Corey Hart has both nothing and everything to do with the anticipated atmosphere Friday night at Nippert Stadium.
The Canadian singer found stardom with the release of his 1984 single, "Sunglasses at Night." On Friday, the first 2,000 fans who enter Nippert will receive a free pair of sunglasses to wear at night when the No. 5/6-ranked (Associated Press/Coaches) University of Cincinnati football team opens American Athletic Conference play against Temple in prime time.
More:Scouting report: A look at the Temple Owls, the next opponent for No. 5/6 Cincinnati
"We're excited," Cincinnati senior quarterback Desmond Ridder said. "We're excited to get back home. It feels like it's been forever since we've played in Nippert. We're excited to get back in front of all the fans, all the students, and just make it a crazy atmosphere."
The sold-out crowd is encouraged to wear all black to match the all-black uniforms the Bearcats (4-0) will wear for the first "Nipp at Night" game of the season.
But in order to create the perfect home atmosphere, Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell knows the fans are only half of the equation.
"It's really, really important to us. The greatest one I've been at since I've been here was obviously UCF, and it was a Friday night game," he said. "That's exactly what we expect and are hoping for. But it's two fold. We've got an obligation, too. We've got an obligation to go out there and make it an opportunity for them to get excited and rowdy, too.
"Whatever we've done in the past will maybe hopefully get them into the stadium, and then what we do on Friday night will determine how that stadium really sounds. We're in this all together. They've got to do their part, we've got to do our part. If we do, it will be a loud, exciting night."
3 keys to victory for the Bearcats
1. Continue to get pressure on the quarterback: After leading Cincinnati with seven sacks a season ago, senior edge rusher Myjai Sanders has zero sacks so far this season. But the USA TODAY Sports preseason second-team All-American has still greatly impacted games even if it hasn't shown on the state sheet.
Sanders' pressure on all three Notre Dame quarterbacks last week directly led to a dominant day for the "Blackcats" defense, particularly its defensive front.
"The really good thing is that group is really strong," Fickell said. "Curtis Brooks is doing a great job. Malik Vann is doing a great job. Marcus Brown is doing a great job. Jabari Taylor. So even when Myjai gets frustrated, those guys – because it's easier for them sometimes to be able to rein him back in because sometimes a coach has a little tougher time – they've done a great job as a collective group of being able to handle some of the different things they've seen."
More:UC notebook: Wes Miller, Bearcats basketball team hope to 'tap into' football's success
Temple quarterback D'Wan Mathis, a Georgia transfer, has the athleticism and arm strength to wreak havoc. Making him uncomfortable will be vital for Cincinnati.
2. Play all four quarters: The Bearcats have yet to play a complete game this season. It's frankly one of the few things Fickell still needs to see from this team.
"It doesn't have to be perfect," he said. "We played a really good first half Week 1. We played a really good second half Week 2. We played a really good 32 minutes in Week 3. We played a really good football game (against Notre Dame).
"It was just that lull in the third quarter when they started coming back at us. I think maybe we lost a little bit of focus. That's where we've got to find ways to grow. That's going to be a way where we're going to have to continue to grow, because we're going to be in a lot of battles.
"We're going to see a lot of different things from people. You're going to come out obviously with the bull's-eye on your back and there's going to be a lot of adversity. We've got to find a way to consistently play like we should for all four quarters."
Temple trailed Memphis 17-0 early in the second quarter last week before scoring 17 unanswered points and rallying to a 34-31 win. The Bearcats are going to have to play consistent football for the duration Friday in order to put the Owls away.
3. Cole Smith has a bounce-back game: Cincinnati's senior kicker struggled against the Irish. Smith missed two field goals in the second half, both from 30-plus yards out.
Smith also missed a field goal and an extra point in the Bearcats' previous game at Indiana.
More:Paul Daugherty: The Cincinnati Bengals are living the dream, for now. So are you.
Fickell said he still hasn't lost faith in Smith, who nailed the game-winning 34-yard field goal as time expired in last season's AAC championship game.
"It's part of life, man," Fickell said. "You figure out and you grow the most within the most difficult times. You find out what kind of people you've really got around you, too. Coaches didn't bat an eye at it. I mean, yeah, it's tough. It's difficult on him, it's difficult on us. But our kids didn't all of a sudden shun him or not talk to him. No. He's a part of the team, he's a part of the program.
"... When a kicker misses a kick, everybody in the country sees it. You've got to be able to handle it. He's got to know that we have the utmost confidence in him, and he's got to find a way to rebound from it. He's going to have plenty of opportunities, whether it's to win games or to make a bunch of more field goals for us."
Each of Cincinnati's three games against the Owls in the Fickell era have been close. Smith could be asked to deliver in yet another pressure-packed spot. He'll need to let go of the past two games and answer the bell.
How to watch
Time: 7 p.m. on Friday
Where: Nippert Stadium
TV: Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst) and Tiffany Blackman (sideline) will have the call on ESPN.
Radio: Dan Hoard (play-by-play), Jim Kelly Jr. (analyst) and Mo Egger (host/engineer) will have the UC radio network call on WLW-AM (700), Sirius 81, XM 81 and Internet 81.
Live stream: ESPN+
Betting line: UC was a 29.5-point favorite 24 hours before kickoff.
Series history: Temple leads 13-8-1
Prediction
Temple always seems to give Fickell and the Bearcats fits. The two teams played to a 15-13 finish in their last meeting at Nippert Stadium in 2019, with Cincinnati escaping with the victory. The Bearcats are a near 30-point favorite over the Owls on Friday. They may not cover, but Ridder and company will pull away from Temple and extend Cincinnati's home winning streak to 23 games. UC wins, 38-14.
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