I didn't want this to get lost in all that's going on today with the NFL and the Bengals. I'll have more on that later in the day.

I spent this weekend in Cleveland watching my alma mater completely dominate a school in the Big East. Ohio brought balanced scoring, tenacious defense and the most important thing a team needs to do, make free throws.

I was particularly impressed with a couple of players, three actually. Leon Williams couldn't be handled by anyone on the UC team. He was fouled virtually every time he touched the ball in the paint. Of course, it wasn't always called. But when he went to the line, Leon was 'money', 12 of 15 from the line. Leon also hauled down 12-rebounds and managed a couple of blocks and a couple of assists.

Whitney Davis looked sharp too. He's got a unique style handling the ball, but he not only gets it into his playmakers hands, he also can score.

Jerome Tillman was solid and so was Sonny Troutman. I made the observation after watching Ohio defeat Bellermine earlier this year: Troutman may have a sweet lefthanded shot and he will penetrate the lane, but his best weapon is the pass. He's very unselfish.

I spent some time talking with Tim O'Shea. The Bobcats head coach told me there wasn't any secret to his defense on UC. Like Ohio did with Louisville, the Bobcats packed it in tight and allowed the Bearcats to try and beat them with the three ball. Neither team, historically, has shot well from the outside. The strategy worked.

It was great visiting with some other coaches. I got to talk with Kevin Kuwik and Brian Townsend. Brian said he grew up watching me on television (ouch!), while he was a stand out athlete at Cincinnati's Northwest High School.

I got a chance to visit again with assistant coach Doug Dewey, who was a standout athlete at Cincinnati's Glen Este High School. Terrific guy and is learning a lot from the other coaches on the Ohio staff.

Bubba Walther said the same thing too. That was a little easier to take, considering Bubba isn't that far removed from Moeller.

Ohio will play deep into March. I've seen Miami play. Charlie Coles will get everything that team has, but I don't see the RedHawks being any kind of factor. But with solid wins over a Big East team (UC) and an Atlantic 10 team (St Joe's), Ohio has laid the ground work for a great run through the MAC. Bobcat fans should be stoked.

By the way, the Ohio football team leaves Tuesday for the GMAC Bowl. If you live in central and southern Ohio, I'm filling in this Thursday and Friday morning on 1530 Homer WCKY. Ohio head football coach, Frank Solich, will be my 'live' guest from Mobile at 9:10am this Thursday. If you don't live here in the greater Cincinnati area, you can catch it on line.

I'll have more on the Bobcats later in the week on my The Broo View podcast, which you can catch on my web site, www.kenbroo.com.


Go Bobcats!

Ken

Just saw on one of my new, favorite web sites www.bobcatattack.com, that Ohio has signed one of the top offensive linemen in the state. Anderson's Joe Flading (6-4 and runs like a deer) will join the fastest growing stable of blockers in the MAC.

I know this guy is good. I've watched him play for the last couple of years. This is a major 'get' for Ohio coach Frank Solich.

It's good to be a Bobcat

Ken

Just back from the Bengals vs Ravens game. Spent most of my time in the dining area and not the press box because the dining area has all the TV sets. I need to be there to monitor both the Bengals and the Ohio Bobcats in the MAC Championship game.

The Bengals game with the Ravens has a score that appears to suggest a boring game, 13-7 Cincinnati. But as far as defensive games go, this was pretty entertaining. Some observations:

1: Baltimore played far too passively on defense. It did little to disrupt Carson Palmer's rythym. I had the sense the Ravens felt this was a game they really didn't need to win the AFC North division. And if you look at their remaining games, you'll see why. It's a very forgiving schedule.

2: Carson Palmer is over his knee injury. We now have four solid weeks of proof of that. Against a terrific Baltimore defense, he threw well. Yep, the Bengals scored only one touchdown. But Palmer picked apart a very good Ravens secondary.

3: The win did nothing to appreciably help the Bengals playoff chances. They had to win this game to remain in the hunt. But they're still digging themselves out of the hole they were in a month ago. In their final four games, Cincinnati must go 3-1 to have any shot at the post season. And we know two of those games remaining are on the road at Indianapolis and at Denver. The odds are still against this team making the post season. But the Bengals are alive.

As for the MAC Championship game, it was a long night for the Ohio Bobcats. Their top quarterback, Austen Everson left the game early. He's not over his leg problem. And the Bobcats turned the ball over way too many times to expect to win. Central Michigan exploited the Ohio secondary and seems to attack the Bobcats at their strength: linebackers.

Tough loss to be sure. But this team played with a lot of heart. It never seems to give up, which is the greatest compliment you can give a head coach. With five weeks to go before their bowl game, I have no doubt Frank Solich will have the troops ready.

He's only a junior. But Ohio running back, Kalvin McRae has a chance to play on Sundays. He is the real deal.

Ken

Just posted on my web site www.kenbroo.com is the latest edition of Bengals Report. The executive editor of that fine publication, Marc Hardin, and I discuss tomorrow night's game with the Ravens. You'll hear comments from T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Carson Palmer. There's some other cool audio over there too. But if you're in a hurry, here's a link to the latest Bengals Report podcast.

Also, just posted on my web site is the latest edition of Broo v Broo. The opinions are flying fast and furious on this week's NFL match-ups, as well as the latest in college football. UC and Ohio get plenty of play this week. You can find it at www.kenbroo.com under the "Podcasts & More" category.

Bengals are getting healthier. It appears Brian Simmons will be able to play Thursday night against the Ravens. The game will be televised on WLWT Channel 5 in Cincinnati. At 7pm, I'll host a 'live' special from Paul Brown Stadium to get you ready for the game.

Major blow to the UC football program today. Seven assistant coaches have left to join Mark Dantonio, immediately. Left behind are only interim head coach Pat Narduzzi and one other assistant, believed to be the strength coach. Narduzzi has informed UC Athletic Director, Mike Thomas, he has until December 6th to decide whether or not he wants Narduzzi as the Bearcats new head coach. If Narduzzi doesn't hear by then, he says he'll join Dantonio's staff too.

Here's the amazing part: UC is not holding the current assistants to their contract, which run through January, 2007. Rather, they've let them go and will allow them to come back to UC for one week prior to whatever bowl game UC is sent to. Can you imagine a Division I school allowing its football team to be coached by coaches from another Division I college? Will Thomas allow these guys who skated on him to use their same officies, when they come back for their one week encore? Unbelievable.

On the other hand, the Ohio Bobcats are in Detroit tonight, getting ready for their MAC Championship showdown with Central Michigan. It's a match up of coaches that seem to be on separate paths. CMU's Brian Kelly is a hot ticket, coming close to getting the head coaches' job at Michigan State, as well as Iowa State. Frank Solich has found a home in Athens, and has played the coaching carousel game. I think this will be a coach's game. Sure the players will ultimately determine who wins and who loses. But Solich's deliberate ball control offense and his attention to detail on defense should be the difference. Don't get me wrong, Central is very good. But as active as the Ohio front seven is, I think it will be difficult for CMU to get its vertical passing game going.

This will more or less be a road game for Ohio, with CMU located right down the road from Ford Field. No problem for the Bobcats. They're road warriors. Ask Kent, Illinois, Northern Illinois and Miami.

First Tri-State High School football team to play for a state championship this weekend, the Ryle Raiders in Kentucky AAAA. Good luck to Bryson Warner's team. We'll have the highlights Thursday night at 11p, on WLWT Channel 5 in Cincinnati

Busy, busy day Thursday.

Ken

Just back from Oxford, watching one of the better college football games I've seen this season. Ohio beat Miami (Ohio) 34-24 in a game that meant little in the standings...but of course everything. Miami and Ohio are bitter rivals.

Glorious day to watch a game, full sun and temperatures hovering near 6o, unusual for this area of the country, this time of the year.

Yeager Stadium is one of the truly beautiful venues to watch a college game. So is Peden Stadium, in Athens for that matter.

There really is nothing quite like MAC football. It's offenses are generally varied, no two teams playing alike like you see in some conferences. And today's game featured big plays on both sides of the ball. Ohio's terrific running back, Kalvin McRae rushed for 180 yards and two long touchdowns. Miami's quarterback, Mike Kokal, on a fourth and one, tied the game at 24 with a 36 yard touchdown run. Ohio finally prevailed, despite dipping into the third string for its quarterback. Starter Austen Everson was held out, with a bad ankle. Back up Brad Bower fumbled on the Miami one, through the end zone for a touchback...then left later with an injury.

With the win, Ohio is now 9-3. It's been almost 40 years since it's been this good for the Bobcats. Now it's onto the MAC Championship game next Thursday night in Detroit against Central Michigan. A bowl trip, win or lose, awaits Ohio.

I realize, this may bore some of you. But what the hell, it's my blog isn't it? But if you're from Ohio, or attended either school, you should know the rivalry is strong again. Better days ahead for Miami. Rip 'em up, tear 'em up give 'em hell Ohio.

Ken

On the eve of "The Big Game", there are a couple of other games I want to deal with. First, is the 'other big game' in college football Saturday. Unbeaten Rutgers invades Nippert Stadium for a 7:45pm match up with the University of Cincinnati. This game may have as many playoff implications as the one in Columbus.

The battle between OSU and Michigan will probably eliminate one team from the BCS Championship game. A win by UC Saturday will surely eliminate Rutgers from any championship game consideration. Rutgers is still a long shot, even with a win in Cincinnati.

But in a sense, this is a much bigger game for UC. It has been on national television twice this season, winning once, losing once.. But the bigger story than the games with Pitt and South Florida has been the pathetic attendance. It was so bad at the South Florida game, that the ESPN director was instructing his camera people to 'shoot tight' to avoid showing the enormous amount of empty seats.

UC football has never been the 'thing to do' in Cincinnati. It's campus is tough to get to, tough to find parking on and not exactly surrounded by the safest neighborhood in Cincinnati. For all of those reasons, the discretionary ticket buyer has avoided UC football.

There's another reason why UC struggles to get fans to Nippert: it's brand of football hasn't exactly been the most exciting variety. Under previous coach, Rick Minter, defense was stressed. Under current coach, Mark Dantonio (one of the truly great people and rising stars in the coaching profession), ball control offense has been the hallmark.

Like it or not, what will attract a crowd to a product that historically has struggled (and it doesn't matter if it's football or food products) is excitement, a 'buzz', a 'got to get there, got to have it' kind of thing. UC football is competing for the entertainment dollar. It has to appeal to the fringe fan, who would just as well spend his or her dollar on a movie as they would go to a football game in Clifton. The way to create that excitement, that buzz, is to field a team that has an offense that can score from anywhere, 'light it up'. Most coaches hate that, because it takes a large amount of control out of their hands. Turnovers become more of a factor, your defense will have to spend more time on the field because you either turn it over of score quickly, and your quarterback needs to he 'on' every game. Coaches hate to give up control of anything, most of all their on field product.

But, if UC were to go down that road, I believe it would begin building a stronger following. Remember, this is still a commuter school. Students and faculty leave the campus in droves Friday evenings and don't return until the following Monday. UC is battling that, too. But, everybody loves a good time, everybody loves a party. Create that atmosphere on the field, and that program will have a chance. It's a leap of faith, philosophically, for Dantonio and his staff. But I believe they have the talent to pull it off.

Now, to the other 'big game'. Unless you've lived through it, unless you've attended Ohio University, suffered with their football team and its string of broken promises, bad coaches and awful records, it's tough to fully appreciate what happened in Athens, Ohio, Thursday night. Last night, Ohio University won the MAC East division.....in football. Just stringing those words together would, in most years, be cause for loved ones to have you seek help.

Ohio (they've pretty much dropped the University part and for God sake, don't ever say Ohio U again) dominated Akron, enroute to a 17-7 win. It pushed the Bobcats record this season to 8-3, with a game at rival Miami coming up next Friday. The 'Cats have a spot in the MAC Championship game on November 30 against Central Michigan.

The architect behind all of this is head coach, Frank Solich. Fired by Nebraska in 2004 for having the audacity to only go 9-3 (and a win over Miami next week would give him the same record at OU), Solich has taken a rag tag bunch of left overs from his predecessor, added two of his own recruiting classes and has pulled the Bobcats out of the abyss with an option offense and a defensive strategy straight out of the Big 12. The Bobcats have gone on the road this season and beaten MAC pre-season champion pick Northern Illinois, MAC east division pre-season pick Kent State and pulled off an upset win at Big Ten Illinois. Their only losses were to Bowling Green, at Missouri and at Rutgers. This isn't a Cinderella season in Athens, Ohio. This is Walt Disney opening the entire vault.

The brains behind this operation is Ohio University school President, Dr. Roderick McDavis, who hired Solich and paid him a salary the second highest on campus, only to his. McDavis watched in late 2004 when five MAC football teams marched to bowl games (and minimum $750,000 pay days) and figured hiring a big time coach and finally fixing the football team would accomplish two things. One, if it won, it would bring in money that would help pay for the rest of his athletic program that had often operated in the 'red'. Two, it would get some positive publicity for his school, often confused nationally with Ohio State and worse Miami, Ohio.

Academia, I'm told, scoffed at the idea and bristled when McDavis paid Solich a salary approaching $250,000 a year. Memo to academia: nobody in the chemistry department, or biology lab or in the english department gets in the newspaper or on the nightly TV news unless they find a formula for synthetic gas, develope a cure for the common cold or write modern day Shakespeare. That's a tough one for academia to handle, I know. I love teachers. None of us would be where we are without them. But in colleges, athletics have always been the calling card for a university to sell it's other products. Get 'em in the tent with athletics, then tell them the good news about your academics. McDavis 'got' that.

With Thursday night's win, Ohio (U) will go to a bowl game. Solich will be hailed and probably forgiven for his DUI in Athens last winter. The University can now tell its story to the nation on a higher platform. It's Scripps School of Journalism, its radio-tv department, its business school, it's school of oesteopathic medicine and the rest of what makes Ohio University special will get more of a national spotlight.

It's been a long time coming. It may be only football. But this is why it matters. It is great to be finally out of the hole.

Come on over to my web site: www.kenbroo.com. I'll see you there!

Ken