With blowout in rearview, UC braces for Temple

The opener was great fun, but things are about to get much tougher for the University of Cincinnati football team.

UC expectedly routed Alabama A&M 52-10 in the reopening of renovated Nippert Stadium on Saturday night, after a 90-minute weather delay at the start.

UC next plays Temple, an American Athletic Conference opponent which surprised traditional power Penn State 27-10 in another weekend opener. The Owls will visit UC next Saturday at 8 p.m.

Some takeaways from the Alabama A&M game, and a look ahead:

Running game looks strong

Everyone knows UC can throw, with Gunner Kiel passing for 233 yards and two touchdowns in just one half against Alabama A&M. UC coach Tommy Tuberville said the Bearcats also want to average between 175 and 200 yards rushing per game, after notching just 156.5 per game last year. UC recorded 296 yards rushing in the opener, albeit against light opposition.

The best news was that the Bearcats averaged 5.8 yards per rush, and that Tion Green (127 yards, TD) and Hosey Williams (95 yards, TD) are healthy again. Plus, Mike Boone followed his strong 2014 debut season with an 86-yard, two-TD night.

Defense looks decent

Everyone also knows that UC was not great defensively for much of 2014, finishing No. 96 nationally in total defense. Saturday, UC held Alabama A&M to 246 yards. Only 98 of that was rushing, including just 2.6 yards per rush.

UC also had three sacks and an interception. The Bearcats allowed a touchdown on a short field and occasionally allowed one too many receivers to shake free, but the overall returns were positive.

Tip o' the cap to Bearcats fans

Severe storms threatened to ruin the night, but UC fans hung in during the pre-game deluge. There naturally were some empty seats at kickoff, but the bulk of the crowd stayed.

And how about the UC students? Most remained in the stadium during the delay, despite persistent rain, lightning and warnings to disperse. Some students stormed the field during the long pre-game wait, in a kids-will-be-kids moment. Many students stayed into the second half, a rarity at college football games nowadays.

"I really want to thank the students," Tuberville said. "My goodness, they couldn't run them out of the stands. I thought they were going to have to arrest all of them, for not leaving when the lightning started hitting."

Temple is the real thing

The Temple win over Penn State stunned many, especially the 17-point margin. It was the first win for Temple over Penn State in 74 years, yet Tuberville was not surprised.

"That wasn't an upset, I didn't think," Tuberville said. "I knew going in that they were going to be one of the better teams in the conference. Very, very good on defense. It'll be a huge battle for us."

Temple had 10 sacks against Penn State. Junior quarterback P.J. Walker, a third-year starter, efficiently ran the offense and rushed for a TD. Last year, UC ground out a 14-6 road win over Temple.

Temple is picked to finish third in the AAC East, behind No. 1 UC and No. 2 Central Florida. It's early, but this one could prove huge in whether UC wins the division.

UP NEXT

Cincinnati vs. Temple

Kickoff: Saturday, 8 p.m.

Where: Nippert Stadium

TV/Radio: ESPNews/WLW-AM (700)

Records: UC 1-0 (0-0 AAC), Temple 1-0 (0-0 AAC)