offense and is facing a Duke rush defense that allows over 200 yards per game. The senior is leading the Big East in rushing with led the Big East with 1,204 rushing yards -- 100.3 per game -- and has scored 12 touchdowns. Two weeks ago against South Florida, Winn had 119 yards and two touchdowns in the 27-10 win.
Cincinnati is allowing just 17.2 points this season, ranked 12th in the nation, and has held opponents to 130 rushing yards per game. The team has allowed just 40 points over the past four games and won three of those contests. The offense will look to take advantage of a Blue Devils defensive unit that ranks 101st or lower nationally in rushing defense, pass-efficiency defense, total defense and scoring defense.
The Bearcats started the season with five straight wins before losing two straight, including a 34-31 overtime defeat to Louisville. The team won four of its final five games, losing once to Rutgers 10-3 on Nov. 17. Last season Cincinnati went 10-3 and finished tied for first place in the Big East with a 5-2 record. The team went to the bowl postseason and defeated Vanderbilt 31-24 in the Liberty Bowl.
Although Duke enters the bowl on a four game losing streak, the Blue Devils are not a team to be taken lightly. Head coach David Cutcliffe has helped turn the program around after 17 consecutive losing seasons, leading the team to a 6-6 record and its first bowl berth since 1994. During that time, Duke went winless in 1996, 2000, 2001 and 2006.
"This is certainly one of the goals, was to reach this bowl eligibility, but it's just the beginning," Cutcliffe said to the Associated Press. "You've got to take this step to take the next one, particularly when you've been where we've been for so long. I'm very appreciative that our players have bought in so strongly to the program, and they're very committed to what we're trying to accomplish."
Cutcliffe got the team off to a 6-2 start, which helped him to earn a contract extension and the award for ACC coach of the year. Although the team has struggled lately, it earned six wins, which is enough for any team in the FBS to be bowl eligible. The last game the Blue Devils won was on Oct. 20 against North Carolina, which ended in a dramatic 33-30 victory.
Since then, the team has been awful defensively, giving up an average of 49.5 points and 593.3 yards, including in the regular-season finale against Miami, which the Blue Devils lost 52-45. The team is averaging 31 points on offense this season, but is ranked 104th in the nation in defensive scoring.
"We were 6-2 and we knew we were going to a bowl game early in the season," cornerback Ross Cockrell said, "but we've got a lot of things to correct and a lot of things to work on."
Quarterback Sean Renfree has been the most consistent player for Duke this season on offense and faces off against a Bearcats team that gives up 243.5 yards per game. The senior has thrown for 2,755 yards and 18 touchdowns with just eight interceptions this year and is completing over 66 percent of his passes.
In the finale against Miami, Renfree had 432 yards passing and four touchdowns, including a 99-yard strike to wideout to Jamison Crowder in the fourth quarter. Crowder will be the top target for Renfree and will likely be covered by Cincinnati defensive back Camerron Cheatham, who is tops on the team with three interceptions.
Crowder has been the leading receiver for the Blue Devils this season, making 70 receptions for 1,025 yards and eight touchdowns. In the finale against Miami he has eight catches for 203 yards and two touchdowns and has made 17 catches over the past three games.
After opening the season 5-1, Duke lost to Virginia Tech 41-20 before taking down rival North Carolina. The Blue Devils have lost the past four games in ugly fashion, including a 56-20 defeat against Clemson that came one week after a 48-7 loss to Florida State. The team has a chance to erase all those memories against a solid Cincinnati team that could easily have been part of the BCS this year.
PREDICTION: Cincinnati 28, Duke 24. The Blue Devils are one of the best feel-good stories in college football, but the defense has simply been atrocious over the past few weeks and likely won't get better against a Bearcats team with weapons on offense. The Cincinnati defense has been stellar over the season, especially during the past five games and will try to lock down quarterback Sean Renfree and the passing game. The one big advantage for Duke though is that the game is being played in Charlotte, which is not a long drive from Tobacco Road. The home field advantage won't be enough for Duke to win, but since it's their first bowl game in 18 years, the Blue Devils will make it interesting.
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