When Cincinnati comes to Morgantown Nov. 13, it will be a new squad.
Having lost several key players at key positions, the Bearcats are re-tooled in search of their third-straight Big East Conference Championship.
Although UC loses six starters on offense and 13 all together, it is not expected to regress much and still could be the favorite to capture a third-straight Big East Crown.
However, West Virginia may actually be more familiar with Cincinnati’s re-tooled team. New Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones was an assistant at WVU under Rich Rodriguez from 2005-06 coaching the wide receivers, so he knows what it’s like playing in front of 60,000 fans at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Unfortunately for Jones, he loses all-Big East first-team receiver Mardy Gilyard, who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. While Gilyard was a threat at wideout, amassing 1,191 yards of total offense and 11 touchdowns, he was the most feared return man in the conference. Gilyard was named the Big East Special Teams Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009.
Cincinnati also loses its signal caller Tony Pike from the nation’s fourth-best scoring attack (38.6 points). Pike was a sixth-round pick of the Carolina Panthers.
Jones believes in the age-old philosophy "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it," so expect Cincinnati to be a pass-happy attack once again despite the losses of Gilyard and PIke.
UC still has the weapons to unload on the offensive side of the ball.
Taking over for Pike is quarterback Zach Collaros. The junior took over for Pike mid-way through last season and was nearly as successful. Collaros is gifted with speed and has the ability to break out of the pocket and scramble to gain extra yardage. He averaged six yards a carry on 57 carries.
During his time as head coach of Central Michigan, Jones was instrumental in grooming quarterback Dan LeFevour into one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation. Collaros will do nothing but benefit from that expertise.
Collaros will have a strong stable of wide receivers, too, led by Armon Binns, who tied Gilyard for the team lead in touchdown catches (11) in 2009.
Behind Binns are D.J. Woods, a former WVU verbal commit, and USC transfer Vidal Hazelton.
Tight end Ben Guidugli comes into the 2010 tilt with confidence having been named to the Sporting News preseason all-American second team.
Upfront the UC offensive line returns three starting lineman led by senior tackle Jason Kelce.
Running the ball for the Bearcats will be a combination of Isaiah Pead and John Goebel.
Pead will look to improve on the 806 yards he gained during his junior campaign. He ran for 175 of those yards against WVU last year.
The biggest question marks come on the defensive side of the ball, especially upfront and in the secondary.
Last year’s Cincinnati defense gave up 23.1 points a game. It was its safeties and corners that were the weak link in 2009. Through the air, the Bearcats gave up 230.2 yards, a mark that stood at 78th in the country.
Last season, the Bearcats ran a 3-4 scheme. It has been eliminated in favor of a more common 4-3 set.
With more defenders up front, the Bearcats should have an easier time shutting down the run, another problem they had last year. This was evident in the team’s regular-season finale against Pittsburgh when Panthers’ running back Dion Lewis swarmed over the UC defense for 194 yards and three touchdowns.
Derek Wolfe leads the charge on the ball at defensive tackle, but the rest of the starting spots on the line will be up for grabs.
The competition may just be the best thing for John Hughes and Dan Giordano, who will be battling for end positions.
The strongest facet of the Bearcats’ defense is a pair of linebackers – J.K. Schaffer and Walter Stewart.
Although Cincinnati will not be as strong on offense as it was in the past, the Bearcats can still make a legitimate run at the conference title in a depleted Big East.
With an out-of-conference schedule that includes the likes of Fresno State (Sept. 4) and Oklahoma (Sept. 25), the Bearcats will be battle tested come Big East play.