Tickets"Miami's So Sorry For U.C." reads a headline on page six of the November 29, 1916 edition of the Cincinnati Post, above ads for Fatima's "sensible cigarettes," Talbot Arrow Collars, and Sam Becker Tailoring Co.
Cincinnati and Miami first met in 1888—the state of Ohio's first intercollegiate football game. After a tie in the first meeting, Miami dominated the rivalry's early years, winning five of the next six games and holding UC to just ten total points. But the tides quickly turned, with Cincinnati recording a 9-1-1 stretch. "Cocky little Miami had been coming around and trouncing us with rather irritating regularity," the 1911 yearbook recalled. "Ah, what an exquisite contrast."
But before long, World War I arrived, and several of Cincinnati's best players left to serve, swinging momentum back to Miami for the first time since the 19th century. Following the Battle of Columbus in 1916, more than 100,000 troops were sent to the U.S.-Mexico border, among them star tackles Carl Kibler and Daniel Fries, critical pieces of the UC defense.
Adding insult to injury, following the 1915 season, Cincinnati head coach George Little packed his bags and headed up to Oxford. He piloted Miami to a 6-0-1 record to open the 1916 season. In the finale, MU—sick of years of taunts from UC—was primed to unload its pent-up anger in what everyone knew would be a lopsided Thanksgiving Day matchup. It was to be a flag planting, a statement in the rivalry.
"Miami is so sorry Cincinnati is so weak this year," that Cincinnati Post column reads. "But they have said they intend to run up as big a score as it is possible to make."
They did. Cincinnati fumbled the opening kickoff, and it was all downhill from there. Miami showed no mercy, racking up a 33-0 lead. When UC attempted to put points on the board with a pathetic fourth-quarter field goal attempt, they missed. "It was a combat of fumbles, foozies, and funny formations," chimed the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Miami's 11th Victory Bell win gave them the edge in the rivalry. They wouldn't relinquish it for 106 years.
🕺 @cvsh_3 pic.twitter.com/nTzvdW0CPK
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) September 17, 2022
The Bearcats tipped the scales back in red and black favor on Saturday, falling into an early hole before roaring back with 31 unanswered points to close the game, holding the RedHawks to a mere 67 total yards in the second half.
Ben Bryant continued his command of the passing game, completing his first 12 attempts and heaping yards upon wide receivers Tre Tucker and Tyler Scott, who formed the first 100-yard receiving duo of the Luke Fickell era for UC.
More than 30,000 fans filled downtown Paycor Stadium in what was a Miami home game, according to the box score. It was a gorgeous (if sweaty) day in Cincinnati. Oktoberfest took a back seat while everyone came out to see the Battle for the Victory Bell, perhaps the only thing that can match the festival's civic tradition.
Nothing in life is constant, but Cincinnati has played Miami 126 times, so that's close. Luke Fickell values the rivalry. So does John Cunningham. We all should. Tradition is a blessing. College football is built on shifting ground, but we've been gifted a rivalry that spans the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. It's survived two world wars and two global pandemics. During the rivalry, an alumnus from each school served as President of the United States. Since the first Battle for the Victory Bell, humans flew at Kitty Hawk, put a man on the moon, and sent a rover to Mars.
That should mean something.
It meant a lot to the Bearcats who fought to win it Saturday. It meant a lot to Gino Guidugli, who slugged out his first rivalry win as a senior in 2004. It meant a lot to Greg Cook, who engineered a miraculous victory in 1968 before being selected fifth overall in the NFL Draft. It meant a lot to the 30,000 fans who filled Nippert Stadium on Thanksgiving Day 1946 to see the Bearcats squeeze out a 13-7 thriller in the rivalry's golden years. It meant a lot to Jimmy Nippert, who gave his life playing Miami in 1923.
And it meant a lot to those 1916 Bearcats, shorthanded as they were, who lost the series lead, unaware that generations of Cincinnatians would have to fight to win it back.
It took 16 consecutive victories, but the Bearcats are back in the driver's seat. The Victory Bell rang a little sweeter on Saturday.
View this post on InstagramUp Next The Bearcats return to Nippert Stadium Saturday to face unbeaten Indiana. Tickets are sold out, but fans looking to get into the game can find options at StubHub––the official secondary ticket provider of the Bearcats––HERE.