Grading the Offense: Week Two

Saturday was never going to be the day the Cincinnati Bearcats offense suddenly turned into USC circa 2005. With the Michigan Wolverines lining up on the other side, UC’s ability to move the ball was as questionable as ever, which was a major reason the Bearcats were taken down 36-14, even if it could have been a lot worse. Let’s take a look at each positional group.

Quarterback

The Good: Hayden Moore played the whole game. That’s some durability for you, folks.

The Bad: Everything else. Once again Moore disappointed. Obviously, he gets somewhat of a pass because Michigan puts tons of pressure on the backfield, but that doesn’t excuse the constant inaccuracy and throws off the back foot. Moore completed only 15-of-40 pass attempts and was intercepted twice, with both of those being returned for touchdowns.

Final Grade: F

Running Backs

The Good: Mike Boone is going to be the offense this year. Moore can’t complete passes but he can hand the ball off and dump it to his back, which is usually Boone. For the second-straight week Boone led the Bearcats in all-purpose yards, rushing for 44 and recording a team-high five receptions for 28 yards. He also scored one of the team’s two touchdowns. Gerrid Doaks also looked pretty good, rushing for 25 yards on six attempts.

The Bad: With Michigan’s talented defensive front attacking at will, Boone didn’t do an amazing job of avoiding tacklers, averaging only 3.7 yards per carry.

Final Grade: B

Wide Receivers

The Good: Kahlil Lewis caught a 10-yard touchdown pass Devin Gray led the team with 41 receiving yards.

The Bad: Moore obviously ruined the days of his receivers, but with 18 targets spread between Lewis and Gray, a few more passes could have been brought down.

Final Grade: D+

Offensive Line

The Good: Not much went right, as UC’s front was pushed around quite a bit. However, it did give Boone some daylight here and there and stood up in the red zone, with the Bearcats scoring touchdowns on both trips.

The Bad: Moore was sacked four times and Michigan recorded seven tackles for loss. The Bearcats also averaged a mere 2.3 yards per carry on the ground.

Final Grade: D

Overall

Cincinnati was banging its head against a wall most of the day, averaging only 2.9 yards per play and accumulating a grand total of 200 yards, While that is a nice, round number, its a pretty miserable one. The Bearcats also struggled on third down, going 6-for-19 in such circumstances. So, in all, it was what you’d call a bad game. Luckily, first-class defenses like Michigan’s aren’t on the schedule very week this season.

Final Grade: D-