University of Cincinnati linebacker Craig Carey remembers his first encounter with the football rivalry between the Bearcats and Miami University as a redshirt freshman.
He stood on the sideline at Yager Stadium back in 2005 - Mark Dantonio?s second year as UC?s head coach - and watched the RedHawks pound the Bearcats, 44-16.
At one point, Carey remembers counting seven UC freshmen on the field together playing defense.
?I remember after the game, me and Brad Jones stood right next to the (Victory) Bell just to see what it would feel like when they ran over to take the bell from us,? Carey said. ?It did not feel good.?
Since then, it?s been all UC in the series that dates to 1888. The Bearcats won, 24-10 in 2006, 47-10 in 2007 and 45-20 last year under head coach Brian Kelly.
When the two teams meet again Saturday afternoon at Miami?s Yager Stadium, the UC program will be at its peak, having achieved its first Top 10 ranking and coming off a Big East championship, while the RedHawks (0-4) are at one of their lowest points in years, though they still lead the series, 59-47-7.
On paper, this could be the biggest mismatch in the history of the series.
When UC tight end Ben Guidugli was asked Tuesday if the Miami game was still as important for the Bearcats as it once was, he paused momentarily before answering.
?We?re just going to take the same approach we do to every game,? Guidugli said, ?whether our opponent is Southeast Missouri, Miami of Ohio or last week against Fresno. We?re going to do the same things we always do. That?s just from Coach Kelly and his philosophy. He really just keeps us on track.?
Having coached in Miami?s Mid-American Conference at Central Michigan for three years before taking the UC job, Kelly knows how jacked up MAC teams get when playing a BCS team.
The fact that the BCS team in question this week is neighborhood rival UC, the highest ranked team ever to play at Yager Stadium, will only sweeten the anticipation for the RedHawks as they try to notch what surely would be one of the biggest wins in the illustrious history of the Miami program.
Kelly knows all about that history
?They?ve got a lot of tradition,? Kelly said. ?And it?s not that far removed from people?s minds about Ben Roethlisberger and the success that they?ve had. When I was in the Mid-American Conference, Miami was regarded as that school in the Mid-American Conference and I still see them that way.?
But times have changed. Now it?s UC (4-0) that holds the upper hand with its BCS affiliation as a member of the Big East. Miami, with new coach Michael Haywood, is trying to find a way to remain competitive with its local rival.
You need only look at the Guidugli family to see how the series has changed. Ben?s older brother, Gino, had a great career at UC, leaving at the end of the 2004 season as the Bearcats? career passing leader. But he was only 1-3 vs. Miami.
Ben is 2-0 against the RedHawks and both UC wins were blowouts.
?I guess the tables have turned a little bit,? Ben said. ?I don?t know all the history of the game but if you look on that bell you can see a lot of wins for a lot of years that Miami had, so obviously they did get the best of Cincinnati for some years.?
INJURY UPDATE: UC has lost backup linebacker Robby Armstrong for the season. Armstrong tore his ACL in Saturday?s win over Fresno State and will undergo surgery this week.
Running back John Goebel (hamstring) has not played yet this season but might see action Saturday on special teams.
He stood on the sideline at Yager Stadium back in 2005 - Mark Dantonio?s second year as UC?s head coach - and watched the RedHawks pound the Bearcats, 44-16.
At one point, Carey remembers counting seven UC freshmen on the field together playing defense.
?I remember after the game, me and Brad Jones stood right next to the (Victory) Bell just to see what it would feel like when they ran over to take the bell from us,? Carey said. ?It did not feel good.?
Since then, it?s been all UC in the series that dates to 1888. The Bearcats won, 24-10 in 2006, 47-10 in 2007 and 45-20 last year under head coach Brian Kelly.
When the two teams meet again Saturday afternoon at Miami?s Yager Stadium, the UC program will be at its peak, having achieved its first Top 10 ranking and coming off a Big East championship, while the RedHawks (0-4) are at one of their lowest points in years, though they still lead the series, 59-47-7.
On paper, this could be the biggest mismatch in the history of the series.
When UC tight end Ben Guidugli was asked Tuesday if the Miami game was still as important for the Bearcats as it once was, he paused momentarily before answering.
?We?re just going to take the same approach we do to every game,? Guidugli said, ?whether our opponent is Southeast Missouri, Miami of Ohio or last week against Fresno. We?re going to do the same things we always do. That?s just from Coach Kelly and his philosophy. He really just keeps us on track.?
Having coached in Miami?s Mid-American Conference at Central Michigan for three years before taking the UC job, Kelly knows how jacked up MAC teams get when playing a BCS team.
The fact that the BCS team in question this week is neighborhood rival UC, the highest ranked team ever to play at Yager Stadium, will only sweeten the anticipation for the RedHawks as they try to notch what surely would be one of the biggest wins in the illustrious history of the Miami program.
Kelly knows all about that history
?They?ve got a lot of tradition,? Kelly said. ?And it?s not that far removed from people?s minds about Ben Roethlisberger and the success that they?ve had. When I was in the Mid-American Conference, Miami was regarded as that school in the Mid-American Conference and I still see them that way.?
But times have changed. Now it?s UC (4-0) that holds the upper hand with its BCS affiliation as a member of the Big East. Miami, with new coach Michael Haywood, is trying to find a way to remain competitive with its local rival.
You need only look at the Guidugli family to see how the series has changed. Ben?s older brother, Gino, had a great career at UC, leaving at the end of the 2004 season as the Bearcats? career passing leader. But he was only 1-3 vs. Miami.
Ben is 2-0 against the RedHawks and both UC wins were blowouts.
?I guess the tables have turned a little bit,? Ben said. ?I don?t know all the history of the game but if you look on that bell you can see a lot of wins for a lot of years that Miami had, so obviously they did get the best of Cincinnati for some years.?
INJURY UPDATE: UC has lost backup linebacker Robby Armstrong for the season. Armstrong tore his ACL in Saturday?s win over Fresno State and will undergo surgery this week.
Running back John Goebel (hamstring) has not played yet this season but might see action Saturday on special teams.
