[Stardust]

No. 5 UC clobbers Louisville

Coach Brian Kelly wanted to do everything he could to make sure quarterback Zach Collaros would have time to find his comfort zone in his first collegiate start, so he scripted the Bearcats’ first 15 plays.

His approach worked. The initial drive lasted 10 plays and covered 78 yards, with Isaiah Pead scoring on a 1-yard run to give UC a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.

Collaros completed five of six passes for 60 yards and ran for 11 on that drive.
After that, the pressure was off Collaros and any of his teammates who might have been concerned that Tony Pike wasn’t playing quarterback. There would be no drop-off in UC’s powerful offense.

“We got into a very good rhythm with Zach with a good mix of run-pass,” Kelly said. “I think there was a lot of confidence on the sideline and nobody was worried about where Tony Pike was.”

As the game progressed, Collaros directed the offense as if he were a veteran, and No.5 UC beat Louisville 41-10 in the battle for the Keg of Nails before a sellout homecoming crowd of 35,099, the largest in Nippert Stadium history.

The Bearcats (7-0, 3-0 Big East) extended their regular-season winning streak to 13 games and ended a five-game losing streak to the Cardinals at Nippert. It was UC’s most lopsided win over Louisville since a 38-0 victory in 1951.

Louisville (2-5, 0-3) has lost eight straight Big East games.

Pike was not available after undergoing surgery on his left (non-throwing) arm Thursday to replace a plate that had been damaged by two hits at South Florida on Oct.15. He broke the same arm last year.

Collaros, a third-year sophomore, completed 15 of 17 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 52 yards on 11 carries before he was replaced by Chazz Anderson late in the third quarter.



http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20091.../310240023