By Bud L. Ellis
Go ahead and book it: Butch Jones will be the next head football coach at Notre Dame.
All joking aside, it’s easy to say that. After all, Jones followed Brian Kelly at Central Michigan when Kelly left to take over at Cincinnati. And now that Kelly has left the Bearcats to take the Notre Dame job, Jones has been hired as Kelly’s replacement.
Jeff Quinn still will coach unbeaten Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, New Year’s Night against Florida in the Louisiana Superdome. But the speculation over who would assume the reins of the rising Cincinnati program following Kelly’s departure is finished.
After succeeding Kelly at Central Michigan, Jones went 26-13 in three season. In 2009, he directed the Chippewas to an 11-2 record and an invite to the GMAC Bowl.
In getting Jones, Cincinnati keeps the same offensive philosophy that Kelly made so successful for the Bearcats – the spread offense. Under the wide-open attack, the Bearcats have thrived, winning all 12 games this season and rising to No. 4 in the polls following the regular season.
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at 10:45 pm by bud
Tags: Brian Kelly, Butch Jones, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Florida, GMAC Bowl, Jeff Quinn, Louisiana Superdome, Notre Dame, Sugar Bowl
By Bud L. Ellis
The Sugar Bowl won’t just be the biggest moment in the University of Cincinnati’s football history.
It also will be quite a stage for Jeff Quinn’s audition.
With Brian Kelly having left the Bearcats for Notre Dame, Quinn slides in as interim head coach. It’s not a totally foreign environment for Quinn, who – when Kelly left Central Michigan three years ago – directed the Chippewas past Middle Tennessee State in the Motor City Bowl.
But there is a big difference between the surroundings and the pressure Quinn faced in that game and what he’ll see New Year’s Night inside the Louisiana Superdome, as the Bearcats try to cap their perfect season against a one-loss Florida team and all-everything quarterback Tim Tebow.
According to published reports, Quinn has expressed his interest in the Cincinnati job. An assistant to Kelly for the past 22 years, the 47-year-old has turned the Bearcats into one of the nation’s most dangerous offenses. That offense will get quite a test against the Florida defense in New Orleans, and Quinn has a lot more to focus on than just trying to beat the Gators and get into the end zone.
But if he does a good job amid the bright lights of the Sugar Bowl, Quinn figures to get a pretty good gig for 2010 – be it at Cincinnati or somewhere else.
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Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 9:01 pm by bud
Tags: Brian Kelly, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Florida, Jeff Quinn, Louisiana Superdome, Middle Tennessee State, Motor City Bowl, Notre Dame
By Bud L. Ellis
When Florida and Cincinnati collide in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s night, the game won’t lack for storylines:
How will the Gators, winners of two of the past three national championships, bounce back after their first loss in 22 games?
How will the Bearcats, winners of 12 straight games and two consecutive Big East championships, respond with a perfect season on the line?
How will Florida quarterback Tim Tebow play in the final game of his brilliant college career?
Will Brian Kelly be coaching his final game at Cincinnati?
On the surface, a matchup between two teams ranked in the top five – Cincinnati is No. 4; Florida No. 5 – with a combined record of 24-1 would attract tons of interest. But because this is Florida and Cincinnati, and because it’s the Sugar Bowl, there is even more buzz.
For Cincy, who capped the Big East title with a thrilling 45-44 victory over Pittsburgh last week – a game the Bearcats trailed 31-10 in the second quarter – the Sugar Bowl is a chance to silence the critics who have wondered all season if the Bearcats belong being mentioned in the same breath as the Floridas, Alabamas and Texas of the world.
It’s the second year in a row Cincy has made it to a BCS bowl game. Last season, the Bearcats lost 20-7 to Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Whether Kelly is around for a third straight run to the BCS is unknown, as he is the leading candidate for the Notre Dame job and is to interview there Thursday, according to published reports.
Florida coach Urban Meyer, who attended Cincinnati, already said he isn’t leaving Florida, the school he’s launched into the stratosphere since arriving from Utah. Two national titles in his first three years, sparked by Tebow, the leading touchdown scorer in NCAA Division I history and a Heisman Trophy winner.
But the Gators’ march to a potential third national crown in four years ended with a 32-13 loss to Alabama in the SEC championship game at the Georgia Dome last Saturday. How the Gators bounce back after seeing their 22-game winning streak and national title dreams end will be a big part of the buildup to the Sugar Bowl.
And of course, there will be plenty of other things to watch at the Louisiana Superdome in this one, as well.
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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 9:04 pm by bud
Tags: Alabama, Brian Kelly, Cincinnati, Florida, Louisiana Superdome, Notre Dame, Orange Bowl, Pittsburgh, Sugar Bowl, Texas, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, Virginia Tech
