Friday night was supposed to be a homecoming for University of Cincinnati running back Jerome Ford.
Ford, a Tampa, Florida, native, was supposed to lead the undefeated Bearcats (9-0, 5-0 American Athletic Conference) into his hometown to take on South Florida (2-7, 1-4) at Raymond James Stadium.
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The stadium, which is also home to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is about 20 miles from Armwood High School, where Ford was one of the top all-purpose backs in the country in 2017.
Ford, who began his college career at the University of Alabama, enters Friday's game with an AAC-high 888 rushing yards and ranks third in the FBS with 16 total touchdowns (15 rushing and one receiving).
But Ford's status for Friday remains up in the air after the 5-foot-11, 220-pound back exited Cincinnati's game last week against Tulsa in the second quarter with an ankle injury and did not return.
Fickell said Tuesday he's "not overly concerned" by Ford's injury, but he said the UC training staff would monitor Ford throughout the week
"Every team has injuries, especially in Week 10 and 11," Fickell said. "Every team does. Every team has guys that are dinged up. Every team has guys that might not practice a ton during a week in Week 11. ... We've got to be a little bit smarter in Week 11 with some of these guys that have played 600 snaps of football already this year, and Jerome's one of those."
3 keys to victory for the Bearcats
1. Establish the run: Nobody wants Ford to play more than Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder. Having Ford in the backfield only opens up things for Ridder and the rest of the UC offense.
"I'm hoping he plays as much as everyone else does because he's a great running back," Ridder said. "He provides a lot for the team. But like I said Saturday, I trust in every single one of those guys that are behind him. They put in just the same amount of time, work and effort that he has to be out there on the field and show what they can do. So I'm excited to see how they step up if he's not able to step up if he's not able to play and see what they can do with their opportunity."
Whether it's Ford or one of Ford's backups (Charles McClelland, Ryan Montgomery and Ethan Wright) in the backfield alongside Ridder, Cincinnati offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock needs to make a concerted effort to establish the run in order to open up the rest of the offensive playbook.
South Florida's defense is allowing 213 rushing yards per game this season.
2. Stop the run: While the UC offense needs to run the ball, the UC defense needs to remember how to stop it.
Over the last three weeks, the "Blackcats" have allowed an average of 225 rushing yards per game, including 297 yards on the ground last week against Tulsa.
That's a lot of yards, especially for a defense that prides itself on stopping the run and considers itself a vital piece to a national championship contender.
More:How the Bearcats' defense will look under new defensive coordinator Mike Tressel
Whether it's changing their defensive alignment, switching up things schematically, shaking up their personnel or simply just spending more time in practice working on tackling and shedding blockers, Fickell and defensive coordinator Mike Tressel need to figure out the right adjustments before they end up on the wrong side of one of these close games.
3. Be disciplined (especially on special teams): If Friday's game is close, the Bearcats could be in trouble. USF has one of the best kickers in the country in junior Spencer Shrader.
Shrader was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, presented annually to the best kicker in college football. He's a perfect 9-for-9 on field goal attempts this season with a career-long 52-yarder under his belt and is 51-for-51 on extra points for his career.
The Bulls also have Brian Battie, who leads the nation in return touchdowns and has three 100-yard kickoff returns this season.
How to watch Cincinnati vs. USF
Time: 6 p.m. on Friday
Where: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
TV: . Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst) and Paul Carcaterra (sideline) will have the call on ESPN2.
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 133, XM 203 and Sirius App 955.
Live stream: ESPN+
Betting line: UC was a 23.5-point favorite 24 hours before kickoff.
Series history: Cincinnati leads 11-7 and is seeking its fourth straight win against USF.
Prediction
Fickell always talks about the importance of his team playing its best ball at the end of the season. Well, there's three regular-season games left. What better time to start playing great, dominant, complementary football than on Friday night? The Bearcats, who are fifth in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, will show the Bulls why Cincinnati should be considered a national championship contender. UC wins, 42-13.
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