Luke Fickell's first season as University of Cincinnati head football coach was a learning experience.
Fickell has said he needed time to "figure out a lot of things," including how to be a successful head coach and what all the UC program needed in order to be a consistent winner.
The learning curve was steep for Fickell during that 2017 season. Fickell's Bearcats finished 4-8. One of those eight losses was a 42-32 defeat at Navy.
Cincinnati allowed 569 yards on the ground to the Midshipmen's vaunted triple-option rushing attack in the 10-point loss.
"That's something you never forget," Fickell said Tuesday. "But Navy, the triple-option stuff's always going to be unique. I think every year, you've got to have some wrinkles and you've got to be sound in what you're doing. As soon as you think you've got something figured out, it could get really ugly really quick."
The 569 yards remain the most ever surrendered by a UC defense and the second most in Navy history.
