Since becoming apart of the American in 2013, the Bearcats are 4-1 against Tulsa, highlighted by a last-second win to secure the conference championship two years ago. Make sure to review the entire series history before the latest edition on Saturday night.
The first matchup between Cincinnati and Tulsa took place in 1946 as the Golden Hurricane came away with a 20-0 win at home. A decade later, the Bearcats joined the Missouri Valley and were conference rivals with Tulsa from 1957-1970.
During that span, Cincinnati went just 3-11 against Tulsa but has dominated the series ever since including a five-game win streak that started in 1993. During a press conference this week, Luke Fickell discussed the series history via Cincinnati Athletics.
"“I know nothing about the series and that’s no disrespect. I know the last three have been as tough of football games as we’ve had in the last three years. Every game is itself. Obviously they are a very good football team. Regardless of what the history is, we haven’t played them on the road and that’s a big deal as well.”"
With just a few days until conference play kicks off, the #Bearcats are preparing to take on Tulsa on Saturday night. @CoachFick, Tyler Scott and Wil Huber talked about the upcoming matchup in a press conference.https://t.co/I9e28MajOFpic.twitter.com/tUaYqN2jux
— Cincy on the Prowl (@CincyOnTheProwl) September 29, 2022
Cincinnati Football: Looking back at the series history against Tulsa
- All-Time Series: Tied (17-17-2)
- Average Margin: Tulsa (+1.0)
- First Meeting: Tulsa 20-0 in 1946
- Last Matchup: Bearcats 28-20 last year
Following a narrow overtime loss in the most recent road trip to Tulsa in 2016, the Bearcats have won three straight games in the series. It hasn’t been easy though because the Golden Hurricane have competed in all three matchups.
In order to repeat as conference champions for a third year in a row, Cincinnati has to take care of business on the road and that starts at Tulsa this weekend. Fickell later explained how important winning the conference is per Cincinnati Athletics.
"“That’s the only goal we have. We don’t talk a lot about goals. We talk about objectives within our program but we have one goal and every year the goal is to play for a championship. The only way you do that is by winning your conference. It won’t change next year when we’re in a different conference. The number one objective will be play for a championship. When we walk into camp, we talk about goals and that’s it. Our guys understand that. The conference is the most important thing that we do.”"