ARLINGTON, Texas – The University of Cincinnati has a great football team that deserved to be in the College Football Playoff.
Alabama was just better.
The Bearcats' 27-6 loss to the top-ranked Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl semifinal Friday at AT&T Stadium will be fuel for the fire created by the Group of Five doubters that believe the four-team playoff should only be reserved for teams from the Power Five conferences.
Doc:Pride and disappointment for Bearcats. Disappointment and pride.
College Football Playoff semifinal:Cincinnati Bearcats' special season ends with loss to Alabama
The loss will also serve as a motivator for Cincinnati, particularly the younger players who will now assume the lead as the Bearcats continue their climb toward being a top-10 program.
"I hope," UC coach Luke Fickell said. "I hope it does. I hope that they recognize how fragile it is and how hard it is to continue to grow. The motivation is always key to me. When you can sit there and see how much it means – not that it doesn't mean as much to them – but how much it means to those guys that are not going to have another opportunity to wear that helmet, put that C-Paw on their chest and go out and represent our program and our team. I hope they don't ever forget what they saw from those guys. Because when the times get tough – and they will, in preparation and in games – they'll have to draw upon those things that will continue to motivate them."
What we learned from Friday's loss:
Desmond Ridder, UC's other leaders go out on 'disappointing' note
Quarterback Desmond Ridder, cornerback Coby Bryant, defensive end Myjai Sanders and linebacker Joel Dublanko stood at midfield for the opening coin toss as Cincinnati's captains on the CFP stage.
The four seniors, who led the Bearcats to the playoff, won the coin toss for the Bearcats. Unfortunately, that was the only win for Cincinnati on the day.
The Bearcats (13-1), who entered the playoff as the only remaining undefeated FBS team, deferred to the second half. Alabama, led by its Heisman Trophy-winning sophomore quarterback Bryce Young, promptly drove 75 yards in 5:09 for the game's first touchdown.
The Crimson Tide (13-1) never looked back.
Cincinnati managed just 218 total yards of offense and13 first downs. Comparatively, Alabama finished with 482 yards and 27 first downs.
"It was a little disappointing that we couldn't execute the way that we wanted to," Ridder said. "That we couldn't go out there and really play complementary football. And then it was joy. It was seeing all those Bearcat fans, seeing all those fans in the stands who stuck around all the way till the end. Who made the 12-, 13-, 14-hour journey from wherever they were in the United States to come watch us play football. It was just a surreal moment. I made sure I was one of the last ones to leave the field just to show my support and my thanks for everyone who came out and everyone who supported us along our journey."
Too many batted balls
Ridder attempted 32 passes on Friday, throwing 17 of those in the first half. Of Ridder's first 11 throws, three were batted down at the line of scrimmage.
One of Ridder's batted passes was intended for a wide-open Alec Pierce in the end zone. With the Alabama secondary in man-to-man coverage, Pierce beat his Crimson Tide defender inside on a slant.
Instead of hitting Pierce and likely tying the game at 7-7 with less than five minutes to play in the first quarter, Ridder and the Cincinnati offense had to settle for a field goal.
Kicker Cole Smith, who returned from an undisclosed injury and played in his first game since Oct. 16 against UCF, was good from 33 yards out.
They were the only points of the first half for the Bearcats. They trailed 17-3 at halftime.
Ridder completed just 17 of his 32 attempts for 144 yards. He was also sacked six times.
"They didn't do much different than what we had studied on film," Ridder said. "Their execution, It's one thing to watch on film and draw the twists and stunts that they do on the board and work it out through practice. It's another thing to come down here and play it on a big stage."
With 30 touchdown passes this season, Ridder ended the year just one score behind the school record of 31 set by Ben Mauk (2007) and Gunner Kiel (2014).
Too many rushing yards for the Tide
Many doubters of the Group of Five programs believe the Power Five schools just play a different brand of football, a stronger, much more physical brand.
That's exactly how it looked in the first half.
Alabama out-muscled Cincinnati at the line of scrimmage. The Tide's offensive line created running lines both teams' spirit squads could have run through.
Alabama rushed for 172 yards in the first half, racking up 6.9 yards per carry. The Bearcats had 72 total yards before halftime (17 yards on the ground).
The Tide finished with 301 rushing yards (UC had 74). Alabama running back Brian Robinson Jr. had a career-high and a Tide bowl-record 204 of them.
"So many of those plays were just inches away from making the play," Dublanko said. "A couple missed tackles here and there really cost us. I think we absolutely belonged in this game. But at the end of the day, we just didn't execute like we have all season."
Cincinnati fell to 0-6 all time against Alabama.
Source link
