The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(09-04-2019 08:29 AM)Cat-Man Wrote:  I like this...

"Ohio State is definitely a game we want scheduled home-and-home on back-to-back years," said Ferguson at AAC Media Days in July. "Make it a regular thing.

"We've got a big chip on our shoulder and we have a lot to prove. So coach Fickell, he schedules the best. That's who we want to play. We don't want an easy schedule. We don't want to just coast. We want to be challenged and if the College Football Playoff looks at our resume, we want to show that we beat top teams."

Ferguson grew up in Nassau, Bahamas, attended high school in Orlando and didn't root for the Buckeyes or Bearcats as a kid. Fickell mentioned a handful of UC players like Ferguson and linebacker Bryan Wright, a Delaware native, that likely won't be affected emotionally the same way as the four dozen guys who grew up in the state.

"I don't know if (Wright) always dreamed of ever playing in Ohio Stadium," Fickell said. "I don't think he did. We've got some guys from Virginia that probably never dreamed of playing in Ohio Stadium."

California native Josiah Deguara falls into that category, but the senior tight end quickly made an observation four years ago when he arrived in the Midwest.

"It's Ohio State everything, everywhere," he said. "You've got Cincinnati fans in Cincinnati but there's Ohio State fans even in Cincinnati. I think for us we're just trying to go out and prove there's not just one team in Ohio. It will be huge for us and huge for our fanbase."

Fickell said Cincinnati can be an Ohio kid's dream college football destination, too. He pointed to the highs of his predecessors, mentioning the successes of coaches Rick Minter, Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly and Butch Jones. The latter three left for high-profile jobs before establishing UC as a perennial power.

"Well that's what we're trying to do and that's what we're going to continue to do," Fickell said. "It takes awhile to do that. It's consistency over time.

"That's my objective is to create that over time that it is."

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/...203303001/

Despite some poor writing, I thought this was apropos of this week and the comments above:

Look: Bryce Harper flashes 'O-H' to (UC)/Notre Dame fan after homer


Too bad the kid didn't flash him back with "U-C'.