CINCINNATI — Luke Fickell would like to ignore the College Football Playoff trophy, as hard as that is.
The actual trophy was in town on Saturday, posted up outside Nippert Stadium before the game. Scores of Cincinnati fans took pictures with it, joyfully imagining the Bearcats competing for it later this year. The whole Cincinnati team walked by the trophy during the team’s entrance to the stadium, though they probably didn’t see it behind the fans that lined the sidewalk.
A few hours later, the Bearcats blew out UCF 56-21 in a game that was never close. Asked about the trophy making an appearance, Fickell thought it was a reference to the model trophy that Cincinnati’s mascot carried around the field after the win.
“I don’t notice a whole lot of those things from Thursday on,” Fickell said. “That’s not a big deal to us. We try to stay focused on the things we control. Right now, we’ve got a ways to go.”
Everyone in Cincinnati is beginning to dream bigger than they ever has before, and that dream gets closer with every week.
A year ago, the Bearcats dropped in the CFP rankings in late November and early December because they didn’t play, a result of COVID-19 cancellations. In the two weeks since Cincinnati’s win at Notre Dame — arguably the biggest victory in school history — the Bearcats have made sure not to give anyone a reason to drop them. Instead, they rose to No. 3 in the AP poll after last week, and Iowa’s loss to Purdue later in the day Saturday means the Bearcats could move up to No. 2 on Sunday.
Style points help. Coupled with last week’s 52-3 win against Temple, it’s the first time in school history Cincinnati has scored 50 points in consecutive games.
