By Bob Hertzel
CINCINNATI — In a game that played itself out the way West Virginia University’s 24-21 loss to Cincinnati did on Friday night, the Mountaineers had to have a hero.
And that hero was fullback Ryan Clarke, mostly an unsung hero, but heroic nonetheless.
Overlooked for much of the year as a running threat, Clarke was unleashed inside and provided a 37-yard touchdown run that gave WVU a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.
“I just read Ricky’s (Kovatch) block, hit the hole. They arm tackled and I broke clean and kept running,” Clarke said.
Clarke, who came into the game with 91 yards rushing in nine games, finished the game with 60 yards on just five carries.
Also, late in the fourth quarter, when quarterback Jarrett Brown scrambled in a desperate attempt to bring the Mountaineers back, Clarke laid the game’s most devastating block, crushing a pair of Cincinnati tacklers and allowed Brown to escape.
“I was just looking for someone to block,” Clarke said.
He found him.
Things to wonder about
West Virginia played what had to be its biggest football game of the season on Friday night and everyone was there – except Mountaineer Rebecca Durst.
The second woman to be named Mountaineer in WVU history, following Natalie Tenant, who today serves West Virginia as secretary of state, Durst missed the game because of “personal issues,” according to a member of the WVU sports information staff.
Brock Burwell, the alternate Mountaineer, had to fill in during Durst’s absence.
Her missing the game was no less intriguing than Cincinnati’s sports information department refusing to allow their players to be interviewed by West Virginia media this week.
Not that coach Brian Kelly isn’t a glib, interesting human being, but it’s seriously doubtful he knows how Tony Pike “really” feels about not starting this game.
Considering that a number of Kelly’s players will be up for post-season awards that are voted on by members of the media who were snubbed by them, who knows what kind of backlash that might have.
And isn’t it that sports information department’s job to help promote such honors?
Just wondering what the tail wags the dog in college sports when it comes to public relations.
West Virginia remembers
The Mountaineers won the toss and elected to receive the football, perhaps because there were visions of last year when Cincinnati’s Mardy Gilyard took the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
End of a streak
One of the most unbelievable statistics in college football this year came to an end when Cincinnati finally fumbled the ball away in the first quarter, something the Bearcats hadn’t done through the first nine games.
They were the only team in the country not to have lost a fumble until Adrien Robinson caught his eighth pass of the year, wide open in the slot. He ran a few yards, was hit by WVU cornerback Keith Tandy, fumbled and safety Sidney Glover went into a fetal position over the football.
West Virginia took advantage of that fumble and went on to score and tie the game at 7-7.
This ’n’ that
A new rule was put in at the beginning of the season that stated you had to have at least four players on each side of the football on kickoffs, but apparently the rule never got to West Virginia for the Mountaineers were called for consecutive illegal procedure penalties when they put their fourth man in motion and brought him to the other side of the ball before Tyler Bitancurt kicked the ball. … WVU doesn’t normally give up 100 yards to an individual rusher but Isaiah Pead of Cincinnati had 100 yards on 10 carries at halftime, including a 52-yard scamper where he juked WVU cornerback Keith Tandy so badly he was left standing there in his jockey shorts. … In case you didn’t know, Nippert Stadium, site of the Friday night game, is the second oldest stadium in the NCAA, being built in 1902. … Jock Sanders has now caught a pass in 25 consecutive straight games for WVU.
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.
