The 2007 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

in the

2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 30, 2007 and ended on ...

. The team, coached by Brian Kelly, played its home games in

Nippert Stadium James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Primarily used for American football, it is the home field of the Cincinnati Bearcats football team. The stadium has ...

, as it has since 1923. This was Kelly's first complete season with the Bearcats, having coached them to a 27–24 win against

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

in the

2007 International Bowl The 2007 International Bowl, held on January 6, 2007 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was one of the college American football bowl games that ended the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The game pitted the University of Cinc ...

. The 2007 season was a breakthrough for Cincinnati football, as it saw the Bearcats break into the national rankings for the first time since 1976. The Bearcats' highest rank of their 2007 campaign was 15th in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broad ...

Schedule

Rankings

Roster

Coaching staff

Brian Kelly – Head coach Keith Gilmore – Assistant head coach/defensive line

Jeff Quinn Jeff Quinn (born September 26, 1962) is an American football coach. He was formerly an assistant coach at the University of Notre Dame. Quinn served as the head football coach at the University at Buffalo from 2010 to 2014. He was the 24th head c ...

– Offensive coordinator/offensive line Joe Tresey – Defensive coordinator

Kerry Coombs Kerry Coombs (born September 9, 1961) is an American football coach who is the interim head coach at Cincinnati. Previously, Coombs was an assistant coach for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL) in 2018 and 2019 and the def ...

– Defensive backs coach Mike Elston – Recruiting/special teams/tight ends Greg Forest – Quarterbacks coach Tim Hinton – Linebackers coach Ernest Jones – Running backs coach Charley Molnar – Wide receivers coach John Widecan – Assistant AD/football operations Brad Bury – Student assistant Paul Longo – Strength and conditioning Jesse Minter – Defensive graduate assistant Michael Painter – Offensive staff intern Adam Shorter – Offensive graduate assistant Marty Spieler – Defensive staff intern Erin Clayton – Administrative assistant Jacob Flint – Assistant strength coach Maria Gruber – Administrative coordinator Matt Louis – Administrative coordinator John Sells – Video coordinator

Game summaries

Southeast Missouri State

The games was the first regular season game for new coach, Brian Kelly. The Bearcats' 59-3 victory was the most lopsided in school history since beating

Louisiana-Monroe The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Ce ...

, then known as Northeast Louisiana, 63-0 in 1977. The Bearcats' 615 yards was the third most in school history.

Oregon State

Miami University

Dustin Grutza Dustin may refer to: Places in the United States * Dustin, Nebraska * Dustin Township, Holt County, Nebraska * Dustin, Oklahoma Other uses * Dustin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Dustin ...

, who started in place of the injured UC quarterback

Ben Mauk Gary Benjamin Mauk (born January 4, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He completed his college football career in 2007 Cincinnati Bearcats football team, 2007 for the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Cincinnati Bearcats, Bearcat ...

threw for two scores to lead the Bearcats to a 47-10 win over the

Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Divis ...

. UC defense dominated the game with a fumble recovery, three interceptions, a blocked punt, and five sacks.

Marshall

San Diego State

Rutgers

Louisville

Pittsburgh

South Florida

The 31 points scored in the first quarter is a Cincinnati record for most points scored in a single quarter.

Connecticut

West Virginia

Cincinnati came into the game predicted by some to upset the mountaineers. However, for the majority of the game West Virginia used their punishing ground attack to build a 21-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter. However, after a costly fumble leading to another West Virginia touchdown, the Bearcats rallied. Their defense force two fumbles and a punt by the Mountaineers, and the offense cashed in with two touchdowns. After UC's second touchdown and a failed two-point conversion, West Virginia recovered an onside kick attempt and managed to run out the clock, handing the Bearcats their third loss.

Syracuse

PapaJohns.com Bowl

. The Cincinnati Bearcats led by Quarterback

ended

Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to a ...

coach Jeff Bower's 17-year tenure as head coach at Southern Miss in losing fashion, 31-21. Mauk went 30-52 for 334 yards, 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Mauk became the 3rd player in Cincinnati history to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. His favorite target was Dominick Goodman who caught 7 passes for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns. The defense was led by DeAngelo Smith who had a whopping 3 interceptions. For Southern Miss, Jeremy Young went 18-32 for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns, but 3 interceptions. Damion Fletcher led the team in rushing and receiving, with 155 yards on 29 carries on the ground and 7 catches for 50 yards through the air. Southern Miss jumped to an early 7-0 lead on a 10-yard pass from Young to Shawn Nelson in the 1st quarter. In the 2nd quarter, Cincinnati struck back when Mauk threw both touchdown passes to Goodman to end the half. In the 3rd quarter Mauk hooked up with Ernest Jackson for 29 yards and a touchdown to make it 21-7 in favor of the Bearcats. Young then had a 1-yard run with 6:48 to play in the 3rd to make it 21-14. Cincinnati then pulled away when Mauk hit Antwuan Giddens for his last touchdown. A field goal by Jake Rogers made it 31-14 Bearcats, and they never looked back.

Awards and milestones

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

Mike Mickens Mike Mickens (born July 24, 1987) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football at the University of Cincinnati. He is curre ...

, CB * Kevin Huber, P

Big East Conference honors

* Special Teams Player of the Year: Kevin Huber *

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

: Brian Kelly

Offensive player of the week

*Week 3: Dustin Grutza *Week 5: Ben Mauk *Week 13: Ben Mauk

Defensive player of the week

*Week 1: Mike Mickens *Week 6: Ryan Manalac *Week 10: Haruki Nakamura

Special teams player of the week

*Week 2: Jacob Rogers *Week 6: Kevin Huber

Big East Conference All-Conference First Team

*Terrill Byrd, DL *Mike Mickens, DB *Haruki Nakamura, DB *Kevin Huber, P

Big East Conference All-Conference Second Team

*Marcus Barnett, WR *Trevor Canfield, OL *Anthony Hoke, DL *DeAngelo Smith, DB

Players in the 2008 NFL draft

References

{{Cincinnati Bearcats football navbox

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Cincinnati Bearcats football seasons Birmingham Bowl champion seasons

Cincinnati Bearcats football The Cincinnati Bearcats football program represents the University of Cincinnati in college football. They compete at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level as members of the Big 12 Conference. They have played their home games in his ...