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Three keys, prediction: UC Bearcats seek 16th straight win in Battle for the Victory Bell

Keith Jenkins, Cincinnati Enquirer
·5 min read

"Respect the rivalry" has been University of Cincinnati football coach Luke Fickell's message to his team all week. Fickell will find out Saturday if his Bearcats were listening.

The Bearcats (1-1) will take on in-state rival Miami University (1-1) in the 126th Battle for the Victory Bell at Paycor Stadium. Although the rivalry series is knotted at 59 wins apiece (59-59-7), Cincinnati of late has dominated their neighbors from Oxford.

The Bearcats are seeking their 16th straight win against the RedHawks.

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"We don't want to lose that. We just want to keep this streak going," Cincinnati senior cornerback Arquon Bush said. "Just continue playing football, just respect the rivalry and just do what we're supposed to do."

Cincinnati cornerback Arquon Bush (9) looks to lead the Bearcats past in-state rival Miami on Saturday in the 126th Battle for the Victory Bell.
Cincinnati cornerback Arquon Bush (9) looks to lead the Bearcats past in-state rival Miami on Saturday in the 126th Battle for the Victory Bell.

Bush and the Bearcats will have a not-so-secret weapon against Miami in Ivan Pace Jr. The senior linebacker transferred to Cincinnati in January after playing the previous three seasons for the RedHawks. Bush said Cincinnati won't lean on Pace any more Saturday than it already does.

"It's nothing special (this week)," Bush said. "Ivan's just going to go play a team."

Pace leads the Bearcats and the American Athletic Conference with 23 tackles (11 solo) and has a team-high 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble through the first two games.

3 keys to victory for Cincinnati Bearcats football vs. Miami RedHawks

1. Control the extra emotions: Pace will line up against his former team. That alone will be added motivation for he and his new teammates to play well. But that energy can either be a benefit or a detriment for a still relatively inexperienced Cincinnati squad. That's where Fickell comes in. He and his staff will need to make sure the Bearcats are harnessing that extra energy and those added emotions in the most effective way.

"We've kind of gone through this in the past," Fickell said. "Obviously, last year with Michael Young (the Notre Dame transfer wide receiver led Cincinnati against the Fighting Irish). So we've had a little bit of history of some of these guys going back to their former schools. It starts early in the week. It's just making sure we sit down with the guys and (help them) understand that when you walk into this program, you're a part of this program. You're a UC Bearcat. I know that there's places that you've been before, and you don't want to be referred to as a guy that came from someplace else. (Eastern Michigan transfer) Ben Bryant is a UC Bearcat. Ivan Pace is a UC Bearcat. We went through that with Jerome Ford last year, and all he wanted at some point in time was not to be considered an Alabama transfer. 'I'm a UC Bearcat.'

"I don't put a whole lot of stock in those things, but I understand the emotions, and that this is an emotional game in particular. And just like I did last year with Michael Young, earlier in the week, talked to him about it, I'll do the same thing with Ivan."

Bearcats linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. (0) runs through a drill during the first day of preseason training camp at the University of Cincinnati’s Sheakley Athletic Complex in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022.
Bearcats linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. (0) runs through a drill during the first day of preseason training camp at the University of Cincinnati’s Sheakley Athletic Complex in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022.

2. Ben Bryant needs to continue his progression: Cincinnati's starting quarterback threw an interception on the first drive of the 2022 season. But Bryant has largely recovered from that season-opening turnover.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior completed 17 of 20 pass attempts last week. That 85% completion rate was the highest by a Bearcats quarterback since Brendan Kay completed 13 of 15 passes (86.7%) against Northwestern State on Sept. 14, 2013.

If Cincinnati is going to win Saturday, Bryant needs to continue his progression. Bryant said his next step is to become a better leader.

"I think that's really important at the quarterback position," he said. "Someone who can lead the team, lead the offense and have that one voice. Kind of like what Des (Desmond Ridder) had. He had that really strong, powerful role. I want to keep developing that role for myself. I'm excited to continue to work on that throughout the season. The leadership thing would be the biggest thing for me."

Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Ben Bryant (6) drops back to throw a pass in the first quarter of the NCAA football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Kennesaw State Owls at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022.
Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Ben Bryant (6) drops back to throw a pass in the first quarter of the NCAA football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Kennesaw State Owls at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022.

3. Cut out the penalties: Cincinnati has committed 10 penalties in each of its first two games. Those miscues cost the Bearcats a victory in their season opener at Arkansas. Cincinnati was able to overcome those mistakes in its home opener last week against Kennesaw State. If Cincinnati is going to win Saturday and beyond, the Bearcats will need to play cleaner football.

"It's hard to say, '(Penalties) kill you,'" Fickell said. "They definitely put a dagger in the side. But it's all a part of we've got to do better with the pre-snap stuff. Even if you look at Week 1, the number of yardage (65) wasn't as killer because they were pre-snap penalties. But they just are those sores that if they don't get better, then at some point in time you really gotta ask yourself, 'What are you doing?'

Fickell said he doesn't want to eliminate the aggressive penalties, he wants to eliminate the "stupid ones."

"Those are the ones that just continue to nag at you," he said.

Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell talks with an official in the second quarter of the NCAA football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Kennesaw State Owls at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022.
Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell talks with an official in the second quarter of the NCAA football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Kennesaw State Owls at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022.

How to watch Cincinnati Bearcats football vs. Miami RedHawks

Time: Noon on Saturday

Where: Paycor Stadium

TV: John Schriffen (play-by-play), Rene Ingoglia (analyst) will have the call on ESPNU.

Radio: Dan Hoard (play-by-play), Jim Kelly Jr. (analyst) and Mo Egger (host/engineer) will have the UC radio network call on WEBN-FM (102.7), Sirius 380 and Sirius App 973.

Live stream: ESPN+

Betting line: Cincinnati was a 22.5-point favorite 24 hours before kickoff.

Series history: Saturday will be the 126th meeting between the two programs (59-59-7). A win by Cincinnati will mark the first lead in the series for the Bearcats since 1915.

Cincinnati Bearcats football prediction

Fickell is undefeated against the Miami RedHawks as Cincinnati head coach (4-0). Miami coach Chuck Martin has never beaten the Bearcats (0-7). Both of those trends will continue on Saturday. The Bearcats will win the turnover battle and the game. Cincinnati wins, 34-17.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: College football prediction: UC Bearcats to face rival Miami RedHawks