Think times are sideways surrounding Cincinnati's quarterback quandary? Flip to the other side of the field and Bearcats head coach Brian Kelly finds another depth chart shuffle.

Starting four different quarterbacks in the past five games has dominated storylines in the Queen City. Cincinnati's secondary equally is uncertain, however, transforming team strength to troubling question mark.

Following is the rest of the story.

Entering the season, Cincy's Mike Mickens and DeAngelo Smith were ranked among the nation's top cornerback tandems. Smith, however, shifted to free safety, a move prompted by need and Brandon Underwood was inserted at cornerback.

Smith now is returning to corner and Underwood will line up at free safety Friday when Marshall (3-2, 2-0 Conference USA) and the Bearcats (3-1, 0-0 Big East) clash at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Kickoff is 8 p.m. and ESPN will televise the game.

Compounding concerns, Drew Frey, making his first start at strong safety, suffered a broken forearm in Saturday's 17-15 victory over Akron. The redshirt freshman underwent surgery Monday and will be out for at least five weeks.

Uncertainty is translated on the stat sheet. Cincinnati is allowing more than 257 passing yards a game and opponents have thrown for nine touchdowns.

"We have struggled in the passing game, so we're obviously very concerned in terms of shoring up ourselves relative to the passing game," Kelly said. "That's going to really be a point of emphasis. Even if we weren't playing Marshall this week, our concern and where we can be better (defensively) is the passing game."

Lack of a pass rush (six sacks in four games, three coming last week) certainly hasn't aided secondary struggles. Defensive end Connor Barwin, a converted tight end, accounts for half of UC's sacks, but defensive coordinator Joe Tresey otherwise is rotating pass rushers, attempting to establish a productive mix.

GARNER, ANDERSON SPLIT TIME: Junior quarterback Jonathan Garner shared Marshall second team snaps with Brian Anderson on Monday. Garner primarily has been slotted as the Herd's No. 3 signal-caller, with Anderson as Mark Cann's top backup. Anderson has completed four of seven passes for 28 yards with one interception; Garner has not appeared in a game this season.

ROGERS REBOUNDS: Cincinnati place-kicker Jake Rogers responded well to his temporary demotion. After missing two extra points against Eastern Kentucky, Rogers was replaced by walk-on Brandon Yingling. Since his return, Rogers has connected on each of his two field goal attempts, including last week's game-winner against Akron and eight straight extra point attempts.

WHITE OUT: Signage promoting Friday's "White Out" is prevalent throughout Huntington, but in case it's gotten away from you, Marshall is conducting just that. Fans are encouraged to wear white Marshall clothing for the Cincinnati game and the first 7,500 fans at the gates will receive free white Marshall T-shirts.

The first 1,000 students will receive white rally towels.

QB CLUB: Today's Huntington Quarterback Club meeting will feature Marshall head football coach Mark Snyder, strength and conditioning coach Mike Cochran and strength and conditioning graduate assistant Scott Wilkes. Doors open at Pullman Plaza Hotel at 11:30 a.m. and the event begins at noon.

Anthony Hanshew covers Marshall football for The Herald-Dispatch. He can be reached at 526-2766. His e-mail address is hanshew@herald-dispatch.com.

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