Winning isn't easy. Winning on the road in a hostile environment is even more difficult.
Since losing at Arkansas in its season opener, the University of Cincinnati football team has won both of its true road games. The No. 20/19-ranked (Associated Press/coaches polls) Bearcats (6-1, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) opened their final AAC slate with a 10-point victory at Tulsa and then edged SMU last week in Dallas.
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Cincinnati's other "road" game was against in-state rival Miami University at Paycor Stadium in Downtown Cincinnati. The Bearcats had more fans in attendance than the RedHawks, who served as the host for 126th Battle for the Victory Bell.
Cincinnati will head to Central Florida for another road test Saturday (3:30 p.m. on ESPN). The Bearcats lost 38-13 at UCF in 2018. Former UC quarterback Desmond Ridder said it was the "craziest atmosphere" he played in in his four years as a starter. Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell anticipates the atmosphere being just as crazy as it was a few years ago.
"It's going to be uniquely different this week," he said. "This is our first true challenge since Week 1 to go on the road in a hostile environment and play a great football team. Not taking anything away from the teams we've played on the road, they haven't been hostile environments since Week 1. This will be that."
UCF-UC is a rivalry. It's one of the most heated in the AAC. And that's something Fickell embraces.
The Knights, who won the AAC in each of Fickell's first two seasons at Cincinnti (2017-18), embarrassed Fickell and the Bearcats in 2017. UCF came into Nippert Stadium and handed UC a lopsided 51-23 defeat. Fickell said he has not and will not forget it.
"All rivalries are created differently," he said. "But to me, any team that has beaten us, any team that has embarrassed us like they did in Year 1, that was something that will never, never go away for me."
Our first look at the UCF Knights
RECORD: The Knights are 5-2 (2-1 AAC) after suffering a 34-13 loss Saturday at East Carolina (5-3, 3-2). The defeat snapped Central Florida's four-game winning streak.
Following a season-opening 56-10 win over HBCU South Carolina State (3-4), UCF fell 20-14 at Louisville (4-3). The Knights then won at Florida Atlantic (3-5) and rattled off three straight victories at home against Georgia Tech (3-4), SMU (3-4, 1-2) and Temple (2-5, 0-3)
HEAD COACH: Gus Malzahn is in his second season at UCF. The 56-year-old Irving, Texas, native led the Knights to a 9-4 (5-3) record and a 29-17 win over Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl a season ago. One of those four losses came against Cincinnati (56-21) at Nippert.
Malzahn took over the UCF program after eight seasons at Auburn. Malzahn was fired after posting a 68-35 mark with the Tigers, including a 2-5 record in bowl games.
Malzahn was named SEC Coach of the Year and won nearly every national Coach of the Year award in 2013 en route to leading Auburn to the 2014 BCS National Championship Game. Malzahn and the Tigers lost to Florida State, 34-31.
KEY PLAYERS: Ole Miss transfer quarterback John Rhys Plumlee leads Malzahn's offense. The 6-foot, 200-pound senior has completed 132 of 205 passes (64%) for 1,812 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions this season. Plumlee threw three of those picks last week at ECU.
Plumlee also leads UCF in rushing. He has 101 carries for 506 yards and seven scores on the ground.
"The offense is going to run through him," Fickell said. "Whether he's running the football, he's scrambling around or he's making things happen with his feet or his arm."
Fifth-year running back Isaiah Bowser, who started his career at Northwestern, has 100 carries for 378 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Knights through the first seven games.
Plumlee's top target this season has been wide receiver Ryan O'Keefe. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior leads the team in catches (32) and receiving touchdowns (four). O'Keefe had a 68-yard touchdown against Temple. O'Keefe's 392 receiving yards rank second on the team behind Alabama transfer Javon Baker's 411. Baker also has 26 catches and two scores.
Seven UCF players have at least 100 receiving yards this year.
Defensively, UCF senior linebacker Jason Johnson has a team-high 65 tackles (34 solo). Senior defensive end Tre'mon Morris-Brash paces the team with nine tackles for loss, four sacks and two fumble recoveries, including one he returned 90 yards for a touchdown.
SERIES HISTORY: Cincinnati is 4-3 all-time against the the Knights but 1-2 at their place. The Bearcats, who have won three straight against UCF, escaped the Knights' Bounce House with a narrow 36-33 win in 2020.
FUN FACT: A victory on Saturday would give the two-time defending AAC champion Bearcats 18 straight AAC regular-season wins and 20 straight victories against AAC opponents, which would break the conference records.
