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c i n c i n n a t i ( c o n t i n u e d ) Greg Blair made nearly 140 tackles last season and was one of the best defenders in the Big East, helping the Bearcats allow fewer than 19 points per game. Nick Temple is a returning starter who made 54 tackles a year ago. And Jeff Luc, a transfer from Florida State, where he'd have played for Purdue defensive coordinator Greg Hudson, enters the mix in 2012 expected to make a profound impact. Luc was the top linebacker recruit in the country out of high school. Expectations would seem high at Cincinnati as it moves on both without its former coach and the bulk of its former conference. Joining Cincinnati in the new American Athletic Conference are a collection of former Big East and Conference USA teams. Games against Big Ten opponents Purdue and Illinois to open loom large before con- 2012 RESULTS 2013 SCHEDULE DateGame (10-3 overall, 5-2 Big East, T-1st) ference play. DateOpponent Results 8/31PURDUE It's a season 9/6PITTSBURGH . . . . . . . . . W, 34-10 9/7 at Illinois STATE 9/15 DELAWARE STATE W, 23-7 9/14 N'WESTERN (Ohio) (OT) of unknowns for 9/29 vs. Virginia Tech* . W, . .27-2452-14 9/21 at Miami Florida 10/5 at South 10/6 MIAMI (OHIO) . . . W, 49-17 Cincinnati, but 10/13FORDHAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 23-29 10/11TEMPLE 10/19CONNECTICUT 10/20 at Toledo . L, its new coach is 10/26 at Louisville . . . . . L, 31-34 (OT) 10/30 at Memphis 11/3SYRACUSE . . . . . . . . W, 35-24 11/9SMU 11/10 at Temple . . . . . . . . . . W, 34-10 11/16 at Rutgers proven, at least. 11/17RUTGERS . . . . . . . . . . . L, 3-10 11/23 at Houston "Tuberville has 11/23 SOUTH FLORIDA . . . . W, 27-10 12/5LOUISVILLE brought some en- 12/1 at Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 34-17 12/27 vs. Duke^ . . . W, 48-34 Field, ergy," Groeschen * FedExBowl Landover, Md. ^ Belk said. "Not that Butch Jones didn't have energy; he was teeming with it. But Tuberville seems energized by the move." — Brian Neubert Big East of the th NotseyeHralf on a share oCfinceinnati, Of nce la t a w ville, Confere ip (Louis e ampionsh conferenc league ch Syracuse) with a nd Rutgers a . of 5-2 record 94 • Gold and Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 6 2013 OPPONENT PREVIEW • Sept. 7 • Ross-Ade Stadium • Time Noon • TV BTN Indiana State Sycamores T here should be no reasonable expectation that Indiana State can pull an upset at Purdue this season. But that doesn't mean the Sycamores can't hope for big things under new coach Mike Sanford, who takes over for Trent Miles, who moved on to Georgia State after ISU finished 2012 in the top 20 nationally in the FCS ranks. From that team, a strong running game should return, though FCS teams will almost always struggle with the physicality of Big Ten-level opponents. Indianapolis native Shakir Bell returns after rushing for nearly 1,500 yards last season, carrying the lion's share of Indiana State's offense behind an offensive line that will be experienced this season. Quarterback Mike Perish is back, and presumably improved, after debuting last season following his transfer from Western Michigan. He had his ups and downs, throwing eight interceptions against 10 touchdowns while Bell carried the offense. Indiana State's questions lie on defense, where it was outstanding last season, allowing just 14.3 points per game and the fewest first downs of any team in the Missouri Valley Conference. Much of that defense is gone now, though, and things could get even worse as linebacker Connor Underwood, who recorded six sacks last season, battles injury. It'll be a season of transition for Indiana State, as the passing-minded Sanford inherits personnel that relied overwhelmingly on the running game last season, riding Bell for all it could. The Warren Central High School graduate's 1,475 yards accounted for 44 percent of Indiana State's 3,387 yards of total offense. So there might be a transition there if Sanford intends to throw the ball more, as his coaching roots might suggest he would. On defense, Indiana State is expected to transition to different alignments from the 4-3 fronts it used GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com