CINCINNATI -- Talk of winning a conference championship was preposterous for the University of Cincinnati football team back in mid-October. Three straight losses, three straight blowouts in which the defense allowed nearly 2,000 yards and 146 points, turned any title thoughts to just trying to play respectable football.
The Bearcats have earned some respect seven games later.
It took a fourth down stop from their 11-yard line on the final play of regulation to seal their 38-31 victory against Houston and a share of the American Athletic Conference championship Saturday at Paul Brown Stadium, but then again nothing has been easy for this team. They gained 500 yards of offense but gave up 594 yards. They twice had leads of 18 points in the second half but not until Houston quarterback Gary Ward Jr.'s pass to Steven Dunbar, with UC cornerback Howard Wilder in close coverage, went high and incomplete could the Bearcats celebrate their fifth conference title in seven seasons.
"Never in doubt, we had that one all the way," deadpanned head coach Tommy Tuberville as he opened up his post-game press conference.
There have been plenty of doubts throughout the season but the Bearcats have been able to overcome them to finish with nine wins in the regular season for a second straight season under Tuberville. They'll get a chance at a 10th win in a bowl game, the destination and opponent to be revealed on Sunday.
The notion of the Bearcats not winning another game after a 55-34 loss at Miami (Fla.) on Oct. 11 dropped them to 2-3 was more plausible than them winning seven in a row and tying Memphis and Central Florida for the American title with 7-1 league records.
"After we lost our third game, the seniors came in and slammed their hands on the table and said "That's it, no more." I think they got everybody's attention, including mine," said Tuberville. "It's just fun to see success when you've had adversity."
No one epitomizes that sentiment more than Munchie Legaux. The senior quarterback was destined to watch from the sidelines all season, except he never accepted that fate. Sophomore quarterback Gunner Kiel has been heralded from the moment it was learned he would be transferring from Notre Dame. He has lived up to that hype, too, by throwing for 3,010 yards and 30 touchdowns this season, including 190 yards and two touchdowns before having to leave the game after throwing one completion at the start of the third quarter.
In comes Legaux -- the comeback story of the year in college football just for battling back from a horrific knee injury last season -- to lead UC to 303 yards and 17 points in the second half, completing 10 of the 14 passes he attempted for 158 yards along the way. It was the fourth time this season that Legaux has played a significant role as Kiel's replacement, and the third time he's helped them to a win.
"It means a lot for me to overcome my injury and be out there and play football again and help my team win a share of the conference championship," said Legaux. "The story has been the same for me all year; you're going to get your opportunity so when you go out there make the most of it. That's what I did. That's all I wanted to do was go out there and help my team. Just go out there and play football and help my team out."
The game couldn't have started any better for UC. Sure, Tony Miliano's opening kickoff went out of bounds for a penalty that gave Houston the ball at its 35-yard line but the UC defense backed Miliano up by forcing a three-and-out. The Bearcats took over on their own 28 after the punt.
Much of the focus of the offense this season has been on Kiel and the passing game, for good reason, but the immergence of the rushing attack with senior Rod Moore and freshman Mike Boone has given the Bearcats some balance offensively. Balance helped the Bearcats to their first touchdown.
Kiel was 3-for-3 for 40 yards, plus drew a pass interference on another attempt, while the Moore and Boone combined for 20 yards on five carries, including a 5-yard touchdown run by Boone with 10:01 left in the opening quarter.
It was the first of three touchdown runs for the freshman, all coming out of the Wildcat formation. The original plan this season was for Boone to redshirt but injuries to top backs Hosey Williams and Tion Green opened the door for Boone and Moore. The pair combined to gain 163 yards on 35 carries, splitting everything but the touchdowns nearly right down the middle.
"It's amazing as a freshman to get this experience but this is for the seniors. We play hard for the seniors," said Boone. "It shows how much passion (the seniors) have for it, not wanting to have a bad season. They tell us all of the time we're the future. We listened to them."
UC is far from a perfect team. Their situation in the grand scheme of college athletics and conference affiliation is anything but perfect but that's a story for another day. On this day the Bearcats handled what they needed to handle, winning a conference title that no one saw coming two months ago. No one, maybe, except them.
"I had never lost that many games in a row and I told them I was tired of it," said senior linebacker Nick Temple. "At first, we weren't leading the team as a senior group. We finally picked it."
