August 18th Jump Off

The final five have been revealed in the Down the Drive Ring of Honor voting. You have until the season opener against Austin Peay to vote.

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Bearcats News

Changing bodies changes Bearcats' dynamics
Well now we know how Walter Stewart packed on 15 lbs this offseason, by stealing food from his younger siblings. For shame. I guess I can let him get away with this as long as he racks up 10+ sacks next season which isn't a reach. Adding pounds to Stewart's frame will only benefit him as he always had the speed to get around offensive tackles. Now he has the bulk to go through a few of them as well. He compiled 3 sacks in the spring game so look for more performances like that in 2011. On the flip side, Andre Cureton has done a phenomenal job losing weight and keeping himself sub-300 lbs. For offensive lineman, more weight doesn't always equate to good weight and Cureton found that out quickly. Thanks to Dave Lawson, he's adding more muscle now than fat.

College Player Database: Cincinnati Bearcats - Depth Chart
Here's an updated depth chart via Andrew Force at Rivals. I think he's done a pretty good job tracking the team at Higher Ground I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that these are fairly accurate. A couple of things I noticed- Corey Mason is listed as a starting linebacker. Mason is a great talent and I expected him to get a LOT of playing time there but I'm really surprised from this because I always figured Solomon Tentman would be starting. But he's not listed anywhere on the depth chart. Also, Camaron Beard, as we suspected, is backing up Derek Wolfe at DT and it looks like true freshman Daniel Murray, although probably getting a redshirt, is getting snaps at C. Finally it's interesting to see Deven Drane taking the #1 CB spot away from veteran Dominque Battle.

GCL and GMC= UC 'D'
First of all, J.K. Schaffer's triceps are ginormous. Secondly, glad to see this kind of light-hearted banter among the Bearcats players. The defense took a lot of heat last year and there is even more pressure to wash away that criticism. I fully believe they can live up to those expectations especially with tons of depth at key positions. It sounds like so far in fall camp they are absolutely owning the offense. You know the defense is working hard but it's nice to see them joke around a bit too.

Around the BEast

Freshman Basketball Player Charged With Shoplifting - West Virginia University Sports News, Scores and Coverage from WVMETRONEWS.COM
West Virginia fans are learning that the pedigree and incredible coaching of Bob Huggins comes with a price. Although these players will probably get hit with charges for minor offenses but still, it's this kind of stuff that we Cincinnati fans saw throughout the 90's and early 2000's. You'd have thought that with way Huggs was fired from UC that he would have learned to keep a tigher rope on his players and lead by example than running around like a drunken fratboy.

Marinatto has his eyes on future of college football - NCAA Football - CBSSports.com#!/collegefootball/story/15446409/marinatto-has-his-eyes-on-future-of-college-football
Oh boy. Marinatto sounds like a scared little kid running to his parents when he knows a bully is about to pick on him. Here's what I want if Marinatto doesn't have the gonads to be proactive in expansion. Say Tex-AM bolts for the SEC, Missouri follows, and Texas goes Independent. Then, the 9 Big East schools should split from the Big East and get rolled up under a new Big XII (14 schools) with a 5-team combination of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Baylor, or Texas Tech. Make Dan Beebe your commish (already an upgrade over Marinatto) and at the end of the day you have a very good football conference, by far the BEST basketball conference, and lots of solid television markets.

Around the Nation

Investigations on Yahoo! Sports - News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games
If you're looking for any kind of updates on the NCAA investigation at Miami U, look no further than Yahoo's site who have made it one of their headlines on the toolbar. These supposed under-the-table dealings are exactly what occurred at SMU and remember what happened to them? Death penalty. Seriously, Ohio State, Oregon, and USC have got NOTHING on the Hurricanes and Mustangs. While the investigation is far from over, I expect a heavy hand to be brought down on Miami as this is a clear lack of institutional control. At least, I hope the NCAA steps up and proves to college football programs that they aren't messing around. Below is a good write up of the man bringing this who thing to light, Nevin Shapiro.

Who is Nevin Shapiro? - Investigations - Yahoo! Sports
If you're looking for the background of Nevin Shapiro, here's a good one. Let's face it, this kind of booster influence is the kind of stuff SMU did back in the 80's. And Miami U is going to get nailed for it.