Tickets| CINCINNATI AT UCLA | |
| Date | Saturday, Sept. 1 | 7 p.m. ET |
| Venue | Pasadena, California | Rose Bowl (80,616) |
| Preview Info | Game Notes | Press Conference Video |
| Records | Cincinnati (0-0) | UCLA (0-0) |
| Head Coaches | Luke Fickell (Second Year) | Chip Kelly (First Year) |
| Series Record | First Meeting |
| Last Meeting | First Meeting |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Watch | ESPN | ESPN App |
| Listen | 700 WEBN FM | TuneIn Radio |
| @GoBearcatsFB | @GoBEARATS | |
| Tickets | Buy Tickets | Gameday Information | Clear Bag Policy |
CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati football team opens the 2018 season on the road, heading to Pasadena, California to face UCLA in the Rose Bowl. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN with radio coverage on 102.7 WEBN FM. The two programs are squaring off for the first time in a home-and-home series which will see the Bruins open 2019 at Nippert Stadium.
THE SERIES
The Bearcats and Bruins are meeting for the first time on the gridiron.
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. A veteran of nearly 20 years coaching 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.
Chip Kelly, a 27-year coaching veteran at both the professional and collegiate levels, is in his first season at UCLA. Kelly was an analyst at ESPN in 2017 and served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers (2016). He also was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15) following four seasons as head coach at the University of Oregon (2009-12) where he posted a record of 46-7.
STREAKS, STORYLINES, SIDEBARS ...
- The University of Cincinnati football team plays its 131st season in 2018. The program dates to 1885 and is one of the 10 oldest in major college football. UC has won a league title five times in the last 11 years and played in nine bowl games in the last 12 seasons.
- Entering 2018, UC is one of 36 NCAA FBS teams with 100 wins since 2005. The Bearcats' .638 winning percentage since 2007 ranks among the Top-30 teams in the NCAA FBS, winning at least nine games seven times in the last 12 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-to-back American Athletic Conference FB Team Academic Excellence Awards in 2015, 2016 & 2017.
- UC was picked fourth in the American Athletic Conference Preseason poll and is the only team in the conference to return its leading rusher (Gerrid Doaks), passer (Hayden Moore) and receiver (Kahlil Lewis) from the 2017 season.
- Almost sixty-nine percent of UC's roster (77 of 112) is made of up freshmen, RS freshmen and sophomores.
- UC is one of the five youngest teams in college football, featuring 81 underclassmen (29 sophomores, 17 redshirt freshmen, 35 true freshmen) on its 112-person roster.
- The 2018 roster is composed of student-athletes from 16 states and five countries. Sixty-four Bearcats hail from Ohio, with 24 from Cincinnati, followed in order by Florida (10), Georgia (9), Indiana (6), Illinois (4), Kentucky (4), Virginia (4), Alabama (3), Michigan (2) with single players from California, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.
- UC returns 13 starters including All-American Athletic Conference selections DE Cortez Broughton, DT Marquise Copeland and P James Smith along with a highly-touted signing class which ranked atop the American and included 15 signees from Ohio and 19 from the 300-mile radius surrounding UC's campus.
- The Bearcats added several transfers to the roster including: grad transfers LB Tinashe Bere (Duke), OL Dino Boyd (Rhode Island), CB Cameron Jefferies (Bowling Green) and transfers OL Darius Harper (Miami OH) and WR Aulden Knight (Hampton).
- The coaching staff added Special Teams Coordinator Brian Mason, cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens and defensive line coach Steve Stripling. On the offensive side of the ball, coordinator Mike Denbrock shifted over to tight ends, Gino Guidugli moved over to quarterbacks and Doug Phillips shifted to running backs.