Samuel dismisses talk of a blowout

~ Cincinnati tied for fourth place in the Big East last year with an 8-5 record.

Tony Samuel realizes that Southeast Missouri State will open the season at Division I-A Cincinnati tonight as a heavy underdog.

But as much respect as Southeast's second-year coach has for the Bearcats, he knows they are no Arkansas, circa 2006.

Samuel believes Southeast has a shot at hanging with a team from a BCS conference that is paying the Redhawks a considerable amount of money for an expected spanking.

That wasn't the case last year, when Samuel's first Southeast squad played at powerful Arkansas of the Southeastern Conference. The Razorbacks were ranked 17th nationally at the time.

It wasn't pretty as Arkansas, which paid Southeast $300,000 -- the money went to the university's general athletic department revenue, as will the $250,000 that Cincinnati is shelling out -- romped 63-7.

Prior to that October game last season, Samuel was honest about facing the Razorbacks, calling it "a total mismatch."

He doesn't seem to feel that way about Cincinnati, from the Big East Conference, although the Bearcats did go 8-5 last year, beat Western Michigan in the International Bowl and handed nationally ranked Rutgers one of its two losses.

Cincinnati, which tied for fourth place in the eight-team Big East last year, is expected to finish in the middle of the pack. Sports Illustrated rated the Bearcats 56th among 119 Division I-A squads.

"Arkansas was a great, nationally ranked team, very talented, just the cream of the cream," Samuel said. "Cincinnati is a very good team ... talented.

"This is a game we can hang in there. The question with a young football team is: How long? If we execute, we can play with them. If we execute, we'll have our chances. This is not a game I would want to concede."

Still, Samuel knows that the odds are stacked against the rebuilding Redhawks, who feature an extremely young and inexperienced roster.

Southeast went 4-7 last year, including 2-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference. That was actually the most overall wins Southeast has compiled since 2003. The program is 14-31 the past four years and has only two winning records in 16 Division I-AA seasons.

On the other hand, Cincinnati is coming off its best season since 1997 and returns plenty of experience, including seven starters on offense and seven starters on defense from a unit that ranked 31st nationally in total defense.

"It's a very big challenge for us," Samuel said.

Despite everything Southeast appears to have going against it, Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly vows that his team will not overlook the Redhawks -- even though most Bearcats fans are already pointing to the Sept. 6 home date with touted Oregon State.

"I think you're always concerned about that," said Kelly, who took over at Cincinnati prior to last season's bowl game after Mark Dantonio left for Michigan State. "But I know anybody is capable of beating anybody, and you have to be prepared to play.

"I think I'd be more concerned if it was in the middle of the season. This is an opener, and everybody is excited to play."

Kelly, who turned around Central Michigan's program in three years before taking the Cincinnati job, has brought a wide-open, no-huddle offensive attack to the Bearcats.

Starting at quarterback will be Wake Forest transfer Ben Mauk, even though the Bearcats returned their regular signal caller from a year ago -- Dustin Grutza, who threw for more than 1,800 yards.

"It wasn't an easy decision," Kelly said. "But he [Mauk] has looked good."

The Bearcats return their top rusher, Greg Moore (709 yards), and receiver, Dominick Goodman (40 catches).

Cincinnati's top returning defender, first-team all-Big East lineman Terrill Byrd, will not play tonight after he was suspended for violating the team's missed class policy.

Southeast is 1-11 against Division I-A opponents since moving to Division I-AA in 1991, the lone victory being 24-14 at Middle Tennessee State in 2002.

But Middle Tennessee competes in the low-level Sun Belt Conference, which is quite a few notches below the Big East.

Samuel just hopes the Bearcats are several notches below Arkansas.