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No. 16 Football Faces Syracuse On Senior Day At Nippert Stadium
 
Bearcats can lock up first BIG EAST Championship & BCS berth with a win
 

Nov. 26, 2008


Game Notes Acrobat Icon | Season Statistics | Live Video | Live Stats | Listen

PREVIEWING THE SYRACUSE GAME

  • BOWL: 2008 UC Bowl Central
  • AWARDS: Cincinnati National Awards Candidates
  • SPRINGER: UC-Syracuse Preview
  • MARKETING: Vote BEARCAT In 2008
  • MARKETING: Gameday Activities Announced
  • FOOTBALL: UC Moves To 16th In Polls
  • TICKETS: Click Here To Buy Online!

    • GAME 12: No. 16 CINCINNATI vs. SYRACUSE

    Saturday, Nov. 29 | Noon EST | Nippert Stadium (35,000) | Cincinnati, Ohio

    Series: Tied 4-4
    Last Meeting:  Cincinnati 52, Syracuse 31 (Nov.24, 2007 - Carrier Dome)
    Television: BIG EAST Network: Mike Gleason (PXP), John Congemi (ANA), Quint Kessenich (SL)
    Streaming: www.ESPN360.com
    Radio: 700 WLW & XM Channel 173: Dan Hoard (PXP), Jim Kelley, Jr. (ANA) Tom Gelehrter (SL), & Mo Egger (Host/ENG)

    SETTING THE MATCHUP
    NO. 16 FOOTBALL TAKES ON SYRACUSE ON SENIOR DAY
    The No. 16/16 University of Cincinnati football team takes on Syracuse in the home finale for the 2008 season. UC can clinch the BIG EAST title and a Bowl Championship Series berth with a win. The game will be televised by the BIG EAST Network.

    SENIOR NIGHT
    Cincinnati will honor 19 student-athletes who will play their last game at Nippert Stadium, Saturday in a pregame ceremony. Fans be sure to purchase a program on gameday to receive the commermerative senior class poster inside.

    THE SERIES
    Cincinnati and Syracuse meet for the ninth time Saturday, with the series tied at four wins apiece. UC has won the past three meetings, including a 17-3 win in Cincinnati in 2006.

    THE COACHES
    Brian Kelly, the 2007 BIG EAST Coach of the Year, is in his second full season at the helm of the Cincinnati football program with a 20-5 record and an 18-year career mark of 157-56-2. Kelly led the Bearcats to a school-record-tying 10 wins in 2007 and a victory in the Papajohns.com Bowl. He won two NCAA Division II National Championships at Grand Valley State and led Central Michigan to the 2006 Mid-American Conference Championship. He is the leader in victories among active BIG EAST coaches and is the only current BIG EAST coach with 150 or more career wins.

    Greg Robinson is 10-36 in his fourth season at Syracuse. He is 0-3 against the Bearcats.

    STREAKS, STORYLINES, SIDEBARS

  • UC is ranked No. 16 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls entering the week.
  • The Bearcats need a win over Syracuse to clinch its first BIG EAST title and lock up the league's berth into the Bowl Championship Series.
  • UC went 3-1 in its recent stretch of playing four BIG EAST games in 21 days with three coming on the road.
  • The Bearcats played one of the first games of the 2008 season on Aug. 28 and UC will play the last game of the regular season with its 11:30 p.m. EST kickoff at Hawai'i on Dec. 6.
  • UC is bowl eligible for the seventh time in the past nine years.
  • UC has used five quarterbacks this season, Chazz Anderson, Zach Collaros, Dustin Grutza, Demetrius Jones, and Tony Pike. 
  • Despite the different signal callers, UC leads the BIG EAST in passing offense (258.9) and passing efficiency (142.4).
  • Pike leads the league in passing efficiency (147.7).
  • The UC defense has produced 24 sacks in its last seven games after recording four in the first three games of the season.
  • Connor Barwin has amassed 10 sacks this season, his first on defense, and leads the BIG EAST and is tied for seventh nationally, averaging 0.9 sacks per game.