Well that was EXACTLY the kind of ass kicking I expected tonight. I know that Austin Peay is a terrible team, all the players know that AP is a terrible team. Knowing that can cause a problem. It can allow a team to come out flat, uninterested or just plain off. I didn't expect that from this team coming off the year that they just had. But you never know. Nothing is known, I mean well and truly known, until the bullets start flying.
Tactically this game is nothing. Meaningless. Utterly without value. There is nothing that can be gleaned from the plays that were called or the way that any individual player performed tonight. Butch Jones used maybe 8 offensive concepts all game (for the record 3 run concepts, 5 pass) Austin Peay is one of the worst teams in the FCS and seems pretty well doomed to similar status this season. For UC fans going forward this game is nothing but a mentality game. Becuase it does provide a measure of insight into where the collective head of the team is. As far as I can tell they are angry, and focused, two adjectives that could not be applied to the 2010 Bearcats except in jest. And a cruel jest at that. Basically all this game provides is a notion of what this team could become, but it guarantees nothing at all. So enjoy the win Bearcats, but the real litmus test comes next Saturday.
Go Bearcats!