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THURSDAY, OCT. 24, 2013 / NEWSRECORD.ORG
Andy Dalton’s evolution continues Cincinnati Bengals third-year starting quarterback Andy Dalton at his best in back-to-back clutch victories NICK BOEING STAFF REPORTER
It’s time to dig up an old nickname for the Cincinnati Bengals: the Cardiac Cats. For the second straight week, the Bengals were taken down to the wire by an opponent — most recently the Detroit Lions — only to come out victorious. Andy Dalton’s continued evolution led the Bengals in both victories. A week removed from an overtime win against unheralded Thad Lewis and the Buffalo Bills, the Bengals were able to pull off the win at Ford Field in Detroit on a game-winning, 54-yard field goal from Mike Nugent as time expired. The game was the second straight week of the Bengals not being able to hold on to a big lead and relying on Nugent to bail the team out. Andy Dalton and A.J. Green opened the game with an 82-yard touchdown pass-and-catch to give the Bengals a 7-0 lead. The Lions were able to answer and take a 10-7 lead in the second quarter, only to have the Dalton lead a masterful two-minute drill to close out the first half, culminating in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to receiver Marvin Jones. Leading 14-10 to start the second half, Dalton struck quickly again as he heaved a 32-yard jump ball to Tyler Eifert, who used his 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame to snatch the ball out of the air and into the end zone. The Lions would answer twice with AllPro wideout Calvin Johnson making two spectacular touchdown catches, including one 50-yard jump ball in triple coverage. Neither would prove to be the play that broke the Bengals’ back, as the offense continued its domination of the Lions defense to set up Nugent for the game winner. Sunday was another step in the right
direction for Dalton as he completed 24-of-34 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns, getting sacked only one time and showing good awareness of the entire field. Dalton is 50 for his last 74 attempts during the last two games for 68 percent completion percentage and has six touchdowns to one interception in that time as well. He and Green seem to have finally found the connection that fans were accustomed to over the past two years, as Green has hauled in 12 receptions for 258 yards and two touchdowns over the past two weeks. Dalton has also been spreading the ball around to other receivers more often than he had in the opening weeks of the season. Green has his usual team-leading 20 targets for the previously mentioned time frame, but Giovani Bernard has 13 targets, Marvin Jones has 11, Jermaine Gresham has nine and Eifert has seven.
“Dalton is 50 for his last 74 attempts over the past two games, completing 68 percent of his passes for six touchdowns and just one interception.” This is a monumental step in the right direction for the Bengals, as defenses will inevitably have to pay more attention to the offense’s other weapons, freeing up Green for more big plays like the 82-yard bomb Sunday. With the past two offensive outputs, the Bengals passing attack is now ranked seventh in the NFL, putting Dalton and company in an area usually occupied by Drew Brees, Peyon Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady — talk about keeping good company. Dalton will look to continue its offensive onslaught Sunday against an upstart New York Jets team that upset the New England Patriots. Expect the Bengals to come away with the sixth win of the season.
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Cincinnati Quarterback 2013 Season
14
Touchdowns 11 Interceptions 6 Rating: 93.9
Completions 164 Attempts 249 Completion Percentage 65.9%
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UC Volleyball falls to Xavier
Barr released from hospital after one month
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MADISON SCHMIDT CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
UC middle blocker Breanna Barksdale goes up for a spike against Xavier Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena.
Bearcats fall 0-21 after disappointing rivalry defeat MATT NIEHAUS CONTRIBUTOR
The University of Cincinnati women’s volleyball team failed to overcome their inexperience and unforced errors once again against crosstown rivals, Xavier, at Fifth Third Arena.
The Bearcats went into the game searching for their first victory of the season. And after a second-set victory, it looked as though they could’ve upset the heavily favored Musketeers, but Xavier pulled away in the third and fourth sets to secure what would eventually be an easy 3-1 victory. With the loss, Cincinnati dropped to 0-21 on the season. Xavier jumped all over UC in the onset
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of the first set, cruising to an easy 25-15 win. The Bearcats did, however, spurn a bit of a run at the end of the set, garnering momentum that carried over into the second set. UC opened the second set on a 4-0 run, only to see the Musketeers level the match at 11-11. The Bearcats took the lead out of the tie and never looked back leading until the set was over. Morgan Allred finished of the set with an emphatic kill, securing a 25-21 win for the Bearcats, which tied the match at 1-1, giving UC some hope. Sophomore Amelia Wegman led the Bearcats in the second set with three kills each that proved to be crucial for the Bearcats. Junior Madi Lang came up huge for the Bearcats all night. Her 28 assists led the team and her nine assists and six digs in the second set propelled the Bearcats to their only set victory of the match. Following the second set, Cincinnati looked to take the match lead. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, a late three-point run pushed Xavier into control. After starting off fairly strong and keeping in touch with Xavier through the set, unforced errors came back to haunt the Bearcats in the closing points of the set. Xavier extended its lead to 21-18 after an Aubree Smith Kill and, despite a set-extending point from Me’Ashah Nicholson, Xavier closed out the set, 25-22. Up 2-1 in the match, the Musketeers were never in danger in the fourth and final set. Xavier took a quick 9-4 lead, quickly pushing its advantage to 18-10 after another UC error. Xavier’s Abby Bessler closed out the match with her 15th kill, as the Musketeers took the final set 25-16. Bessler notched her team-leading 14th double-double of the season for Xavier. The outside hitter had a match-high 15 kills, while adding 14 digs. Makayla Agin also reached double-digit kills with 10. Statistically, Cincinnati was led by Sophomore Morgan Allred who recorded 12 kills and seven digs on the night. Freshman Shelby Green led the team and the match with 15 digs while freshman Breanna Barksdale led the team with six blocks. Cincinnati recorded 43 kills, 42 assists, 51 digs and 10 blocks. The Bearcats will head to the Northeast this weekend for the start of a four-match road swing. Cincinnati will travel to Storrs, Conn., for a 7 p.m. matchup with the University of Connecticut Friday, Oct. 25 before visiting Rutgers University Sunday, Oct. 27.
Freshman receiver injured in fatal crash released to rehab facility RYAN HOFFMAN NEWS EDITOR
Mark Barr, a University of Cincinnati football player injured in a fatal car accident in September, was released from the hospital Monday. Barr, a freshman wide receiver, was moved to a rehab facility to continue his recovery after being released from University of Cincinnati Medical Center, said Ryan Koslen, UC football spokesperson, in a statement. Barr had been in the hospital since a fatal, single-vehicle accident in Butler County after the Bearcats’ Sept. 21 win against Miami University. Ben Flick, a 19-year-old offensive lineman for UC, was pronounced dead at the scene. Sean VanDyne, a MU student and the driver of the vehicle, later died from his injuries at the hospital. Freshman wide receiver Javon Harrison was also injured, but was released from the hospital three days after the crash. Barr was taken to the hospital with serious injuries and he remained in critical condition until Oct. 8 when he was upgraded to stable condition. The three UC players were redshirted and did not travel with the team to the Miami game.