CINCINNATI (AP) -Brian Kelly spent his bye week evaluating Cincinnati's high-powered offense to see how it can become more efficient.
The coach's idea? Get the ball to Mardy Gilyard even more.
The senior receiver ranks 13th nationally in yards receiving per game. He's the biggest scoring threat for eighth-ranked Cincinnati, which throws to him as often as possible. Lately, it hasn't been enough.
``He still leads our team in receptions, he gets the most touches,'' Kelly said. ``We have to find different ways to get him the football.''
Opponents have started stacking their coverages to blanket Gilyard, who will go for a long stretch without getting the ball. Kelly is considering moving him away from the sideline and putting him in different spots at times - maybe even in the backfield - to give him a chance to get the ball more easily.
Kelly also wants to do a better job of using Gilyard as a decoy when the other team is too focused on him.
``So this isn't always about the offense has to run through Mardy, but it does require us to be creative and make sure he does get the touches,'' Kelly said.
Gilyard's response was a smile.
``I don't object to that,'' he said.
Gilyard said he hasn't been frustrated by the defensive coverage because Kelly prepared him for it during summer camp, when the defense would double-team him to show him what it was like.
``They spent a lot of time getting me double coverage in camp so I could get used to being harassed,'' he said. ``It showed me how to slow everything down and pick out the weaknesses in the double team.''
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KICK AND BARE IT: Louisville's Ryan Payne admits he did more than raise an eyebrow when former NFL kicker Mike Lansford suggested the lifelong soccer player should try and kick a football with his right foot bare.
``I thought he was crazy from the beginning, but he told me that he kicked in the NFL without a shoe, that gave me a little more confidence,'' Payne said.
Now, the kid who used to think football players were ``meatheads'' finds himself one of the guys after making the biggest kick of his short career.
Payne's 32-yard field goal with 30 seconds left lifted the Cardinals to a 25-23 win over Southern Miss last week, snapping an eight-game losing streak to Football Bowl Subdivision members and halting - at least for a week - speculation that coach Steve Kragthorpe's third year with the program might be his last.
The last few days have been a blur of phone calls, text messages and the renewed respect of his teammates.
``It was crazy, people you never even would talk to, just out of nowhere, 'Oh, great game,''' the walk-on said. ``It's like 'Oh, I barely remember you from high school, thanks.' It's a great feeling, no one doesn't like a compliment.''
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NO STALLING IN STULL'S OFFENSE: Pitt quarterback Bill Stull is thriving under new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., so much so that other players can see the impact Cignetti is having.
Stull has 13 touchdown passes and three interceptions, a season after throwing nine TD passes and 10 interceptions. Stull played so poorly during Pitt's 3-0 loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl, he was forced to win back his job during spring ball and training camp.
``Coach Cignetti does a great job explaining things to me and getting me ready to play,'' Stull said. ``Everyone knows where to go and what to do. This offense really complements my style of play and our offense's style of play, so that's why I'm more comfortable now than I've ever been at Pitt.''
Stull looks a lot more confident and less prone to making mistakes.
``I think coach Cignetti has helped him a lot in that regard, and he feels more comfortable than ever back there,'' wide receiver Oderick Turner said. ``He'll take some shots if necessary to get the ball out. He'll take a hit if he needs to.''
Tight end Dorin Dickerson, Stull's roommate, also has benefited from the coordinator's change. He has seven touchdown catches, five more than last season.
Cignetti took a pay cut to leave Cal and return to western Pennsylvania, where his father, Frank, was the longtime coach and athletic director at Indiana (Pa.) The elder Cignetti also coached West Virginia from 1976-79.
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RETURN OF THE RUTGERS 'D': After giving up 47 points and 510 yards in a season-opening loss to now No. 8 Cincinnati, Rutgers defense has found itself in beating Howard, Florida International, Maryland and Texas Southern.
The Scarlet Knights (4-1, 0-1 Big East) have scored four defensive touchdowns and forced 12 turnovers in the past three games.
``Our defense always tries to score touchdowns,'' said senior defensive end George Johnson, who recovered a fumble for a touchdown against Maryland. ``We know how it elevates our team when we score, and we strive to make these big plays. We joke around and say we're going to try and outscore our offense in a game. But seriously, when our defense can score a touchdown, it just changes the game completely.''
Sophomore David Rowe got Rutgers on the board against Texas Southern last weekend, going 56 yards with an interception.
Coming into Friday's game with Pittsburgh (5-1, 2-0 Big East), Rutgers is ranked No. 2 nationally in run defense (65.2 yards per game), having given up less than 50 in each of the last three games. The Scarlet Knights are sixth in the nation in turnover ratio (+2.4).
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STICKING WITH THE SOPH: Connecticut coach Randy Edsall is sticking sophomore quarterback Cody Endres even though Zach Frazer has recovered from a knee injury that sidelined him for the last month.
Edsall said Frazer did not lose his job due to an injury, Endres won it on the field.
``Just look at the numbers,'' Edsall said. ``(Cody) has performed very, very well, and he's performed better than Zach has.''
Endres, a sophomore, is 2-1 as a starter, and has thrown for 663 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions since taking over. Frazer was 22 of 43, with two touchdowns and four interceptions in his two starts.
UConn (3-2, 0-1) has an important Big East game against Louisville (2-3, 0-1) on Saturday.
Frazer said he was disappointed by Edsall's decision, but declined to comment when asked if it surprised him.
``Every player's going to want to be on the field,'' Frazer said. ``The injury is something I couldn't control. You have no control over that. Coming back now, I've just gotta understand my role. I'm still a leader on this team. I still want to be part of this team.''
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AWARDS: Big East Players of the Week: Offensive, West Virginia RB Noel Devine (103 all-purpose yards, two TDs in 34-13 win over Syracuse); Defensive, Connecticut S Robert Vaughn (10 tackles, one tackle for loss and two interceptions, including a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown, in 24-21 loss at Pittsburgh); Special teams, Pitt K Dan Hutchins (scored 10 points, including the game-winning field goal as time expired, in Pitt's win against Connecticut. He made field goals of 42, 19 and 18 yards and averaged 43 yards on three punts.)
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AP Sports Writers Will Graves in Louisville, Ky.; Tom Canavan in Piscataway, N.J., Alan Robinson in Pittsburgh, and Associated Press writer Pat Eaton-Robb in Storrs, Conn., contributed to this report.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
