In most years, Bowl Week is special.
It's a week long reward filled with different events and activities for teams after a successful season.
It's a jam-packed festive affair for hometown fans who have traveled to the bowl's host city to enjoy a one-of-a-kind atmosphere all the way up until kickoff.
Not this year.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything, and every aspect about the week leading up to Friday's Peach Bowl against No. 9 (College Football Playoff rankings) Georgia (7-2) is nothing like what the eighth-ranked University of Cincinnati football team experienced last season at the Birmingham Bowl or at the Military Bowl at the end of 2018.
"We've had a couple meetings on that," UC head coach Luke Fickell said. "I've been racking my brain. It's nice when you have a bowl game because you get a little bit of a change. You go to a bowl site. For us, you run out there – even if it's Birmingham like last year – you go out, practice on some grass, have a new practice site, some different food, different things. The uniqueness of this year is we're going to be coming to the same place, the same locker room. We're going to make the same walk out to our bubble."
The undefeated American Athletic Conference champion Bearcats (9-0) practiced Wednesday inside the bubble covering the Sheakley Athletic Complex, then ate lunch and headed to the airport.
Thursday was treated like a normal Friday during a week with a Saturday kickoff on the road.
Though Cincinnati's Bowl Week this season isn't much different than any other week, it's still special, Fickell said, and the reward is just as sweet.
"If you love the game, you love to play the game, you love to compete and challenge yourself, what greater reward do you need than to play against an incredible opponent?" he said. "So I think there's different kinds of rewards. Some people would look at a reward as, hey, you get to take a trip, go to Disney, then go play a game. That's a reward. Get to relax. It's a different reward if you're a competitor, you love the game, you want to compete. The reward is an opportunity to play on a big stage against a great opponent."
3 keys to victory for the Bearcats
1. Manage emotions: There will be about 18,000 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, by far the largest crowd Cincinnati will have played in front of all season.
The Bearcats will face off against Georgia, a top-10 opponent from the Southeastern Conference, in its home state, in the heart of SEC country and at the site of the SEC championship game.
"We are definitely the visitors. I think that's a part of embracing what the challenge is," Fickell said. "... You got to go play against one of the best teams in the country in their home, their land. ... I know this. I don't want to speak for the players, but I've got a good idea of who they are, what they enjoy. This year, like for everybody, has been a challenge and difficult and different. It's nothing more than a reward to say, hey, we're going to go play in front of 18,000 people, there is going to be an atmosphere. Maybe they're booing us, maybe they're cheering against us. Whatever it is, there will be a greater atmosphere, which gives us that much more excitement and joy to go out and compete."
Cincinnati has faced nine different teams this season and has beaten all of them. Fickell said Georgia will be the most-talented opponent his club has faced in his four years at UC. Be that as it may, the Bearcats need to set aside all unnecessary emotions and treat Friday's Peach Bowl like any of their other business trips this season.
Show up, go to work, leave with a victory.
2. Play like you're supposed to be there: From the outside looking in, this game is a clear mismatch.
The Bulldogs have more talent from top to bottom. They have signed more ESPN 300 recruits (82) from 2016-20 than all but one program -- Alabama (92).
Cincinnati has landed one ESPN 300 recruit during that span in 2019 Ohio Mr. Football Evan Prater. The former Wyoming High School standout was the 296th-ranked player in the 2020 class.
But Fickell and his staff have taken recruits outside of the nation's top rankings and developed them into some of the most elite players in college football.
[Chad Bowden's 'crazy' ideas paying off for UC Bearcats football ]
UC senior safety James Wiggins and sophomore cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner both earned Associated Press second-team All-America honors this week, while quarterback Desmond Ridder was named a finalist for the Manning Award and a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award and the Davey O’Brien Award, presented annually to the best offensive player in college football and the nation's best quarterback, respectfully.
The game will be billed as the mighty Power Five Georgia versus the less-talented Group of Five Cincinnati. But at the end of day, it's football. The best team on Friday afternoon will win.
More:How the Cincinnati Bearcats' Desmond Ridder fell in love with being a quarterback
3. Contain JT Daniels: Offensively, Georgia has looked like an entirely different team since former USC quarterback JT Daniels took over the reins.
After a 4-2 start with Stetson Bennett under center, the Bulldogs have won three straight with Daniels.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound redshirt sophomore has completed 54 of 81 passes for 839 yards and nine touchdowns to only one interception in his three starts.
"JT brings a different dynamic to their offense. You can tell by over the last three games, they're averaging over 40 points a game," said Cincinnati Defensive Coordinator Marcus Freeman, one of five finalists for the Broyles Award, which honors college football’s top assistant coach. "He's got a very strong arm, probably the strongest arm probably in my time being the defensive coordinator here that we've faced."
Freeman's group, led by one of the nation's top secondaries, has been stingy to opposing offenses all season. The Bearcats have forced a turnover in 19 straight games, the longest active streak in the FBS.
If Cincinnati can extend that streak and limit Georgia from picking up large chunks of yardage, Ridder and the UC offense will have more than a chance to keep pace.
How to watch
Kickoff: Noon Friday
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
TV: Mark Jones (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst) and Kris Budden (reporter) will have the call on ESPN.
Radio: Dan Hoard (play-by-play), Jim Kelly Jr. (analyst), Tony Pike (sideline) and Mo Egger (host) will have the UC radio network call on WLW-AM (700), XM 380, Internet 970; and ESPN Radio with Davie O'Brien and Mike Golic Jr. on Sirius 84, XM 84 and Internet 84.
Live stream: WatchESPN.com
Betting line: Georgia was a 7-point favorite 24 hours before kickoff.
Series history: The teams have met twice previously, but New Year’s Day will mark the first meeting in more than 44 years. Georgia holds a 2-0 edge in the series, winning a 35-13 decision at Nippert Stadum on Oct. 24, 1942, and a 31-17 matchup at Sanford Stadium on Oct. 30, 1976. The Peach Bowl will mark the first matchup at a neutral site.
Prediction
Georgia has a number of players opting out of the game, including guard Ben Cleveland, tight end Tre McKitty, center Trey Hill, cornerbacks Eric Stokes and DJ Daniel and linebacker Monty Rice. The Bearcats have none. The game will be close, and Cincinnati will prove that it can play with anyone. But the Bulldogs pull it out, giving the Bearcats their only blemish of the season.
Georgia wins, 31-27.
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