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Alternate Title: Let's open up a map and speculate wildly.

Conference expansion has been the off season topic of the last two off seasons. Its not even close. Usually these stories start cropping up in the summer doldrums where there is nothing actually happening and we all resort to seeking out rumor and innuendo. Not so this time.

This morning a report surfaced that the Big 12 is reconvening it's long dormant expansion committee. It has since been picked up everywhere else. In a nutshell the Big 12 is interested in expanding to some degree, but nothing can be classified as emminent, and they are most likely going to be uber passive aggressive about this* and might not do anything for months. This is basically a public statement that the Big 12 has this on their collective minds. The correct reply to that is well no shit.

From a UC perspective I would be happy with an invite to the Big 12 in a heartbeat. The Big 12 is no more stable than the Big East is but the money on the Big 12 side of things is so much greater. Consider it a risk premium. Not to mention that joining the Big 12 basically guarantees the Bearcats a seat at the table for the next iteration of the BCS. That is worth it's weight in gold, and it something that the Big East, even with the expansion set to take place in 2013 and beyond, can't match. Competitively the Big East is probably UC's best bet, but in terms of a standard of living, it can't touch the Big 12. And that will probably prove to be the difference should that decision ever have to be made.

It's been a long road but we've finally landed at the top spot on our countdown. The last couple of spots have gone to the football team but the king of the castle belongs to the basketball team. The 2010-11 campaign was the best season for the Bearcats under Mick Cronin since he took over almost five years earlier. I've already spoke about Mick's critics and how he did a great job shutting them up this past season. Getting to the NCAA tournament all but sent them running for the fences. Overall the season had gone great, from the squashing of local rivals Xavier and Dayton early in the season to the beating of Louisville and Georgetown (twice) near the end of the year. Cincinnati had earned their rightful spot among the top teams in the country to play in the Big Dance despite the talking heads clamoring about their out of conference schedule (which was bullshit). Cincinnati plays in the most difficult, deepest conferences in the country. Hell, half the conference was ranked last season and with schedules stacked with the likes of Louisville, UConn, Syracuse, and Villanova, Big East coaches can never take a night off. Yet at this point in the season Cincinnati had taken their punches and given a few of their own to an 11 - 7 conference record. Not too shabby for a team picked to finish in the bottom half of the conference by most media 'experts'.

The Bearcats earned a first round bye in the Big East tournament and although they were ran off the court against Notre Dame after beating South Florida, they still earned a 6-seed in the tournament to face the Missouri Tigers. Let's get to the game:

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The runner up for the top spot in this countdown goes to none other than Armon Binns. The Pasadena, California native has done so much for Cincinnati, giving up the warm shores of southern California for the cold weather of Cincinnati among them. It was truly a shame he didn't take a redshirt his freshman year. Can you imagine seeing 'Abizzle' back for his senior season running alongside D.J. Woods, Kenbrell Thompkins, and Isaiah Pead? UC's offense would have put up no less than 50 points a game. But that's in the past now and we can only appreciate Binns for his amazing play at wide receiver. My favorite moment from him (and UC football for that matter) was the infamous game winning touchdown against Pitt to clinch the 2009 Big East title. But I also loved his burning of UConn that same season and the circus catch in the corner of the endzone against South Florida last year.

As far as this play that made #2 on our countdown it was one of the most exciting moments of the football season. With many thanks to Armon Binns and his innate ability to catch any football thrown in his vicinity it both helped retain the Keg of Nails in Clifton and allowed Cincinnati to open up Big East play 1 - 0. Let's take a look:

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I have to go to the defensive side of the football for the 3rd best moment of the 2010 football/basketball seasons. UC's defense didn't live up to anyone's expectations last season. Actually, they were downright awful, ranking 7th in the conference just in front of Rutgers who somehow managed to finish last. There were few bright spots for a defense that gave up so many big plays game after game. The tons of sacks against Syracuse come to mind. But saying there isn't any talent back there would be ignorant and guys like Derek Wolfe or J.K. Schaffer would be happy to prove you wrong if asked. That brings me to this slot in the Down the Drive countdown, J.K. Schaffer's incredibly athletic pick against Oklahoma. J.K.'s an incredibly talented football player and will join the ranks of other great Cincinnati linebackers that have worn red and black throughout the years. He's compiled over 100+ tackles the past two seasons, has over two-dozen starts under his belt, and is the bona fide leader of the Bearcats defense. He commands a ton of respect in the locker room and it's plays like these that allow him to easily fire up his teammates.

Let's take a look at the play, one of the best I have ever seen out of any football player. Ever. Ever:

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At #4 we flip back to basketball and one of the most exciting sequences of the 2010 season and, well, the last 5 years under coach Mick Cronin. He had steadily and meticulously rebuilt Cincinnati's basketball program from the almost-self-imposed deathy penalty in 2005. His win total increased each year and the talent level of his recruits steadily rose as well. But there was still a lot of clamoring for him to be fired. Needless to say, Mick Cronin has some thick skin as he didn't worry about those critics and focused on getting the Bearcats back to the Big Dance.

At this point in the season, the team was rolling. The defense was stifling. Yancy Gates had returned from his suspension and looked determined to guide his team into the postseason. But, Mick Cronin was still playing the 'disrespect' card as the Bearcats, while 23 - 7 were still unranked. The pesky out-of-conference schedule was haunting the Bearcats and it was completely undeserved. They had beaten Xavier and Dayton, whalloped rival Louisville at home, and had already beating Georgetown on the road. The voters were still asking Cincinnati for another marquee win. Well, the Bearcats obliged: 

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As we round the corner on our countdown we come to #5 on the list, Isaiah Pead's almost run against Oklahoma last September. Surprisingly, this is Pead's first appearance alone on this countdown. He was the primary ball-carrier during the final drive against Louisville (this is good) but that moment was really a team effort from the blocking of the offensive lineman and wide receivers that really ate up much of the clock and sealed Cincinnati's victory. And in many ways a lot of the praise that goes to a running back should be spread to the hognollies in front of him. But for Pead, he can make almost anything out of nothing. We've seen it time and time again where Pead would be in the sights of one or more defenders, put on a little move to get out of trouble, and burst up the field leaving most of the other team in his dust. He's the total package for a running back and fits Cincinnati's spread offense perfectly. He has the vision to see holes in the offensive line as a play develops and the quickness to hit those gaps. Pead is also thickly built to run through defenders and is fast enough to run by them if they aren't close enough to hit. Did I mention he's a great pass catcher? He's caught over 400 yards and 3 touchdowns while wearing red and black. Not bad for a running back working in a spread offense where the ball is generally designed to go to the wide receivers.

I could go on and on about Isaiah Pead's accolades but let's get to the run against Oklahoma that, unfortunately, never happened:

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We're halfway home on the countdown as we come to #6, D.J. Woods' spectacular catch across the middle during the Louisville game. Rolling through these moments it's easy to see why D.J. gets a lot of attention. His abilities as a football player absolutely demand it. Woods is a rare talent with a plethora of skills that make him a pain in the neck to cover. At this point in his career he is a senior with a lot of young receivers around him. Don't get me wrong, they're extremely talented and for the wide receiver position you don't necessarily have to have a ton experience to excel. But, having someone show you the ropes is always a good thing and if D.J. Woods wants to show them how to properly snare a football over the middle in tight coverage, he should pop in this highlight.

I remember saying at the time of the catch that D.J. Woods could drop every pass thrown to him or fumble every ball he did grab and he'd still get major props in my book. Why? It's because the dude makes phenomenal catches like this one: 

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When thinking about this game I knew it was going to make its way onto this countdown in some way shape or form but I was struggling to find the perfect word to explain UC's win over the Scarlet Knights. Beatdown? Demolition? Annihilation? Nah, none of those depict the true performance of the Bearcats. So I settled on 'abuse' mainly because it was so one-sided and no matter what Cincinnati did, Rutgers had absolutely no answers. On the Banks might not like to hear it but it's true. On 15 total drives not including the kneel downs at the end of the game, Cincinnati scored touchdowns on 10 of them and punted only 4 times. This was the culmination of an entire year of frustration for the Bearcats football team. We knew this offense was explosive and the droughts against West Virginia and Syracuse were an aberration. Overall though the Cincinnati season was a major disappointment, especially after the win against Louisville a month earlier and considering how underestimated the lack of depth and major obstacle a transition year between coaching staffs could be.

This was still a major highlight of the 2010 season as we saw how Kelly-like explosive Butch Jones' offense could be. Let's break it down.

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