The 'Canes won that one by 32, 45-13. Saturday, they only won by 26, 38-12. Things are looking up in Clifton. UC has a few games a year to hook you as a Bearcat fan. One or two games a season to capture your imagination, your trust, your belief and your butt in the stands.
People here have other things to do.
If you are UC and you would like to fill more than 20,000 of your 35,000 seats, you need to win games such as the one Saturday. Or at least be in the ballgame in the late innings. Failing at that only hardens the local skepticism. Which, after lo these many years, is hard enough to smash diamonds. After 12-38, the only conclusion you draw is that the Bearcats are backsliding, and that spending a Saturday with them is like whacking your thumb with a ballpeen hammer.