UC defense folds in the end.

Ugh.

Was hoping for a Bearcats win.

Sucks... UC should have won by being up a couple tds after the first half but a bunch of dropped balls ended up costing them. That and Memphis doesn't have an ordinary college kicker. One of the most legit kickers I've ever seen at this level.

Was sure rooting for the Bearcats, I just don't understand the continued penalties this team has, Just to many dropped passes and couldn't create any turn overs, good,year and should still get a nice bowl game.

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Very evenly matched teams, and I think both suffered from some nerves which undermined both offenses.

Loss did not drop UC much in the polls(21). Memphis and Cats put on good show. Memphis seems a little quicker.

Senior tight end Josiah Deguara on the loss:

 

"I'll put money on it, that all these guys will be here next year, whether it's here or at the Nipp or wherever. I'll put money on it that our team will be there next year."

 

Is it August 2020 yet?!?

Senior tight end Josiah Deguara on the loss:

 

"I'll put money on it, that all these guys will be here next year, whether it's here or at the Nipp or wherever. I'll put money on it that our team will be there next year."

 

Is it August 2020 yet?!?

 

It wouldn’t surprise me to see UC back next year. Hopefully UM can transition easily with a new coaching staff, but it will be a challenge. Also it’s unknown even which players will be back...they were loaded at RB this year even with Patrick Taylor #6 being injured most of the year and not quite back to form when he did return. Luckily, Antonio Gibson #14 emerged as a stud and Kenneth Gainwell #19, a freshman had a great year. UC did a good job on Gainwell, but Gibson sprang loose. UC should be happy to know Gibson is a senior.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see UC back next year. Hopefully UM can transition easily with a new coaching staff, but it will be a challenge. Also it’s unknown even which players will be back...they were loaded at RB this year even with Patrick Taylor #6 being injured most of the year and not quite back to form when he did return. Luckily, Antonio Gibson #14 emerged as a stud and Kenneth Gainwell #19, a freshman had a great year. UC did a good job on Gainwell, but Gibson sprang loose. UC should be happy to know Gibson is a senior.

 

Gibson killed them in both games. I think UC did a nice job with adjusting to what Memphis was trying to do with Gainwell.

 

Disappointed UC lost but they are still a year ahead of schedule in the rebuid process. I think I had them at 8-4 or 9-3 during pre season talks on here.

 

Next year is the year everyone pointed to 2 years ago as the year that UC would be a serious problem.

 

UC loses linebackers Bryan Wright and Perry Young on defense as impact guys that will be tough to replace and that's pretty much it.

 

-Entire secondary plus pre season 1st team all conference safety James Wiggins (lost in pre season to injury) will be back.

 

-Everyone on the D Line returns...plus Blake Bacevich, who was also lost pre season to season ending injury.

 

-O-line will replace Ferguson and James with original starters Jeremy Cooper (season ending injury at Marshall) and James Hudson (Harbaugh blocked his immediate eligibility request ).

 

- Deguara will be replaced by Huber and two 4* sophomores in Josh Whyle, and Leonard Taylor at tight end.

 

- Return leading receivers Alec Pierce and Malick Mbodj plus Tre Tucker, Jayshon Jackson, and Blue Smith.

 

- Lastly, backfield of Ridder, Warren, Doaks, and McClelland (also lost pre season to injury) will be back.

 

And...bringing in the highest rated class in school history.

 

A chance that Warren, Doaks, or Wiggins could try to leave early for the NFL, but I'd be surprised if it happened.

 

Jo wasn't wrong with what he said about next year. This team returns a lot of experience and talent.

I agree UC will be the team to beat next year. Memphis needed to do it this year as we knew the lure of the P-5 was looming for Norvell already, and even with the best coaching hire, it is a challenge to pick right back up although Norvell came pretty close following Fuentes. I was impressed with UC, and I hope they beat that Ohio team from Columbus next year if they play.

 

UM has promoted their Deputy Head Coach and O-line coach to interim head coach for the upcoming bowl game, and the inside scoop was that he is the frontrunner for the job. Ryan Silverstein is his name. He is very popular with the players, and he was involved in recruiting many of them as well. I hope the admin. doesn't fool around and lose valuable assistants or recruits for a failure to make a timely decision.

 

IMO, UM should have put $4.0 mio on the table, publicly, and forced Norvell to refuse it. If nothing else, to make a statement about the current state of college football. I was vocal about this on the UM fan pages for what it was worth, haha. Maybe their reason not to do this was the added distraction. He was making $2.7 mio, and he will be making $3.7 at FSU. I bring this up because UC may be dealing with a similar situation in the near future. So, if UC wants to keep him after next year, give him a big bonus clause NOW in his contract that puts a million or two in his pocket when they make the AAC championship game next year. This is how Boise State is keeping their coach.

I agree UC will be the team to beat next year. Memphis needed to do it this year as we knew the lure of the P-5 was looming for Norvell already, and even with the best coaching hire, it is a challenge to pick right back up although Norvell came pretty close following Fuentes. I was impressed with UC, and I hope they beat that Ohio team from Columbus next year if they play.

 

UM has promoted their Deputy Head Coach and O-line coach to interim head coach for the upcoming bowl game, and the inside scoop was that he is the frontrunner for the job. Ryan Silverstein is his name. He is very popular with the players, and he was involved in recruiting many of them as well. I hope the admin. doesn't fool around and lose valuable assistants or recruits for a failure to make a timely decision.

 

IMO, UM should have put $4.0 mio on the table, publicly, and forced Norvell to refuse it. If nothing else, to make a statement about the current state of college football. I was vocal about this on the UM fan pages for what it was worth, haha. Maybe their reason not to do this was the added distraction. He was making $2.7 mio, and he will be making $3.7 at FSU. I bring this up because UC may be dealing with a similar situation in the near future. So, if UC wants to keep him after next year, give him a big bonus clause NOW in his contract that puts a million or two in his pocket when they make the AAC championship game next year. This is how Boise State is keeping their coach.

 

Memphis being as good as they've been is great for the conference , so there's many UC fans pulling for them to make the right hire to sustain the success they've had. They are one of the few teams (Temple being the other) who have really had UC's number since the American was formed.

 

As far as Fick goes, he fortunately isn't driven by money but he did get a 15% raise this year to bump his salary up to 2.3 mil from 2 mil. He will make 2.4 mil in 2021 and 2022.

 

Assuming his contract hasn't changed, he has received $110k in bonuses so far for being in the top 25, winning 10 games, and winning the East division. If UC wins their bowl game to get to 11 wins, he will get another $40k. If UC would have beat Memphis, he would have got a $250k bonus for making a NY6 bowl.

 

Not sure of the exact details but I want to say when he took the job, he gave the administration a list of improvements he wanted for the program over a certain amount of time. As long as UC continues to meet those wants and needs to succeed at a high level, UC should be able to keep Fick from leaving for a Florida State or middle of the pack P5 job, such as West VA and Louisville.

 

Definitely agree though that they need to restructure his contract and do it ASAP. The problem is, they don't have an AD right now since Mike Bohn left for USC. On top of that, Fickell doesn't have an agent so any negotiations are dealt with by him, which means nothing is happening until the season finishes.