For Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell, they all take a back seat to what’s really at stake when his No. 7 Bearcats take the field at 77.622-seat Notre Dame Stadium for the 2:30 p.m. kickoff against ninth-ranked Notre Dame. Touchdown Jesus, Knute, the Four Horsemen, trophy cases stuffed with Heismans, “Rudy” – this is no ordinary college football program.
“It’s big,” Fickell, who’s got plenty of experience with bigger-than-big programs as a former Ohio State player and coach, said earlier this week. “I’m not going to lie to you. Once the thing is kicked off, you can’t let all of the emotions about what was going on affect you. You can’t let it drain you. It can happen to coaches. With all of the things you do to prepare, once you get to Saturday, it can drain you.
“It’s a big game any time you play Notre Dame. They’re a top five program, not just all-time but over the past five years. This just happens to be the year that both teams are really good and ranked high, but you can’t spend all of your emotions worrying about what’s going on.
Cincinnati (3-0) is coming off a bye week after coming back from a 14-0 deficit to beat Indiana, 38-24, on the Hoosiers’ home field at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington on Sept. 18. The Fighting Irish improved to 4-0 by shaking off a lethargic first three quarters with a 31-point fourth quarter in a 41-13 win over Wisconsin at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
Fickell, in his fifth season at Cincinnati, has led the Bearcats to levels they’ve not seen since Kelly’s teams went to the Orange and Sugar bowls in his final two seasons before he left for Notre Dame. The Bearcats won last season’s American Athletic Conference championship and narrowly lost to perennial Southeastern Conference powerhouse Georgia in the Peach Bowl. This season, they’ve already dealt with the news that Cincinnati will be stepping up to the Big 12 by no later than July 1, 2024.
“It’s definitely a measuring stick,” Fickell said about facing Notre Dame. “Georgia was a top 10 program. Notre Dame is a top five program, not just over the last 100 years, but over the last five. That it’s the ultimate measuring stick in all that we do is what’s great for us.”
Among those in the Cincinnati program who faced minimizing distractions was Fickell himself. He has been close friends with Freeman for two decades, but the Bearcats coach had no room this week for socializing.
“If I was coaching against my own father or my own brother, it would be just like it is,” he said. “Those unique days – those Saturdays – there’s only 12 guaranteed ones a year. You go about them in the same way. Whether it’s your brother you’re coaching against or one of our former guys or one of your best friends, whatever that is, you respect the day. You respect the kids that have prepared for it, and you go about it that way. There is plenty of time in the offseason to be able to do things like that.”
Fickell was more concerned about how his team would respond to playing such a crucial game after a bye week. He would’ve preferred building on the momentum of coming from behind to win at a Big Ten stadium.
“Obviously, coming off a bye week is a little different,” Fickell said. “I’m not one of those guys who loves bye weeks. It kind of messes with your rhythm. I know there are some benefits to bye weeks, though it’s not about getting healthy three weeks into the season. Not having a game on Saturday means some guys sleep better. They get some much-needed mental rest, but it was real nice to come out yesterday and get some practice in. Getting back into the routine of what is obviously a big week is kind of where we are.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Cincinnati at Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m., NBC, 700, 102.7
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