DOWN, BUT BCS HOPES AREN’T COMPLETLY OUT

By Matt Whitfield

Cincinnati is vying for its first Big East Championship and BCS bowl birth. This is not a misstatement. At the beginning of the season Cincinnati was thought just to be another mediocre team picked 5th in Big East preseason polls. After a victory tonight over Louisville, the Bearcats are two wins away from winning the Championship and proving the doubters wrong. Mountaineer fans all is not lost however you still have some hope.

Last Saturday the Mountaineers valiant come back try fell short. The Mountaineers scored 13 points, including a 52 yard field goal with less than two minutes left in regulation to force OT. In OT the Mountaineers would get the ball first and settle for a 27 yard field goal from Pat Mcafee. The Bearcats would then get the ball and Tony Pike would hit Kazeem Alli for a two yard TD pass and the game winning touchdown.

The loss puts the Mountaineers in 2nd place in the Big East Standings, tied with Pittsburgh for 3-1 in conference play. Cincinnati who is now 4-1 controls their own destiny. If Cincinnati defeats Pittsburgh next week the Mountaineers would have to win out, and have Cincinnati lose to Syracuse to become the Big East Champion. A Cincinnati loss and a Mountaineer victory over Louisville would mean the Mountaineers control their destiny and thus set the stage for another pivotal Back Yard Brawl.