Bad break for Bearcats

In yet another stroke of bad luck for the University of Cincinnati football team, newly anointed starting quarterback, Tony Pike, sustained a fractured left forearm and was carted off the field with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter of the Saturday, Sept. 27 game against University of Akron.

The Bearcats escaped with a bittersweet 17-15 win, but the loss of Pike hurts considering how well he had been playing since taking over the starting role.

At the time of the injury, Pike had completed 23-of-34 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns, yet the Bearcats trailed 15-14.

Redshirt freshman Zach Collaros came in for Pike and on 3rd and 22 from the Akron 37, had a 7-yard run that put the Bearcats in field goal range. From there, Jake Rodgers nailed the eventual game-winning 48-yard field goal.

"We had to dig deep and find a way in the second half," head coach Brian Kelly said. "I told our team we can't do that to Jake. We can't put [him] in the position to kick a 48-yard field goal into a pretty good breeze to win your football game, but I am proud of the way our kids battled in the second half."

During a post-game interview with 92.5 WOFX, Kelly said the early indications were that Pike could be out for three weeks. He will undergo surgery on Monday, Sept. 29.

UC got on the scoreboard early in the game when Pike led the Bearcats downfield on a 76-yard drive capped off by a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mardy Gilyard with 10:47 left in the first quarter.

The Zips answered UC's drive with a 76-yard drive of their own, resulting in a 26-yard field goal that cut the lead to four.

With 2:27 to go in the first half, Akron quarterback Chris Jaquemain led the Zips down the field on another long drive and gave his team the lead with a 7-yard touchdown pass. The Bearcats blocked the extra point and went into the half trailing 9-7.

"My hat goes off to Akron tonight, Akron battled today and they outplayed us," Kelly said.

Two plays after the Bearcats forced a three-and-out from Akron on the first possession of the second half, Pike hooked up with Gilyard for a 67-yard touchdown to give the Bearcats the lead, 14-9.

Gilyard ended up with seven catches for a career-high 146 yards and two touchdowns. In four games this season, Gilyard has 26 catches and leads the team with 435 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions.

On the ensuing drive, Akron drove down to the UC 5-yard line, but on fourth-and-one, the Bearcats stuffed running back Andrew Johnson and regained the ball.

Late in the third quarter, the Zips recovered a Gilyard fumble, giving them great field position at the UC 24-yard line and a chance to take the lead.  Five plays later, Akron scored on a 1-yard rushing touchdown. After failing to convert the two-point conversion, Akron led 15-14.

UC fumbled on their very next drive and gave the Zips a chance to increase their lead.  Fortunately for the Bearcats, Akron missed a 44-yard field goal that would have put them up four.

After the Rogers field goal, Akron had two chances to retake the lead. The Bearcats forced a punt on Akron's first possession and a Brad Jones interception on the second drive killed any chances they had of winning the game.

UC retakes the field Friday, Oct. 3rd when they travel to Huntington, W.Va. to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd.