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TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com
Behind Enemy Lines: A conversation
with Cincinnati’s football beat writer
By BETELHEM ASHAME
Managing Sports Editor
To gain an inside perspective
on the Cincinnati football team,
the Daily reached out to our
counterparts at The News Record,
the student-run newspaper at
the University of Cincinnati. On
Thursday, we spoke on the phone
with Jason Szelest — the sports
editor at The News Record — to
talk about the upcoming game
between No. 8 Michigan and the
Bearcats.
Here’s
a
look into our
conversation:
The
Michigan
Daily:
What
was
the
immediate
reaction
over
there
after
playing a team
like Austin Peay
pretty close in
that opener?
The
News
Record: I’d say the immediate
reaction
was
disappointment.
When you look at what we had
last year — last year was a very
disappointing season for us. Lot
of high expectations that were
not even close to met, finished
with a 4-8 record and really
just looked listless throughout
most of the season. I think a lot
of people were thinking that
(former
head
coach)
Tommy
Tuberville was the problem and
then, while no one was expecting
(current head coach Luke) Fickell
to take us 12-0 in his first season,
they were expecting to see some
sort of improvement; and I really
don’t think that anyone saw
improvement in what we put out
there last Thursday.
TMD: Is there something in
particular from your perspective
that went wrong against them
in the opener. Was it an energy
thing?
TNR: Oh, I absolutely think
it was an energy thing. I mean,
we don’t have the most talented
roster, but we have a roster good
enough to put a team like Austin
Peay — who I believe has lost 28
straight games at the FCS level
— we had enough talent that
we should have put them away
early and then never let off the
gas pedal. I believe defensively
we gave up almost 200 yards
rushing and offensively we didn’t
get a push, and that’s not a talent
thing, that’s an effort thing. And I
don’t think that we really had the
energy and enthusiasm needed to
play a college football game, and I
think a lot of that was because of
the fact that we were looking at a
team that we knew wasn’t going
to be too good and thought we
could just coast by.
TMD: So coming into Michigan
— Michigan just jumped to (No. 8)
— I saw that quote in your story,
the “shock the world” quote, is
that a soundbite or is that the
general feeling you’re getting
around their facilities, that they
actually are confident coming
into this one?
TNR: It’s hard to say ‘cause,
when you look at someone like
Luke Fickell — I think he’s a
very confident coach in general
— obviously he has had success
against Michigan in the past. He
knows that he doesn’t have the
roster that he had at Ohio State,
obviously, but I think he wants
to put across the mentality that it
doesn’t matter who UC is playing.
He said it multiple times. He
doesn’t care who the opponent
is, he’s worried about what UC
does, and I feel that he believes
it, to some degree at least. That if
we do what we need to do, we can
still come away successful.
TMD: So in order to pull off
the upset, what is one thing that
you think Cincinnati really needs
to lock down on?
TNR: No question about it. I’d
say there’s two things: running
game and running defense. If
our run defense performs the
way they did against Austin
Peay, Michigan will run for
500 yards on us. The way that
Michigan’s offense is designed,
with a power running game like
that, we have got to stop that. We
have got to make (redshirt junior
quarterback
Wilton)
Speight
throw the ball. That is our only
chance at victory. Speight, I still
say, is a decent quarterback, but
I’d much rather put the ball in
his hands than have to deal with
Michigan’s running game the
entire time. Offensively, (running
back) Mike Boone is our most
talented player, hands down.
On the entire team, he’s the guy
that has to be a playmaker. I
would be absolutely shocked if
we were able to just power down
Michigan’s throat, through the
tackles, so I think we need to
come up with more dynamic
ways of getting him involved in
the offense. I think maybe lining
him up in the slot a little bit, just
trying to get him on the edge
and get some perimeter blocking
going because we are not going
to just shove it down Michigan’s
throat every play and get four or
five yards a carry. That’s just not
going to happen.
TMD:
I’m
curious
about
Hayden Moore. I want to say now
he has two years of starting under
his belt, am I wrong there?
TNR: Sort of two years. His
freshman season, he came in for
an injured Gunner Kiel and kind
of took over. Then obviously
Gunner had a situation where he
left the program before the bowl
game and then Hayden Moore
started. Gunner had sort of come
back and taken the job over again
when he got healthy, but when he
left the program, Hayden Moore
got to start the bowl game as well
his freshman year. So I’d say he
started maybe six, seven games
his freshman year. Last year,
Hayden Moore was named the
starter at the beginning of the
season and he played throughout
the majority of the start of the
year then got hurt. When he
came back, he wasn’t really all
that effective and he was kind
of battling between Gunner Kiel
and Ross Trail for the starting
position later on in the year. So he
has started games in two years,
but he’s never had a full season
where he’s started every game.
TMD: Either way, that’s a
collection of experience that he
has going against a Michigan
secondary that, for the most
part, doesn’t really have any,
so is he the type of player that
can be an X-factor or is he the
type of quarterback that will be
serviceable?
TNR:
Honestly,
that’s
the
question a lot of UC fans ask
because the first game Hayden
Moore ever played was against
Memphis when Gunner Kiel went
down. As a freshman — never
playing a snap of college football in
his life — in about three quarters,
he threw for 550 yards and five
touchdowns
against
Memphis.
Though he can be that playmaker,
the X-factor, the bottom line is,
since that time, it seems like he’s
more concerned about making
mistakes and not just being that
player that I think he can be. So at
this point in his career, I’m more
concerned with Hayden Moore
being serviceable and not turning
the ball over against Michigan
Jason’s Prediction: Michigan
38-10 Cincinnati
Cincinnati at
Michigan
Matchup:
Cincinnati 1-0;
Michigan 1-0
When: Saturday
12 P.M.
Where:
Michigan
Stadium
TV/Radio: ABC
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will coach against former Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell on Saturday.