A FEW MO' THINGS, 12/7/12
Pick your head up Bearcat fans. The program will be fine, if everybody does their part.

At long last, #ButchWatch has come to an end.

UC Football program, contrary to what I'm hearing, hasn't.

I wish Butch Jones the best.  I think he's a decent man and a good football coach.  And as I said earlier this week, I think UC is better off for him being here these last three years.

So why am I unmoved by today's news?

Maybe it's because despite his many attributes, I don't feel like Butch every really established a connection with the city or the program's fans.  He was too mechanical early, and won, but didn't win big enough late.

Maybe it's because I feel that Butch is replaceable.  Most coaches are.  If Whit Babcock is worth what UC is paying him, they'll replace Butch with a qualified candidate who'll emerge from a deep pool of good, interested coaches.  UC football is at its highest profile in history, and even if this isn't something you want your program known for, it's proven to be a place to get noticed by other schools.  I think we know by now how much college football coaches like getting noticed.

Maybe because this feels all too familiar.  Coaches shows up, vows loyalty, bolts for another opportunity.  I'm not upset at Butch for leaving, just as I wasn't upset at the previous two when they bolted.  But given the fact that for many, the scars of Kelly's remain fresh and were re-opened when the ACC rejected UC, this just feels like piling on.  For others, you become numb.  Maybe I'm numb.

But it's probably because UC is facing issues and big-picture questions that go far beyond the mechanics of a head coach leaving the program.  We can sit here and stew over Butch bolting, or carry on the tone of today's funereal press conference, feeling like a dumped prom date or we can ask sufficient questions about what's next for UC football.  We can revisit the past few embarrassing days and recount the number of missteps by all interested parties (Butch Jones should not have been acting in an official capacity on behalf of UC football this week) or wonder exactly what back-door maneuvers Butch and his agent were making all the while (I don't believe for a second that the Tennessee job magically appeared on Jones' radar after he decided he wasn't going to Colorado) or we can get to what UC and its supported can do to enhance the stability of its football program.

Whit Babcock today said he'd soon outline a plan of action for Nippert Stadium.  Included in that, hopefully, will be details on how it will be funded, how quickly it can get done, and what it might mean for other sports.

How much of a commitment is UC willing to make to football?

More important, how much of a commitment can UC make to football?

Can the school's big-money donor base increase both in size and in its capability to produce the money needed to update/renovate/replace a facility that badly needs those things to happen?  Important question.

And will fans do their part?

After just one bad season, the UC season football ticket base fell 27% from 2010 to 2011.  That's a staggering amount considering the drop-off occurred after just one year and considering that the season ticket base isn't that big to begin with.  Selling out Nippert has long been an issue, and it's worth wondering: If UC builds it, will they come?

When they go 12-0, probably.  When they go 9-3, I'm not so sure.

I know there's plenty of reasons why people stay don't go to UC games.  The stadium is antiquated and uncomfortable.  The opponents often fail to stir the masses.  The weather might suck.  Game times may be inconvenient. Tailgating might be difficult.  There are other sports options.

Those are all legit.  But while some of those things can be addressed, others can't, and regardless, if you want UC's football commitment and profile to be raised to the point that coaches aren't bolting every three years, you'll have to deal with them.

Whit talked this morning about how if everyone who contacted him about what's happening with Butch bought a ticket to the Belk Bowl, they'd have their allotment sold twice over.  I'll extend that to the people losing their minds over UC's coaching situation.  If everyone was as passionate about what's happened with Dantonio, Kelly, and Jones as they were about actively participating in Bearcat football, Nippert would sell out every game and there'd be a clear cut case for making it bigger and better.

But there's not. 

I hate telling people what to do with their money. I don't get into browbeating people to attend games when they don't and I don't tell people not to go when they do.  Frankly, there's nothing I hate more than someone telling me what I should do with both my free time and my hard-earned money.

But the reality is that we can talk all we want about UC's big-money people need to step to the plate, and we can go on and on about what the university itself is or isn't doing to stabilize football, but it all means very little if both the UC community and the community as a whole aren't stirred by the Bearcat program.  Each of the last three Cincinnati coaches have had to spend time begging fans to come to games.   Interest and attendance are constant topics when UC football is brought up.  And many remain far to preoccupied with what the schools to the north and south are doing than to actively help UC strengthen its grip on their share of the market.

I know we want UC to do its part, and it is time for the people in charge to start speaking in concrete terms about what's ahead for the program.  But at some point, fans have to do theirs.

It is a pro town.  Make it a college football town.  The opponents might be from places you've never heard of.  Go watch the Bearcats.  The weather might be a factor.  It is at a lot of places.  And the game times might be both inconvenient and might be revealed too close to gametime.  That's reality everywhere.

At some point, the UC fan base will have to mobilize, commit, and expand.  The school can, and hopefully will, do its part. A new coach will hopefully do his part.  But we'll be right back here asking the same questions and wondering the same things in a year, or two, or three, if UC fans and alums don't do theirs.

-This week's news kinda makes you appreciate the basketball coach who almost single-handedly rebuilt the program amid an often toxic atmosphere, doesn't it?

Apparently not. 6,700 in the gym last night to watch the 11th ranked team in the country, and maybe the most entertaining Bearcat team in 13 years. 

We yell and scream about commitment coaches don't make to UC.  The one who has, we spend more time yelling and screaming at.

-Oh yeah, huge game Sunday at PBS....

BENGALS V. COWBOYS

I'm going to make this short and sweet, because I just typed more than 1,100 words about UC, Butch Jones, and Mick Cronin, and I have other things I want to do today.

This game worries me because Dallas has the kind playmakers the previous three opponents do not.  And it worries me because I don't know what the Bengals get from (Gresham) and an offense without pieces that have been key to wins in the last four weeks.   And it worries me because things are going just a little too smoothly right now.  Winning five straight games, even for really good teams, is tough.

But for all the worries, there's the realization that the Cowboys are a one-dimensional offensive team with an oft-injured DeMarco Murray and that they have a defense the Bengals can run against.  And the worries get quelled when you realize that the Bengals still have Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins.  The Cowboys have offensive line issues.

Both teams have been winning recently, the Bengals doing so by playing well, the Cowboys doing so by just getting by.   I'll take the team playing well ahead of the team getting by.

But still...this game worries me.  Bengals 27 Cowboys 23.

-A quick XU thought before we move on to the obligatory picks: If the Muskies' shot selection is going to be as bad as it was last night against beatable opponents, they're going to lose a lot of games they should win.

-From a picking standpoint, this season can't end soon enough....Denver. Yes.  Oakland. No.  That game was played last night.  I like the physicality the Rams play with.  I don't like much of anything about the Bills.  St. Louis (+3.5) wins at Buffalo....All of a sudden the Browns are showing promise.  Cleveland wins at home, but KC (+5.5) keeps it close....The Colts will be a double-digit win team.  Mildly remarkable.  Indy (-5.5) hammers Tennessee....If the game was at Soldier Field, I might pick the Vikings.  It's not.  Chicago (-2.5) beats Minnesota....I too, am Norvous.  Pittsburgh (-6.5) wins again, this time over San Diego....RGIII v. Ray Lewis would've been fun.  Washington (-0.5) wins. Baltimore is in trouble....Atlanta (-3.5) avoids the trap at Carolina....Play McElroy, Rex.  The Jets beat Jacksonville....I wouldn't want to play the 49ers when they're pissed off.  San Fran (-10.5) big over Miami....I think the Saints win, but the Giants ain't covering.  Fun game in NJ. New Orleans (+5.5) close enough against New York....Remember when the Cardinals got off to that great start?  Me too.  Seattle (-10.5) large over Arizona....Green Bay (-6.5) rather obvious over Detroit....and in a Monday Night must-watch, New England (-4.5) races past Houston.

Enjoy your weekend.  If you're headed to RedsFest, stop by the 700WLW Saturday anytime from 5:00 until 6:30 and say hi. I'm on 700WLW from Fifth Third Arena from noon until 1:30 tomorrow.  Back at it on ESPN1530 Monday at 3:04.