21 hours ago, Walter said:

And how do we know Fick doesn't view UC as his "big school opportunity?" 

Surely you don't expect Fickell to say no to ND or OSU if they ever call...

48 minutes ago, TheDeuce said:

Surely you don't expect Fickell to say no to ND or OSU if they ever call...

I wouldn't expect Him to say no to either... It's pretty much a given if either come calling, he's gone. 

1 hour ago, John Anthony said:

I think Marcus Freeman is trying to get through year 1.  The refs were very friendly against Toledo.  Who knows?

I agree. I just don't think it's a lock they'd pursue Fick instead of trying to stay in house with Freeman. ND is recruiting at a crazy high level right now and a lot of that has to do with Marcus being on staff. Him and Mike Mickens are killing it...especially in Ohio. (Vernon already committed to ND and Styles is next)

Fick would obviously recruit well there too because of his experience and ties, but I could see Marcus' experience under both Fick and BK being appealing to the ND administration and AD. 

Like you said, who knows? 

 

I've got the Irish by a field goal.

2 hours ago, Walter said:

I agree. I just don't think it's a lock they'd pursue Fick instead of trying to stay in house with Freeman. ND is recruiting at a crazy high level right now and a lot of that has to do with Marcus being on staff. Him and Mike Mickens are killing it...especially in Ohio. (Vernon already committed to ND and Styles is next)

Fick would obviously recruit well there too because of his experience and ties, but I could see Marcus' experience under both Fick and BK being appealing to the ND administration and AD. 

Like you said, who knows? 

 

I think Fick would do even better with his Catholic ties.  You got guys like Vernon and other kids I’ve seen over the last decade, who would commit to ND from Cincy and Urban would call them and ask if he can come visit.  They would tell him “we can hang out coach, but I’m going to ND for more than football.”  Meyer, a Catholic himself would end the call there.  ND pulls a lot from Chicago as well.  I’m not sold on Sonny Styles going to ND just yet.  I think we need to see more from Freeman, beginning this weekend.  Was he Josh Mcdaniels with Bill Belichick or can he run his own ship?  UC with the loss of Freeman has the #2 defense nationally, only to Georgia.  Fick is the defensive coordinator.

Cincinnati 31-27.

3 hours ago, John Anthony said:

UC with the loss of Freeman has the #2 defense nationally, only to Georgia.  Fick is the defensive coordinator.

Just curious, what metric are you using for this stat.  Looking at stats on ESPN it looks like UC is tied for 12th for points allowed, 26th in total yards, 18th in passing yards, and 66th in rushing yards.  These are per game averages.  Doesn't seem like that would translate to 2nd.  

4 hours ago, John Anthony said:

UC with the loss of Freeman has the #2 defense nationally, only to Georgia.  Fick is the defensive coordinator.

From the Thamel article:

Tressel calls the defense on gamedays for the Bearcats and has full autonomy, but also has the awareness to know that he’s still learning the defense. Fickell spends a significant amount of time in the Bearcat defensive staff room, joining Tressel at the head of the table and offering suggestions and drawing up scenarios – like motion to the boundary in 12 personnel – that often end up looking like Sanskrit.

Fickell is the architect and overseer, as Cincinnati’s schematic innovation on defense has been the underappreciated part of the Bearcats’ rise to the College Football Playoff conversation.

 

 

More from Brian Kelly during Thursday's media availability:

MARCUS FREEMAN AND MICK MICKENS BEING FAMILIAR WITH CINCINNATI

"The reality of it is we've been working against this defense since last spring. I can tell you this, if you're just trying to prepare for two or three days, there are some complexities to it. That's where we've gotten the inside more than anything else. Mike and Marcus aren't bringing anything to the table other than the installation of the defense that we've gone against since last spring. That's the knowledge base from that perspective." 

CINCINNATI QUARTERBACK DESMOND RIDDER

"He's got the ability to put the ball down the field. I think his deep balls are as good as we've seen in a long time and I mean anybody that we've played in a long time. He throws the ball down the field very well and his ability to run. Those are the things that separate him from a lot of the quarterbacks that we've played. The ability to push the ball down the field, deep balls and that's what he wants to do, then the ability to run. I mentioned Perkins from Virginia earlier in the year and Perkins threw the ball well against us down the field in the first half and had the escapability. We needed to keep him in the pocket to have a better second half against Virginia, which we did. We'll need to do the same thing with Ridder." 

ON HOW IT FEELS TO BE AN UNDERDOG AT HOME

"They understand what protecting the home field is. They've done it 26 times in a row. This is much more about two top ten teams. You gotta go out and attack your opponent. You can't sit around and wait. This is a heavyweight fight. If you're going to dance around and wait, you're going to get knocked out. This is a really good football team. You have to come out swinging and be aggressive. You have to take it to your opponent when you have two top ten teams playing, you better come out ready to go, or you're going to get knocked out." 

 

UC 7 ND 0

ND muffed the kick return and UC has the ball in the redzone.

UC 10 ND 7

1032 left in the half.

16 minutes ago, theguru said:

UC 10 ND 7

1032 left in the half.

I've got 10-0 with a few minutes left.  What did I miss?