Bearcats Bludgeoned

The Bearcats sorely miss Brian Kelly, as evidenced by their sputtering offense and 1-2 record. First year head coach, Butch Jones’ Cincinnati football team gained some momentum in Thursday night’s second half, but it wasn’t enough to overtake the undefeated Wolfpack. North Carolina State crushed Cincinnati 30-19 to improve to 3-0 on the young season. Quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Wolfpack to a non-conference win in Raleigh. NC State is 3-0 for the first time under Coach Tom O’Brien.
The Wolfpack offense was clicking on all cylinders Thursday night, but the five sack performance by the defense could also be attributed to the victory. Even special teams played into the stellar showing, with a blocked punt that set up another NC State touchdown. Jay Smith’s 16 yard touchdown catch in the first quarter riled the Carter-Finley Stadium crowd and put the Wolfpack on top 7-0. The home team scored again with 5:21 remaining in the opening quarter on a 31 yard run by Mustafa Greene. Greene scampered around the right end of to cross the goal line and hand the Bearcats a 14-0 deficit.
Wilson spread the ball to 11 different receivers throughout the contest, finishing with 26 completions on 40 attempts. UC quarterback, Zach Collaros, meanwhile, went 19-for-31. Collaros matched Wilson in touchdowns, with three scores. The Cincinnati signal caller also tossed for over 300 yards and carried the ball 22 times for 32 yards. D.J. Woods grabbed two touchdown passes and led the Bearcat receivers with 146 yards. Woods hauled in a 68 yard pass from Collaros in the second quarter to put Cincinnati on the board. The Bearcats wouldn’t score again until the final stanza, when Woods’ 20 yard catch closed the gap to 30-13. It was all Wolfpack sandwiched in between Woods’ touchdowns. NC State scored with one minute left in the first half to carry a 20-7 lead into the break. Curtis Underwood caught a 12 yard pass from Wilson to cap the first half scoring, but Josh Czajkowski missed the point after attempt. The touchdown drive was made possible by Jarvis Williams’ 33 yard set-up followed by a pair of Greene rushes. Williams logged a team high 111 yards on just four catches. The Wolfpack’s first half touchdowns both came on 93 yard drives as NC State continued to eat up yardage and control the clock.
Cincinnati ‘s defense held the Wolfpack to three points during the third quarter and the offense appeared to pick up steam heading into the final session. A blocked punt set up Taylor Gentry’s 8 yard score as NC State posted a 30-7 advantage to begin the fourth quarter. Cincinnati answered one minute late with Wood’s 20 yard touchdown pass. Marcus Barnett’s 13 yard reception added some Cincinnati credibility with less than a minute in the game. The Bearcats unsuccessfully attempted a two point conversion, however. The visitors lost the game, despite outscoring NC State 12-10 in the second half.

Parting Points: Just like that, the SF Giants are in first place. No surprise here.

I think San Fran will take the division easily.
Sources say Don Mattingly will replace Joe Torre as Dodgers’ manager at the end of the season.

Song for Friday- Toni Braxton’s “How Could an Angel Break my Heart”