Big East Football: Liberty Bowl Win Caps 10-Win Season
The Cincinnati Bearcats did something only four other teams in the history of the school have ever accomplished. That is win 10 games in a season.
A 31-24 victory in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl over the Vanderbilt Commodores enabled them to do that.
The group of seniors that will be graduating were able to accomplish the feat three times and the Bearcats have won ten or more games in four of the past six years.
Cincinnati was once again paced by the Big East offensive player of the year Isaiah Pead. He finished the game with 149 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries and ended his career as possibly the best running back the University of Cincinnati has ever seen with an average of just over six yards a carry.
The win was also big because the Bearcats were able to knock off a Vanderbilt foe from the SEC.
Even though Vanderbilt was a middle of the pack SEC team, they were still representing the best conference in college football and a win over anybody from that conference is huge.
The season for Cincinnati can be called nothing short of a complete success. For a team that was predicted to finish in the bottom half of the Big East to win a share of a league championship, 10 games, sweep the postseason conference awards and win the Liberty Bowl, that is one hell of a year.
Cincinnati will graduate half of their starters, but will return a lot on both sides of the ball. Certainly more than enough to help carry their success into next season and the years to come.
With possibly the best recruiting class in the history of the school, Cincinnati has a chance to be more than a team, but a program.
That is something head coach Butch Jones is committed to doing and something he will continue to push until he is successful.
One thing is for sure, the future is looking bright in Clifton.
