Fifth-ranked Bearcats to use two QBs against Mountaineers

CINCINNATI -- Receiver Mardy Gilyard has nicknames for both of Cincinnati's quarterbacks.

Zach Collaros? He's "Joystick," a reference to the way he darts one way and then another. Tony Pike is "Pistol," inspired by how fast the ball leaves his hand.

The two very different quarterbacks have gotten the same results. They've kept fifth-ranked Cincinnati perfect (9-0, 5-0 Big East) and one victory away from setting a school record for best start.

West Virginia will get to see Joystick and Pistol on Friday night.

The Bearcats plan to let the sophomore Collaros make his fourth start in place of Pike, who hurt his non-throwing forearm on Oct. 15. Pike, a senior, will get into the game at some point, his first action since the injury. And the Mountaineers (7-2, 3-1) will be forced to deal with the Bearcats' very dynamic duo.

"They are really good with a large amount of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, so it's going to be really hard to contain them," West Virginia defensive lineman Chris Neild said. "They have Pike coming back and their backup is just as good as him, so it's going to be a tough game for us."

In different ways, Pike and Collaros have made it tough on everyone.

Pike broke his left forearm last season, got a plate inserted, and missed two games before returning and leading the Bearcats to their first Big East title. One of the highlights was his touchdown pass in overtime for a breakthrough 26-23 victory over West Virginia in Morgantown last November.

He was one of the nation's leading passers when a helmet hit to the forearm damaged the plate in South Florida on Oct. 15. Collaros came to the rescue, running for a pair of touchdowns as Cincinnati pulled away to a 34-17 victory.

He's kept the offense running at a record-setting speed.

In 3½ games as the fill-in, Collaros has completed 70 of 89 passes for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns with one interception. He also has run for 281 yards and four touchdowns. He passed for 480 yards -- the second-highest total in school history -- during a 47-45 win over Connecticut last week.

While Collaros excelled, Pike healed. He was able to practice with a protective brace last week, and will have a package of plays to run against West Virginia. The plan is to let him work off some of the rust from his three-week layoff, then get him ready during a bye week to start against Illinois on Nov. 27.

"Physically, I think I'm almost there," Pike said. "The biggest thing right now is mentally. It changes a lot from when you're in practice and in the game. We'll mix me in a little bit here and there. I think it's a good idea not to rush in there right away. I'll be able to kind of ease back into it."

For West Virginia, there's no easing in. The Mountaineers need to hold down Cincinnati's high-scoring offense -- fifth in the nation at 40 points per game -- and get big days from quarterback Jarrett Brown and running back Noel Devine, both of whom got hurt during a 17-9 win over Louisville.

Devine, the Big East's second-leading rusher, sprained an ankle and missed most of the second half. Brown missed one play with a sore foot and finished 9 of 17 for 94 yards with an interception.

"His foot was a little sprained up, but I told him, 'Hey, buddy, I want to you be alive in the pocket,'" coach Bill Stewart said. "'I want you to have fun this week. I want you to play like it's sandlot football. Just go play and have fun.' He needs to pick it up. We all need to pick it up."

The game in Morgantown last year featured one of the Big East's wildest endings. The Mountaineers scored 13 points in the last 1:11 of regulation -- safety, touchdown, onside kick recovery, field goal -- to send it to overtime. When Cincinnati pulled it out, the Bearcats were in line for the league title.

"To be honest, I don't know if everybody thought we could win that game," said Gilyard, who leads the Big East in receiving. "We knew that was a game we needed not only for ourselves, but for our program. We knew we needed to show we could compete with the big dogs in the Big East."

They've taken it one step further this season. A win on Friday would keep them in the conversation about national title contenders and set up a showdown at No. 8 Pittsburgh for the league title on Dec. 5.

"Obviously it's going to mean a lot, not just for me but the program and the guys who put in the work to see that Cincinnati's a program that can do that year-in and year-out," Pike said. "To be the first team to go 10-0 would be an amazing feat and something that's going to put our program on more of a national level and keep us in contention for the big goals we have."