turn - ing point: A time at which a decisive change in a situation occurs, esp. one with beneficial results.
In history it's always easy to spot the turning point. The moment and place in time where the narrative changed. You look at a chain of events with an eye for the outlier. An outcome that is unexpected whether it is good or bad is beside the point.
The recent history of Bearcat Football has a couple. For the obvious reasons the Rutgers game from 2006 stands out as a turning point. The pick, Brent Celek's catch & run, and most of all the chaotic celebration. Those moments do symbolize a turning point. But something that has been lost in the intervening years is the tenuous nature of the progress symbolized by that game.
After Mark Dantonio departed for the banks of the Red Cedar most people assumed that the Rutgers game was a one off. Not to be duplicated. A magical night of historic proportions, but not one that carried any lasting impact. In short most people assumed that Brian Kelly couldn't keep the momentum. As we all know that wasn't the case. The 2007 season became the one where UC put everyone on notice. But the game that goes overlooked is the West Virginia game from that season. At that point West Virginia was a rolling ball of death eviscerating all with ease behind Pat White and Steve Slaton.
That game started out like the rest of UC's games against West Virginia early on in the Big East. Badly. In 2005 and 2006 WVU jumped out to big leads and never looked back. The 2007 game started exactly the same. The difference is that the Bearcats found ways to scratch and claw back into the game. Ultimately it wasn't enough to win. But there is no doubt that this game was the one that gave UC the confidence to finally slay the dragon in 2008. With that in mind enjoy the 2007 West Virginia vs. Cincinnati game after the jump before it inevitably gets taken down for copyright infringement.
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