DALLAS – The University of Cincinnati is a 13.5-point underdog against top-ranked Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal. But Bearcats wide receiver and kick returner Tre Tucker said Wednesday he may have found a means to close the gap between Cincinnati and the defending national champions.
While studying film of the Crimson Tide in preparation for Friday's showdown in the Cotton Bowl Classic, Tucker said something stood out in Alabama's game Oct. 9 in College Station, Texas.
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"Texas A&M had a kick return for a touchdown and they ended up winning that game," Tucker said. "So could that have been a point to where they would have won? Maybe, I don't know, but I know special teams will be very important, and I hope that I get a few chances to return some and see what I can do with it."
With just over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter of Alabama's game at its Southeastern Conference foe, the Tide fell behind 31-17. Devon Achane helped the Aggies build the two-touchdown lead after returning a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.
The 5-foot-9 speedster snatched momentum back from Alabama after the Tide scored on a blocked punt.
Achane's explosive return was a decisive score in a 41-38 victory for the Aggies and helped Texas A&M hand Alabama (12-1) its only loss of the season.
Like Achane, Tucker is 5-foot-9. Tucker also runs a 4.3 40-yard dash, just like Achane.
Coming off a 2020 sophomore campaign where he earned a second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection as a kick returner, averaging a league-best 29.9 yards per return and returning one kick for a 97-yard score, Tucker told The Enquirer he wanted more this season.
"One of my goals this year is to be an All-American," he said in August. "I had one return last year but I was close on two or three more."
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Entering Friday's game against Alabama, Tucker has just one kickoff return touchdown in 2021. His 99-yarder Sept. 18 at Indiana is the longest play of the season for the Bearcats (13-0).
No player in the history of the College Football Playoff semifinals (since 2014) has returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Ohio State's Parris Campbell owns the record for the longest kickoff return in the CFP semifinals with his 54-yarder against Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, 2016.
Tucker's 1,496 career kick return yards are fourth most in Cincinnati history. Adding a sizeable amount to that total against the Tide could tip the balance in the Bearcats' favor.
"I think he's going to play a huge role in this game," Cincinnati tight end Josh Whyle said. "We'll see on Friday."
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