TicketsA rivalry that's existed for as long as the Battle for the Victory Bell will naturally go through many phases.
That first meeting, played in the freezing rain in December 1888, was the first collegiate game in Ohio's history. Neither team had uniforms. Miami's squad included members of the faculty. The game ended in a scoreless tie, but it was enough to establish bad blood to last more than a hundred games and counting.
By 1917 the rivalry was already entering its 24th meeting as America found itself in the throes of the first World War. The Bearcats, shorthanded with many of their players enlisted, grappled with the worst team in program history. The rivals traditionally met during the final week of the season. Miami entered 5-0-2, having not allowed a single point all year. Cincinnati, meanwhile, was still searching for their first points of the season. "Over Carson Field hung a cloud of gloom," reads the 1918 yearbook. "About the campus lurked a suspicion of inevitable defeat."
The game went predictably, with Miami winning 40-0. "Of Course Miami Won The Game, But Cincinnati Held Them To Mere 40 Points," read the headline in the next morning's Cincinnati Enquirer. Miami took an 11-10-3 edge in the series, and the Bearcats haven't reclaimed it in the 104 years since.
Saturday's 125th Battle for the Victory Bell featured a similar cloud of doom. The Bearcats wasted no time providing the thunder. On the game's second play, QB Desmond Ridder went over the top for an 81-yard strike to WR Tyler Scott, sending tremors through the same Carson Field earth on which the two teams have squared off for more than a century.
By halftime the score was 35-0 in favor of Cincinnati, Ridder had found the end zone four times, and the Bearcats were already hearing that Victory Bell ring for the 15th consecutive time in favor of Cincinnati. Final score: Cincinnati Bearcats 49, Miami RedHawks 14.
Those 1917 Bearcats finished 15th in the Ohio Athletic Conference. These Bearcats find themselves 8th in the country, flirting with history and picking at the foundation of the college football paradigm. Ridder's five-touchdown performance was the opening act in what many expect to be a dark-horse Heisman campaign. He's got the support of several projected high-end draft picks, one of the most sought-after coaches in America, and 40,000 full-throated fans at Nippert Stadium each week. What a difference a century makes.
The series now stands at 59-59-7, the first tie since 1953. A win next season would give Cincinnati its first series lead since 1915.
Much has been said about the mountain this program has climbed into the past two decades. Those raucous students packed into the south end zone bleachers don't remember a time when Nippert sat empty for seasons on end or when football players spent four years on campus without so much as sniffing a bowl game. None of them remember UC staring down a 15-game deficit in this series, either. Luke Fickell and these Bearcats keep finding more peaks to summit, and what lies ahead in 2021 could be their most exhilarating yet. UP NEXT The Bearcats return to Nippert Stadium Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. ET kick against Murray State, the first football meeting between the two schools. Less than 1,200 tickets remain as Cincinati looks to complete the sellout of each of its first three home games.
Buy tickets HERE.
That first meeting, played in the freezing rain in December 1888, was the first collegiate game in Ohio's history. Neither team had uniforms. Miami's squad included members of the faculty. The game ended in a scoreless tie, but it was enough to establish bad blood to last more than a hundred games and counting.
By 1917 the rivalry was already entering its 24th meeting as America found itself in the throes of the first World War. The Bearcats, shorthanded with many of their players enlisted, grappled with the worst team in program history. The rivals traditionally met during the final week of the season. Miami entered 5-0-2, having not allowed a single point all year. Cincinnati, meanwhile, was still searching for their first points of the season. "Over Carson Field hung a cloud of gloom," reads the 1918 yearbook. "About the campus lurked a suspicion of inevitable defeat."
The game went predictably, with Miami winning 40-0. "Of Course Miami Won The Game, But Cincinnati Held Them To Mere 40 Points," read the headline in the next morning's Cincinnati Enquirer. Miami took an 11-10-3 edge in the series, and the Bearcats haven't reclaimed it in the 104 years since.
Saturday's 125th Battle for the Victory Bell featured a similar cloud of doom. The Bearcats wasted no time providing the thunder. On the game's second play, QB Desmond Ridder went over the top for an 81-yard strike to WR Tyler Scott, sending tremors through the same Carson Field earth on which the two teams have squared off for more than a century.
Nippert Stadium decibel record just got broken. 😳 pic.twitter.com/v1DMFnIvT0
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) September 4, 2021
By halftime the score was 35-0 in favor of Cincinnati, Ridder had found the end zone four times, and the Bearcats were already hearing that Victory Bell ring for the 15th consecutive time in favor of Cincinnati. Final score: Cincinnati Bearcats 49, Miami RedHawks 14.
Those 1917 Bearcats finished 15th in the Ohio Athletic Conference. These Bearcats find themselves 8th in the country, flirting with history and picking at the foundation of the college football paradigm. Ridder's five-touchdown performance was the opening act in what many expect to be a dark-horse Heisman campaign. He's got the support of several projected high-end draft picks, one of the most sought-after coaches in America, and 40,000 full-throated fans at Nippert Stadium each week. What a difference a century makes.
Some energy in the building today. Keep it going, @BearcatsRuckus! 😤 pic.twitter.com/4akVQ637Hc
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) September 4, 2021
The series now stands at 59-59-7, the first tie since 1953. A win next season would give Cincinnati its first series lead since 1915.
Much has been said about the mountain this program has climbed into the past two decades. Those raucous students packed into the south end zone bleachers don't remember a time when Nippert sat empty for seasons on end or when football players spent four years on campus without so much as sniffing a bowl game. None of them remember UC staring down a 15-game deficit in this series, either. Luke Fickell and these Bearcats keep finding more peaks to summit, and what lies ahead in 2021 could be their most exhilarating yet. UP NEXT The Bearcats return to Nippert Stadium Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. ET kick against Murray State, the first football meeting between the two schools. Less than 1,200 tickets remain as Cincinati looks to complete the sellout of each of its first three home games.
Buy tickets HERE.