Cincinnati Looks for Second Win Against the Big Ten, Louisville Eyes Another Solid Game
For Cincinnati (1-0), its first week of play included a 42-7 rout over Purdue and in its second week, they’ll look for the same as they take on Big Ten team No. 2: Illinois (1-0)
Coach Tommy Tuberville said of the Purdue game via The Associated Press, “We got into a situation where we found some things that worked and we didn’t expand. I thought the same thing defensively, we found some things that worked on defense and we didn’t go past that point.”
Cincinnati entered Week 1 with a quarterback dilemma and it will continue into the second week. It includes a battle between Brandon Kay and Munchie Legaux. Kay was set to be the starter until a sore shoulder on his passing arm sidelined him in practices. Legaux stepped up, who had been the 2012 starter after losing the role to Kay
Munchie Legaux
Against Purdue, Legaux was the starter, going 13 for 20, 145 yards, two touchdowns and one pick while also running for 55 yards on six carries and another touchdown.
Kay’s shoulder is on the mend and Tuberville planned to use this week’s practice as a measuring stick for who would get the starting nod after looking for improvement from both players. He doesn’t plan to announce the winner until game time.
Will he go with Legaux, who is a more of a runner, or Kay, the passer? Both could play on Saturday.
As for Illinois, it enters Saturday’s game with one win under its belt, a 42-34 victory over FCS’s Southern Illinois. Not exactly the same competition for them in Week 1 as Cincinnati.
The Illini are settled at quarterback with senior Nathan Scheelhaase. He had a big week as he went 28 for 36, 416 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.  This also came with four sacks.
He may be a bright spot on a team that has a young secondary challenged by big plays. Last week Illinois allowed 341 yards and three touchdowns in the air.
They’ll look for their running backs Donovonn Young and Josh Ferguson to step up this week. Ferguson had 49 yards from nine carries while Young had six yards on nine carries.
Cincinnati hopes with a win, they can sneak into the Top 25. The odds look good for a second victory (-8.5, 55.5 o/u).
#8 Louisville vs. Eastern Kentucky
After their big Week 1 49-27 win against Ohio, Louisville (1-0) saw its running back Corvin Lamb go down for the season thanks to a torn left ACL. The redshirt sophomore will have surgery on it.
In last week’s game, he had 13 yards from four carries and returned a kickoff punt for 20 yards in the fourth quarter. The player had become part of the team’s backfield rotation and will be missed.
This week the Cardinals will take on Eastern Kentucky, a team that defeated them in 1985, 45-21.
Teddy Bridgewater
Good luck this year as the Cardinals outgained Ohio last week 615-273 and controlled the ball for 37-plus minutes. They didn’t allow Ohio to score until late in the third quarter and held them to 81 ground yards. Oh yeah, there’s also Heisman-contending quarterback Teddy Bridgewater they’ll have to deal with in the game.
Last week, he went 23 for 28, 355 yards and five touchdowns (tying a career best). This performance helped catapult him as the top Heisman contender (11/2).
One of his favorite targets was wide receiver Damian Copeland, who had six receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
EKU is coming off a big 38-6 win against Robert Morris. Junior quarterback Jared McClain had four touchdowns: two in the air and two on the ground. The Colonels only gave up 55 rushing yards and outgained Robert Morris 401-232.
The teams last met in 2010 with a Louisville 23-13 win. Look for another Cardinal win (-40.5, 55 o/u).
