Cincinnati Football: Luke Fickell looks ahead to home opener

With the home opener just a few days away, Luke Fickell talked about playing at Nippert Stadium for the first time in 280 days, defending Kennesaw State’s triple option offense on Saturday and more in the weekly pregame press conference on Tuesday.

Fickell made sure to focus on being humble and owning the loss in order to learn and grow from the missed opportunity. During the press conference, Fickell discussed playing with more patience and rhythm on offense via Cincinnati Athletics.

"“Playing clean isn’t just the penalties or false starts. Clean is getting into a rhythm with tempo. We didn’t do a good enough job of giving the offense an opportunity to play with more rhythm and tempo in the first half. We’re a more mature team than I would have given us credit for to start with. It was a tough first half. You go in down 14-0 at halftime and they were very mature about it. That’s what showed when we came out in the second half.”"

Despite the disappointing loss at Arkansas, Fickell seems to have a lot of confidence in his team’s ability to get back on track and eventually compete for a conference championship berth. The sixth-year head coach challenged his team to play cleaner and smarter moving forward, starting this week.

Cincinnati Football: Luke Fickell looks ahead to home opener

In addition to breaking down the offense, Fickell sounded excited to be back at Nippert Stadium for the first time since last year. Cincinnati’s most recent home game was a 35-20 win over Houston in the conference championship game last December.

Fickell explained his anticipation prior to the home opener per Cincinnati Athletics.

"“We’re excited to be back home more than anything. It’s tough starting on the road but to be back at Nippert Stadium with the student section, city and community is something that’s really exciting for us. First game back at home is something we’ve been waiting for. Last week was obviously a tough loss. We didn’t play well enough to win.”"

Cincinnati won 27 consecutive home games, the second longest active streak in the country, and can extend that on Saturday versus Kennesaw State. According to WynnBET, the Bearcats are 28-point favorites over the upcoming FCS opponent.

Kennesaw State runs a triple option offense with quarterback Xavier Shepherd and running back Preston Daniels leading the way. A handful of ball carriers will get a chance to make an impact against the Bearcats but Shepherd is the main contributor.

Later in the press conference, Fickell described defending the Owls via Cincinnati Athletics.

"“They throw more than what Navy or Army has done when we played them in the past. All triple option offenses pose a lot of problems. We have to be a little different than we have been just to make sure we’re sound in their ability to throw it more. It’s always a very unique challenge and not just for the defense but the offense too because you have to play so complimentary.”"