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Football Heads To New Orleans For Tulane Matchup

The University of Cincinnati football team returns to action on Saturday, traveling to New Orleans to face the Green Wave in Yulman Stadium.

Football Heads To New Orleans For Tulane MatchupFootball Heads To New Orleans For Tulane Matchup
CINCINNATI AT TULANE
Date Saturday, Nov. 4 | 4 p.m. ET
Venue New Orleans, La. | Yulman Stadium (30,000)
Preview Info  Game Notes | Press Conference Video | Teleconference Audio
Records Cincinnati (2-6, 0-4 American) | Tulane (3-5, 1-3 American)
Head Coaches Luke Fickell (First Year) | Willie Fritz (Second Year)
Series Record Tulane Leads 11-4 and 7-2 in New Orleans
Last Meeting UC won 38-14 on Oct. 31, 2014
Live Stats Live Stats
Watch ESPN3 | ESPN App
Listen 700 WLW AM | TuneIn Radio
Twitter @GoBearcatsFB | @GoBEARCATS
Tickets Buy Tickets | Fan Guide

CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati football team returns to action on Saturday, traveling to New Orleans to face the Green Wave in Yulman Stadium. Cincinnati (2-6, 0-4 AAC East) is coming off a 31-28 OT loss to SMU on Oct. 21. The Bearcats have dropped five-in-a-row with the losses coming to teams who have a combined 2017 record of 29-5. Tulane (3-5, 1-3 AAC West) is on a three-game slide of its own.

THE SERIES
Saturday's game marks the 16th game in a series that dates to 1909. Tulane has gotten the better of UC, holding an 11-4 all-time advantage, but the Bearcats have won two of three, including the last matchup at Yulman Stadiun in 2014. 

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.

Willie Fritz is in his second season at Tulane and his 25th season has a college head coach. Prior to joining the Green Wave in late 2015, Fritz was the head coach at Georgia Southern (2014-15), Sam Houston State (2010-13), Central Missouri (1997-2009) and Blinn College (1993-96). He was tabbed as the American Football Coaches Association FCS Coach of the Year in 2011 and the Liberty Mutual FCS Coach of the Year in 2012.

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.
  • Cincinnati has dropped five straight games overall and eight consecutive American Athletic Conference games, dating to last year.
  • The Bearcats started conference play with four of the top offenses in the league who shared a combined record of 25-5 while its last four foes of 2017 currently sit at 11-20.
  • UC's offense has struggled early in games this season, being outscored 79-37 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. SMU came in to Nippert Stadium averaging 43.8 points per game, the No. 6 scoring offense in the country and were held to their lowest point total of the 2017 season and almost 12 points below their season-scoring average.
  • LB Jaylyin Minor has averaged 10.0 tackles per game, hitting for double-digits in five of seven contests, leading The American.
  • UC rushed for a season high 249 yards against SMU and fell in overtime, only the Bearcats second loss since 2007 when rushing for 200 or more yards (35-2). RB Gerrid Doaks avearaged on just nine carries, averaging 10.1 yards per rush with a career-long run of 45 yards just before the half.
  • WR Kahlil Lewis had a season-high 10 receptions for 72 yards against SMU, one off his career high of 11.