Football Faces SMU Saturday In Homecoming Game At Nippert Stadium

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CINCINNATI BEARCATS (2-5, 0-3 American)
Head Coach: Luke Fickell
Record at Cincinnati: 2-5 (First Year)
Overall Record: 8-12 (Second Year)

SMU MUSTANGS (4-2, 1-1 American)
Head Coach: Chad Morris
Record at SMU: 11-19 (Third Year)
Overall Record: Same

GAME INFORMATION
Live Stats: Click Here
Facility: Nippert Stadium
Capacity/Surface: 40,000/UBU Speed Series M-6M
TV: ESPNU/WatchESPN (Click HERE To Watch)
Radio: 700 WLW AM, Sirius 157, XM 202, Internet 962
Online: TuneIn.com
Series Record: Cincinnati leads 2-0
At Cincinnati: Cincinnati leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 18, 2014 - UC won 41-3

FOOTBALL FACES SMU SATURDAY IN HOMECOMING GAME AT NIPPERT STADIUM
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati football team faces SMU on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m. ET inside Nippert Stadium. The Bearcats' annual homecoming contest will air on ESPNU and 700 WLW AM. UC is looking to snap a four-game slide overall and a seven-game streak in American Athletic Conference matchups. SMU, who ranks as the No. 2 offense in the league, putting up 506.7 yards per game and scoring 43.8 points per game, is 4-2 (1-1 American) and coming off a bye week.

THE SERIES
Saturday marks only the third meeting in the series between cross-divisional foes and first since 2014. UC holds a 2-0 advantage winning a 2013 game at Nippert Stadium and a 2014 matchup at Ford Stadium in Dallas. 

THE COACHES
Luke Fickell was named the 42nd Football Head Coach at the University of Cincinnati in December 2017. He took the reins of UC's program after spending 15 years at his alma mater, Ohio State. An 18-year coaching veteran at the FBS level, Fickell was a part of nine Big Ten Conference titles (seven as a coach, two as a player) and two national championship squads with 15 postseason games and 12 NFL Draft selections under his belt.

Chad Morris is in his third season at the SMU helm with a school and career record of 11-19. Before joining the Mustangs, Morris was the offensive coordinator at Clemson (2011-14), spent the 2010 season at Tulsa and was a prep head coach in Texas for 16 years at five different schools.

STREAKS, STORYLINES, SIDEBARS ...

• The University of Cincinnati football team plays its 130th season in 2017. The program dates to 1885 and is one of the 10 oldest in major college football. UC has won a league title in five of the last 10 seasons and played in a bowl game nine time in the past 11 years. 
• UC is one of 30 NCAA FBS teams with 100 wins since 2005. The Bearcats' .667 winning percentage since 2007 ranks among the Top-20 teams in the NCAA FBS, winning at least nine games seven times in the last 11 years.
• The Bearcats returned to Nippert Stadium in 2015 after a 20 month, $86-million renovation and drew 222,578 fans in the first year back at Nippert Stadium, a single-season record average of 37, 096. The Oct. 24, 2015 attendance of 40,124 was the largest in Nippert Stadium history. The previous stadium record was 40,101 set on Oct. 1 against Miami (Fla.).
• UC won back-to-back American Athletic Conference FB Team Academic Excellence Awards in 2015 & 2016.
• UC had 28 players take the field for the first time during the opening three games of the 2017 season.
• Almost sixty-nine percent of UC's roster (77 of 112) is made of up freshmen, RS freshmen and sophomores.
• Since defeating Miami (Ohio) Sept. 16, Cincinnati has not had a lead in its last four games.
• Cincinnati has dropped four straight games overall and seven consecutive American Athletic Conference games, dating to last year.
• UC's next opponent, SMU and its first three league foes, Navy, UCF and USF rank as four of the Top-5 teams in the American Athletic Conference in total offense and all rank in the Top-18 of the NCAA FBS. Navy and USF rank No. 1 & No. 8, respectively, in the NCAA in rushing offense. No. 16/13 USF and No. 20 UCF are both ranked and Navy is receiving votes in both polls.
• UC's offense has struggled early in games this season, being outscored 65-27 in the first quarter.
• The Bearcats have found success against the American's best defensive units, setting season highs in nearly every offensive category at Navy, including 439 yards of total offense on what was then the No. 2 defense in the American. UCF entered its game against UC ranked No. 1 in the AAC in scoring defense and No. 2 in total defense and gave up a season-high 23 points and 396 yards of total offense to UC.
• UC's defense held USF, which entered the game as the No. 5 rushing offense in the country, to it's lowest yards per rush total against an FBS opponent and its fewest offensive touchdowns (2) in 2017.
• LB Jaylyin Minor has averaged 10.3 tackles per game, hitting for double-digits in five of seven contests, leading The American.
• QB Ross Trail came in the USF game on UC's first drive of the fourth quarter. It marked the first time in 2017 a QB other than Hayden Moore took a snap from under center, a span of 456 plays. Moore finished 16-of-28 for 147 yards and an INT. Trail was 5-of-9 for 31 yards.