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West Virginia freshman linebacker Branko Busick said his best friend and Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros "has no flaws."
Busick’s Mountaineer teammates will find out for themselves tonight when West Virginia travels to No. 4 Cincinnati for a Big East Conference showdown at UC’s Nippert Stadium.
Game time is set for 8 p.m.
"Whenever Zach’s on the field, he’s effective," Busick said, who was teammates with Collaros for two years at Steubenville High School (Ohio). "He can pretty much do it all."
Collaros will start his fourth straight game at quarterback tonight for the Bearcats (9-0, 5-0 Big East) and has made Busick’s statements look accurate thus far. The redshirt sophomore has completed 89 percent of his passes and has thrown for 1,100 yards in his three starts this season.
Collaros entered the role in the Bearcat’s win over South Florida on Oct. 15 when starter Tony Pike went down with a forearm injury.
But while Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly said Collaros will start, he also said Pike will still play in certain situations, causing West Virginia to prepare for both quarterbacks.
Mountaineer safety Robert Sands said the team has prepared more for Collaros but feels it matches up better against Pike because it doesn’t worry about the threat of scrambling.
Both, Sands said, are effective because they take advantage of their opponent’s mistakes.
"They capitalize off of people’s mistakes so if we limit our mistakes we should be OK," Sands said. "We can’t give up (the big play); they strive off plays like that.
"They have a good offense but they don’t put any fear in my heart."
The signal callers aren’t the only weapons the Bearcats feature on offense as three of the Big East’s top 10 receivers reign from first-place Cincinnati including senior Mardy Gilyard.
Gilyard is averaging 7.2 catches and 100 yards receiving per game while Armon Binns and D.J. Woods are also averaging over 55 yards receiving a game.
"They have guys that can stretch the field, and they have guys that can roll to the middle," said WVU head coach Bill Stewart. "Kelly brought an offensive flair that has a shine to it. It has a swagger. He has those kids believe, and they are playing very well."
But while the Bearcats’ offense gets all the attention, the UC defense is "overlooked," according to West Virginia offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen. Cincinnati leads the country in both pass efficiency (171.84), and tackles for loss (8.89) while also ranking inside the top 15 nationally in sacks, turnover margin and scoring defense.
The Bearcats’ 47-45 win over Connecticut last week was the first time the team allowed more than 20 points all season.
"We really have to step it up like five different notches from how it’s been, and we know that," said WVU nose tackle Chris Neild. "They’re undefeated and one of the top ranked teams. We’re going to give them our best shot."
The Mountaineers are 14-2-1 all-time against the Bearcats with their only losses coming in Morgantown last season and in 2003.
West Virginia has outscored UC 147-61 at Nippert Stadium.
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