Tickets| NO. 24 CINCINNATI AT NO. 11 UCF | |
| Date | Saturday, Nov. 17 | 8 p.m. ET |
| Venue | Orlando, Florida | Spectrum Stadium (44,208) |
| Preview Info | Game Notes | Press Conference Video |
| Records | Cincinnati (9-1, 5-1 AAC East) | UCF (9-0, 6-0 AAC East) |
| Head Coaches | Luke Fickell (Second Year) | Josh Heupel (First Year) |
| Series Record | UCF leads 2-1 |
| Last Meeting | Oct. 7, 2017 - No. 25 UCF won 51-23 (Recap) |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Watch | ABC | WatchESPN.com |
| Listen | 700 WLW AM | TuneIn Radio | Sirius XM & Internet 81 |
| @GoBearcatsFB | @GoBEARCATS | |
| Tickets | The game is sold out |
| Gameday Information | UCF Gameday Information Page |
CINCINNATI - The No. 24 University of Cincinnati football team heads out on the road for the final time in the regular season with a key American Athletic Conference East Division matchup at No. 11 UCF on Saturday. The Bearcats (9-1, 5-1 AAC) have won three straight and 10 of their last 11 games while the Knights are riding a 22-game winning streak, longest in the NCAA FBS, and a 13-game home winning streak. ESPN's College Gameday will broadcast from Orlando on Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to noon while the Bearcats and Knights will kick off at 8 p.m. ET in a nationally-televised matchup on ABC with radio coverage on 700 WLW AM.
THE SERIES
Saturday marks the fourth meeting in the series between the Bearcats and Knights with UCF hold a 2-1 edge, 1-0 in Orlando.
THE COACHES
Luke Fickell was named the 42nd Football Head Coach at the University of Cincinnati in December 2016. 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.
Josh Heupel is 9-0 in his first year at the helm of the UCF program. Heupel was a national-championship winning QB at Oklahoma and most recently served as the OC at Missouri, following coaching stops at Utah State, Oklahoma and Arizona.
TV: ABC
Play-by-Play: Chris Fowler Analyst: Kirk Herbstreit Sideline: Maria Taylor
Online: WatchESPN.com
RADIO: BEARCATS SPORTS NETWORK
Play-by-Play: Dan Hoard Analyst: Jim Kelly Jr. Sideline Reporter: Tony Pike Host/Engineer: Mo Egger
Local: 700 WLW AM Satellite: Sirius, XM, Internet 81
Online: TuneIn Radio
RADIO: WESTWOOD ONE
Play-by-Play: Ryan Radtke Analyst: Derek Rackley
Online: Tunein.com
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 the NCAA FBS. UC has won a league title five times in the last 11 years and will play in its 10th bowl games in the last 13 seasons.
- With eight wins on the year, UC is bowl eligible for the first time since 2015 when the Bearcats played in the Hawai'i Bowl.
- One of the youngest teams in the country, UC is made up of 72-percent underclassmen, including 35 true freshmen. The Bearcats feature players from 16 states and five countries with 64 of 112 student-athletes hailing from Ohio and 24 from the Cincinnati area.
- UC is 9-1 on the season and 4-1 on the road, equaling the most wins away from home since 2014. It's the best start to a season for the Bearcats since 2009 when the team went 12-0 during the regular season.
- The Bearcats are defeating opponents by an average of 20.1 ppg, which includes home wins over Alabama A&M, Ohio, Tulane, Navy and USF along with road triumphs at UCLA, Miami (OH), UConn and SMU.
- UC has 11 wins over ranked opponents since knocking off No. 7 Rutgers by a 30-11 margin at Nippert Stadium on Nov. 18, 2006.
- UC is No. 24 (College Football Playoff), No. 19 (Associated Press) and No. 20 (Amway/USA Today Coaches Poll) this week. It's the Bearcats first-ever CFP poll appearance, highest AP ranking since 2009 (No. 9) and highest coaches poll rank since Oct. 14, 2012 (18).
- UC leads the NCAA FBS in net punting and ranks among the Top-20 teams in 3rd-down conversion pct. defense (2), first downs defense (5), total defense (6), 4th-down conversion pct. defense (6), scoring defense (7), team passing efficiency defense (9), rushing defense (11), time of possession (11), passing yards allowed (15), rushing offense (17) and 3rd-down conversion percentage (17).
- UC leads the American in rushing defense, scoring defense, total defense, pass defense efficiency, punting, fewest opponent first downs, opponent 3rd-down conversions, while ranking No. 2 in pass defense, opponent 4th-down conversions and time of possession.
- UC has 31 rushing touchdowns on the year, more than doubling last year's total of 11. RB Michael Warren II has 17 of those 28 scores.
- Warren has rushed for 1,082 yards on the season, a school-record overall 18 TDs and a school-record tying 17 rushing scores.
- QB Desmond Ridder has completed 63.9 percent of his passes in eight starts, throwing for 1,897 yards, 15 TDs and adding another 497 yards rushing along with five more scores.
- DT Cortez Broughton, the AAC Defensive POTW a week ago, ranks No. 5 in the American in sacks (0.55 per game) and no. 2 in tackles for loss (1.65 per game). His season numbers (5.5 sacks, 16.5 TFL) surpass his career numbers entering 2018 (3.5 sacks, 10 TFL).
- P James Smith is No. 6 in the NCAA FBS and No. 2 in the AAC averaging 46.6 ypp. He had a career-long 72-yard boot at Temple.
UC football fans are encouraged to join head coach Luke Fickell, Dan Hoard and Jim Kelly Jr. at the Original Montgomery Inn on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018 from 8-9 p.m. ET for the weekly Luke Fickell Radio Show. The Original Montgomery Inn is located at 9440 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242-7683. Call (513) 791-3482 for reservations to the show. The event is open to all fans. Audience participation is encouraged and weekly giveaways are planned. Fans can listen online at iheart.com and through 700 WLW and ESPN 1530's iHeartRadio app. For those who can't catch the program live, a podcast of the weekly program will be made available free of charge on 700WLW.com.
// BUY TICKETS NOW!
Tickets for UC's home finale against ECU are available for as little as $29. Call 1-877-CATS-TIX or visit GoBEARCATS.com/tickets to make your purchase today!
// SEASON TICKET DEPOSITS
New season ticket deposits for the 2019 season are available now for $50 per seat. The home schedule consists of matchups against UCLA, Miami (OH), UCF, ECU, Temple, UConn along with additional American Athletic Conference foes from the West Division. Click HERE to make your deposit to join us in Nippert Stadium in 2019!
If you have 2018 season tickets you do not need to place a deposit as you will receive renewal information at a later date.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati football, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati football (@GoBearcatsFB) and Coach Fickell (@CoachFick) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.