[Empire Lindy]

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...810290368/1064

Takeaways down for Bearcats' 'D'
By Bill Koch • bkoch@enquirer.com • October 29, 2008

Turnovers were the lifeblood of the University of Cincinnati defense last year when the Bearcats shared the national lead with 42 and led the Big East Conference in turnover margin at plus-16.

UC coach Brian Kelly was right to expect that repeating those numbers would be difficult this season.

But he didn't anticipate the slide in the Big East from first to a tie for last in turnover margin at minus-six, which is where the Bearcats stand today.

"The only stat that really matters to me relative to turnover-takeaways is the plus-minus, and we're on the wrong side of that with six turnovers against UConn," Kelly said.

There's no question the six UC turnovers vs. the Huskies' none pushed the Bearcats to the bottom of the league in that department, but even without that game, this defense has not been as opportunistic as it was last year.

The Bearcats had a streak of 19 games of forcing a turnover stopped against Rutgers and have not forced a turnover in their last two games.

"We're really disappointed with that," said defensive coordinator Joe Tresey. "We talk about it all the time."

"We work strip drills and we work ball drills," Tresey said. "I think people evaluate you, too, and I think when we came into the season people knew we were No. 1 in the country and I think people do a good job of trying to protect the ball.

"If you look at us on tape, we've got guys trying to strip it. We just can't get it out. We had two (possible) picks the other day and we dropped one. Cedric Tolbert had one that he dropped. It's been tough."

After intercepting 26 passes last year, the Bearcats have picked off eight through seven games this season as teams have adjusted to make sure they're not throwing very often in the direction of all-league cornerbacks Mike Mickens and DeAngelo Smith.

UC has not been able to compensate with fumble recoveries, having seized only one opponent fumble all season while losing nine of its own.

"People heard about us," said defensive end Lamonte Nelms. "That's what happens when you do well in something. I'm sure they're looking at the stats from last year and seeing that we take the ball away so they're holding onto the ball. UConn didn't give us many opportunities to take the ball away. I think that's what every team is doing that we've played so far."

Overall, the defense, heralded as UC's strength as the season began, has been a mixed bag.

The Bearcats played outstanding defense in a 13-10 win over Rutgers and in wins over Marshall and Akron.

But a unit that starts 10 seniors currently ranks sixth in the league in total defense (331 yards per game) and seventh in pass defense, allowing 228.1 yards per game. The Bearcats are fifth in scoring defense (22.0 points per game).

Last year, they ranked second in scoring defense (18.8), sixth in total defense (368.2) and seventh in pass defense (254.0).

UC will be tested Thursday night by a South Florida team that leads the league in scoring offense (33.5 points) and total offense (425.8 yards).

"Our biggest struggle is getting 11 guys to play every single snap," Kelly said. "We'll have one guy make a mistake. We're not getting all 11 to play every play. If we do, we're pretty good."

But too often, as Tresey said, there has been a breakdown by one or two players that results in a big play for the opponent.

Last week, the Bearcats allowed 83 yards in 63 plays, but 267 in 13 others. One of those was a 53-yard run in the fourth quarter by UConn running back Donald Brown, the nation's leading rusher who finished with 150 yards.

"We had the kid in check," Tresey said. "He had 43 yards at half. He probably wouldn't have had 100. It would have been real close, and he ripped off that 53-yarder at the end. Probably the big plays have been our biggest weakness right now."

BLACKOUT: UC is urging fans to wear black to Thursday's game to "Black Out the Bulls." About 3,000 tickets remained as of Tuesday.