TicketsWhen the Bearcats set out for the season back at Camp Higher Ground three months and 60 degrees ago, the mission was as simple as it's ever been: Compete for a championship. The Bearcats had the talent, and, despite not being picked to win the conference in the preseason, we figured if things clicked into place, they'd be in a position to do just that.
These are not the Bearcats of 2021. The difference is evident in looking at the names on the roster, but it's also apparent in the resume. Missing are the tentpole wins of Indiana or Notre Dame. There hasn't been a bone-rattling blowout like Temple, UCF, or SMU. And, understandably, nobody has emerged as a Heisman dark horse or potential top-five pick.
This season has yet to look like many had hoped. We wanted the season-opening win at Arkansas, which was within Cincinnati grasp but ultimately too big to wrangle. Certainly, nobody wanted to break the three-game win streak against UCF, bringing a bitter end to the AAC run of dominance that started in 2019. And, of course, nobody wanted to turn every conference game into a hair-raising thrill ride. (Cincinnati's margin of victory in its first five AAC victories was a narrow 5.6 points per game.)
📍 Lincoln Financial Field#Bearcats pic.twitter.com/BnMl13bdyg
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) November 19, 2022
Yet this is a sport where culture and leadership are kings. The Bearcats do what needs to be done. They approach every game expecting to win and refuse to surrender home turf. They've lost key contributors to injury and have plugged those holes and kept pushing. And so, with a bit of help from their friends at the U.S. Naval Academy, this wily group sits firmly in the conference's driver's seat, controlling its destiny with the season's final week in focus.
Earlier this week, The Athletic's Justin Williams wrote about the similarities between this year's team and the 2019 bunch. Some numbers support this, but the comparison makes sense even at an elemental, vibe level. The 2018 Bearcats accomplished a lot, winning 11 games and capping the year with a bowl win, an A+ result that meant Cincinnati, where fans constantly brace for disappointment, spent much of the early going in 2019 pointing to a Power Five road loss as evidence of impending collapse. But the collapse never came, and the team exceeded its 2018 heights in qualifying for the conference championship game.
The same hand-wringing and anxiety have gripped this season, with many waiting for the floor to fall out. But the collapse hasn't come yet, and the Bearcats have continued to find ways to win, sitting at 9-2 entering the week of Thanksgiving with an opportunity to exceed that 2019 team's finish and get over that final hump.
Coach Fickell––and, by extension, his team––likes to say that November is for contenders. "We're going to change the whole mindset going on the road," he said at Tuesday's weekly press conference. "And get our guys back into understanding this is when the playoffs start."💥💥💥💥💥6️⃣#Bearcats | @montgomery_ry pic.twitter.com/bwrN5sTkRZ
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) November 19, 2022
Playoffs, indeed. Saturday's Black Friday matchup serves as a de facto AAC Championship semifinal. Protect Nippert for the 33rd consecutive time, and they'll have earned the right to extend their AAC schedule just one more game and host a third-straight conference title game.
It hasn't always been pretty, and it hasn't always played out according to plan, but those Higher Ground goals sit on the table this week like a Thanksgiving feast. Top-25 Cincinnati vs. Top-25 Tulane at Nippert on Friday. See you there.
Up NextThe Bearcats return to Nippert Stadium to face Tulane on Friday at noon E.T. on ABC in a de facto semifinal. Tickets are still available HERE!
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