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Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 26, Digital 6

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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 26, ISSUE 6 88 ress, although it was very good last sea- son, allowing only 2.9 yards per rush. But defensive end Noah Spence took off early for the NFL, then was drafted by Tampa Bay with the 39th overall selection. His production — 11.5 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss — will be hard to replace. And Spence is only one of seven start- ers who departed the defense, leaving EKU young. But the defense rose in the spring, winning with a modified scoring system, and holding its offensive counterparts to only 2.6 yards per attempt and the quar- terbacks to only a 34-percent completion rate. (Granted, Mauk wasn't on campus yet.) The D had two interceptions and four sacks. The Colonels, who are ranked No. 25 in the Athlon FCS preseason top-25, shouldn't be intimidated coming to Pur- due, even if it is a now-rare FBS matchup. In recent years, EKU beat Miami (Ohio), took Kentucky to overtime last season and lost close games to Indiana, Kansas State and Vanderbilt. "All that success, of course, breeds confidence," Hutchison said. "It certain- ly seems that the gap between the FCS and the FBS has narrowed a bit in recent years, and the Colonels almost always seem to respond to playing a big school from a big conference." — Kyle Charters Big Gun(ner) 2015 Results (7-6) 9/5 ALABAMA A&M . . . . . W, 52-10 9/12 TEMPLE . . . . . . . . . . . L, 34-26 9/19 at Miami (OH) . . . . . . W, 37-33 9/24 at Memphis . . . . . . . . L, 53-46 10/1 MIAMI . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 34-23 10/16 at BYU . . . . . . . . . . . . L, 38-24 10/24 UCONN . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 37-13 10/31 CENTRAL FLORIDA . . . W, 52-7 11/7 at Houston . . . . . . . . . L, 33-30 11/14 TULSA . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 49-38 11/20 at South Florida . . . . . L, 65-27 11/28 at East Carolina . . . . . W, 19-16 12/24 vs. San Diego State . . . L, 7-42 Cincinnati Bearcats SEPT. 10 ROSS-ADE STADIUM TIME: NOON • TV: BTN COACH: TOMMY TUBERVILLE RECORD AT CINCINNATI: 25-14 (THREE SEASONS) RECORD VS. PURDUE: 1-0 2016 Schedule 9/1 TENN.-MARTIN 9/10 at Purdue 9/15 HOUSTON 9/24 MIAMI (Ohio) 10/1 SOUTH FLORIDA 10/8 at UConn 10/22 EAST CAROLINA 10/29 at Temple 11/5 BYU 11/12 at Central Florida 11/18 MEMPHIS 11/25 at Tulsa G O L D A N D B L AC K 'S E A R LY L I N E : C I N C I N N AT I - 2 Since 2009, Purdue owns more wins over Ohio State than it does against any other school from the state of Ohio. During that span, the Boilermakers are 1-1 vs. Toledo and 0-1 against Cincinnati. 2016 Opponent Preview 3 Number of schools Gunner Kiel committed to or enrolled at before ending up at Cincinnati (Indiana, LSU and Notre Dame) 6 School-record TD passes tossed during his first college start at UC 1 Round selection in NFL Draft some are forecasting for Kiel in 2017 I n 2015, Cincinnati put up incred- ible offensive numbers, breaking 18 school records, including for yardage, with 6,990 in 13 games. Yet, the Bearcats won only seven games, ending the season in a blowout loss to San Diego State in the Hawai'i Bowl, turning them into one of the country's bigger disappointments. Why the struggle? Cincinnati couldn't hold on to the ball, turning it over at an alarming rate, aver- aging nearly three giveaways per game for 33 total to keep its offense from fully making up for a mediocre defense. In the offseason, fourth-year UC coach Tommy Tuberville made changes, bringing in Zac Taylor, who spent the second half of last season as the Miami Dolphins' offensive coordinator, as his new OC. "He should help," said Tom Groeschen, who covers UC for the Cin- cinnati Enquirer. "They are trying to em- phasize ball security. Taylor mentioned that from the get-go in his opening press conference." Settling in on a quarterback could be a key. The job is likely Gunner Kiel's, provided the senior slinger stays healthy. But that and an undisclosed is- sue that kept him out of the bowl game have been unfortunate career sto- rylines. The 6-foot-4 senior missed the spring while slowed by a pulled muscle in his right (throwing) shoulder blade. But when he's healthy, he's good, evidenced by his 2,777 yards passing with 19 touchdowns and 11 intercep- tions. But the backup — or co-starter, perhaps — is good, too; Hayden Moore threw for 1,885 yards, but had 11 picks to only nine touchdowns. Tuberville has yet to publicly name a starter for UC's opener, vs. UT-Martin, a

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