Desmond Ridder Can Improve in One Key Area for the Bearcats

Cincinnati enters Saturday's game against Tulsa with an 8-0 record.

Author:
Jeff Carr
Nov 5, 2021 8:21 AM EDT

The College Football Playoff Committee is doing what they can to drain enjoyment from your season, Bearcats fans. If you let them, they will even pull the wool over your eyes and blind you from the greatness of Desmond Ridder.

Early on in the season there was some Heisman hype around Ridder. He then proceeded to turn in a 20-for-25, 295-yard, four touchdown performance against Miami and the bar was effectively moved to a spot so high that Asgardians were aware of it.

He hasn't replicated that performance, but posting an 80% completion percentage every week would make him the best quarterback ever.

Part of the reason you’re not seeing gaudy yardage totals or touchdown numbers on a weekly basis with Ridder is because Luke Fickell wants to run the ball much more than pass it. I’d be surprised if there is a game the rest of the year that Ridder gets close to 40 passing attempts (a feat he’s not yet done this year).

Instead of looking at volume, let's look at his efficiency.

He’s top-50 in completion percentage for the season (63.6%), 26th in the country in adjusted passing yards per attempt at 9.0 and there are 67 quarterbacks who have thrown more interceptions. Yet it feels like fans have a consensus feeling that they want him to play better. There is one specific way that he can accomplish that and it’s with his feet.

Ridder ran for at least 583 yards in each of his first three seasons. This year, more than halfway into the season, he has 171 rushing yards.

Whether it’s about treating him with kid gloves, or whatever the reason is, it needs to change. The best version of the Bearcats offense is with Ridder being a big part of the running game.

If the Bearcat coaching staff takes off those rushing restraints, Ridder and the offense will head back out into the galaxy of scoring that we all expected at the beginning of this season.

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