Starting the season 4-0 may be commonplace for big-time college football programs, but in Cincinnati, it’s an event not to be taken lightly.

A Nippert Stadium-record crowd of 35,097 got to watch Cincinnati start the season at 4-0 for the first time since 1954 after the Bearcats took down Marshall, 40-14. The last time Cincinnati even had two-straight wins to open a season was four years and two head coaches ago under Rick Minter in 2003.

‘We were able to sell out Nippert Stadium for the first time in a number of years,’ UC head coach Brian Kelly said. ‘It was an exciting crowd. It was something we obviously hoped we could do here at the University of Cincinnati. That stands out.’

The Bearcats are winning games in unconventional ways, and without a set starter at quarterback. As of right now, it’s difficult to discern which quarterback is best suited to lead UC. Four games into the season, both senior Ben Mauk and junior Dustin Grutza have each seen considerable playing time at the position.

Mauk, who transferred this offseason from Wake Forest, began the season as the outright starter, beating out last year’s starter Grutza in preseason. But two games into year, Mauk got hurt, setting up Grutza to start the third and fourth games.

On Saturday, with UC leading, 19-2, in the second quarter against Marshall, Mauk entered on his own 8-yard line and didn’t get off to a good start. His first play halted on an illegal block penalty, which drew the Bearcats four yards closer to their own goal. Marshall defenders were gunning for their second safety of the day, the first coming against Grutza in the first quarter.

After a three yard run by running back Butler Benton, Mauk threw a 13-yard strike to receiver Dominick Goodman. After the completion, Mauk lead the team 92 yards in 3:38 and capped the drive with a touchdown pass. With a 24-point margin, Cincinnati appeared to have regained its starter.

Just when things looked as though they were going to stay consistent, the tide again changed. Mauk failed to record a first down in the next three drives. As Marshall closed within two possessions of the Bearcats, Grutza entered for an encore.

Grutza did his best impression of Mauk’s first drive, moving 72 yards in just 2:33. In similar fashion, the Bearcats tallied seven points as Grutza found Connor Barwin in the endzone.

In the two games Grutza filled in for Mauk, the junior racked up 432 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Grutza has managed to keep his jersey clean as well, having been sacked only twice in the season. The Bearcats outscored opponents 180-30 in their first four games with the QB combination.

‘I know they’ve got a lot of good players returning,’ West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez said. ‘It seems to me they are playing pretty well.’

Regardless of the players and situations, the outcome has been the same. After receiving votes for the past two weeks, Cincinnati finally found an open slot in the No. 24 spot of the Associated Press poll, a scenario the Bearcats are hardly accustomed to. The last time Cincinnati could call itself one of the top 25 teams in the nation was more than 30 years ago back in 1976.

Cincinnati has yet to clash with a conference foe and will be the last team in the Big East to do so when it travels to Piscataway, N.J., to take on Rutgers on Oct. 6. Regardless of the outcome, Nippert Stadium has already reached another milestone. UC announced the Bearcats’ home has already been sold out for the Big East matchup against Louisville on Oct. 13, the first time the stadium has sold out in advance since 2001 against Purdue. Cincinnati is doing things it hasn’t done in years.

‘I like to win, and I know our kids like to win,’ Kelly said. ‘So if that surprises people, that’s fine. We know we got a long way to go.

‘We’re happy about the progress we’re making here. We still got a long way to go and we aren’t breaking our arms patting ourselves on the back.’

Injuries plague Pitt

Throughout the course of a season, every team will deal with its fair share of injuries. It’s an inevitable part of the game. Starters will be lost and new players will have to fill in.

And then there is Pittsburgh’s situation.

Before even making it to week four of the season, the Panthers have lost both their starting quarterback Bill Stull and redshirt freshman backup Kevan Smith. Simply with no other option left, head coach Dave Wannstedt has been forced to throw highly-touted recruit Pat Bostick onto the field earlier than anticipated.

Pittsburgh also lost its biggest offensive weapon for the season when senior wide receiver Derek Kinder went down with an injury, leaving the quarterbacks less to work with. Although freshman running back LeSean McCoy has posted solid numbers in his first three games, the passing game has produced little.

‘When you’re on your third quarterback in four games, that’s not good,’ Wannstedt said. ‘There’s nothing we can do about it. It’s a position we’re in. Particularly when two of them are freshmen and haven’t played, it’s very difficult. We’re trying to do things as sound as we can, but at the same time, we got to try and score some points.’

Game of the Week

No. 5 West Virginia at No. 18 South FloridaFriday, 8 p.m., ESPN2

The first round of Big East conference play kicked off with a bang this week as Syracuse pulled off a 38-35 upset victory over Louisville on Saturday. Now two other Big East teams have an opportunity to make a statement under Friday night lights. West Virginia will travel to Tampa, Fla., to take on South Florida and has one more win than the Bulls at 4-0. USF is a team that – only three games in – has already proven it can hang with the national powerhouses with its victory over Auburn two weekends ago. Although South Florida may have trouble stopping a West Virginia offense that has scored 40 points or more in 11 of its last 12 games, consider that the two teams picked to finish last in the Big East, Connecticut and Syracuse, both won their conference openers. And those were on the road.

Published on September 25, 2007 at 12:00 pm