CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati BearcatsIn the past three seasons, they have lost three consecutive games. They’ve lost eight in the past five. The team has won 50 during that same stretch — the most of any five-season span in program history — and it includes a pandemic-shortened 2020 schedule and the current season that’s only seven games old. Dec. 2019, which was more than 1,000 days, was the last time that the Bearcats lost against a conference rival.
The obvious impetus for this string of unprecedented success is head coach Luke Fickell, who officially became Cincinnati’s all-time winningest coach on Saturday, earning his 54th victory in charge of the Bearcats In the victory over SMU. In the end, he beat Rick Minter who had to go through 10 seasons to accomplish what Fickell did midway through his sixth. Even those six seasons are remarkable: Other than Minter, it takes you all the way back in 1966 to find a Bearcats coach who stayed that long.
Fickell raised the bar on the program, changing culture and setting the tone for what’s possible at Cincinnati. It was a success.
For the Bearcats, winning is not enough. This was true last season, when a historic, joyous run to the College Football Playoff was followed by weekly hand-wringing regarding style points or committee rankings. And it’s the case again this year. Cincinnati is currently 6-1 (3-0 AAC), ranked in the Top 20 and seemingly in the driver’s seat for a third straight AAC championship and New Year’s Six berth. But it’s not hard to find some combination of concern, disappointment, angst, dread or outright anger about the way this team is playing, internally or externally. Fickell mentioned it in his Saturday postgame news conference.
“Really excited to get out of here with a win,” he said. “It was not the cleanest for us in a lot of ways.”
Highlights from today’s 29 to 27 victory over SMU as the #BearcatsIncrease to 3-0 in conference play pic.twitter.com/3gL4EgHjfX
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) October 22, 2022
Four years ago, a dramatic, unexpected win at home against a MAC team or an overtime victory on the road against a conference foe were reasons to celebrate. Cincinnati is expected win and will be able to do so with a convincing victory, impressive performance, or a margin that covers all spreads, especially against inferior rivals. That’s not necessarily a criticism, either, but rather the price of poker in high-stakes college football, one of the few sports where victory is only part of the equation. It’s a simultaneous blessing and curse the country’s top programs know all too well.
The victory is yours SMUIt was an example of this. Ben BryantThe quarterback position was difficult. Offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli’s red-zone game plan faltered, resulting in more field goals than touchdowns. Fickell’s gamble to go for it on fourth-and-short near midfield in the first half didn’t pay off. Although it was not an impressive offensive performance, many fans took the opportunity to bring out their knives for it. (This type of response isn’t reserved for the offense, either, as evidenced by fan agitation with the defense after the win over South FloridaA couple of weeks ago or after the TulsaLast season’s game.
Fans are not obliged to overlook the mistakes, penalties or struggles of their team just because they win. Against SMU, Cincinnati’s offense did not play up to the level it has established so far this season, statistically or otherwise. But each misstep or letdown doesn’t have to carry with it a referendum on Bryant, Guidugli or anyone else, either.
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This is a typical fandom reaction, often fueled by social media comments and social media. Twitter can be a dark echo chamber of disapproval, so we should be cautious when trying to make that experience a reality. But I’ve also had plenty of real-life conversations with Bearcats fans this season who have wondered aloud about the penalty issues, or the kicking game, or the three-man defensive front, or why backup quarterback Evan Prater doesn’t get more snaps.
All of this, whether done in good or bad faith, is tied back to the standards Fickell and Bearcats set. This year’s team is not the same caliber as last season in terms of talent or experience, but it inevitably will be graded on that curve — a The staff and the roster have been welcomed in comparisonThat’s all. Reload, not rebuild. At the same time, in the heat of that ambition, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that winning remains the ultimate goal and is something Cincinnati football has done a lot during the past five seasons. Don’t take that for granted. It is not easy to win, as coaches love to emphasize. Enjoying it shouldn’t have to be.
The Bearcats players and coaches have spoken out on many occasions about how the Playoffs weighed on them in the final stretch of 2021. They also discussed how the style points and rankings horserace took away some of the joy that comes with hard-earned wins. It’s possible that this is not the case, or at least not yet. Video of Saturday’s locker-room celebrationIt seems that the players are doing a great job.
“𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺.”#Bearcats | @CoachFick pic.twitter.com/VfI3bAHmEK
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) October 22, 2022
But for fans, fear of future losses can tend to inhibit present-tense success, especially when that success doesn’t come easy. Fickell, quoting scripture, often says, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” The Bearcats have earned all the accomplishments and recognition that have come their way. They’re also getting the lofty expectations that come with them.
What will be a successful season in Cincinnati 2022? Last year’s angst was finally rewarded by a spot in the four team Playoff. That’s not happening this time, although the table is set for the Bearcats to win out the regular season and remain on top of the conference and once again head to a New Year’s Six bowl. There’s even the possibility Cincinnati could lose a conference game in the regular season and still recover to win the league and potentially represent the Group of 5 in the NY6. Is this the ceiling or the expectation of the future? Cincinnati must return to the Cotton Bowl in order to avoid disappointment from fans. If it wins, does it need to win?
The Bearcats have been winning almost every year since the day they lost to them. Alabama, I’ve talked and written about what it would mean if this team can pull off what was laid out above. It wouldn’t be quite as impressive as making it to the CFP in 2021, but reaching another NY6 bowl would do just as much to emphasize the legitimate force Fickell has built at Cincinnati, snuffing out any suggestion of a perfect storm or one-year wonder.
The Bearcats’ fan base, which now expects to reach that level of success, is perhaps a better indicator than the others.
(Photo of Ben Bryant by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
