ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
While Ohio State still has to wait until Oct. 23 or 24 to open its season, Cincinnati is set to begin its season this weekend, when the American Athletic Conference’s Bearcats will open their 2020 campaign at Nippert Stadium against Austin Peay.
In a unique twist of Saturday’s game, the Bearcats will be playing their first game of the fall while their opportunity will be playing their last, as Austin Peay is playing just three non-conference games this fall before the Governors will resume their season with the rest of the Ohio Valley Conference in the spring, when the Football Championship Subdivision will hold its national championship.
Even though the Governors have already played two games, the Bearcats will be heavily favored to win big on Saturday after Austin Peay suffered a 55-0 loss to Pittsburgh in a game that was shortened to 50 minutes last Saturday. But while the Bearcats have certainly studied the film from the Governors’ first two games in preparing for Saturday, Fickell wants his players to be focused more on performing their best than who they’re playing.
“I think you’re looking at a team that this is their last game, and I think our guys got to make sure they understand that this is kind of their season,” Fickell said. “They’re going to come in with nothing holding back. They have athletes, they have players, they’re going to give us a test in many different ways. But what it really comes down to is us and us focusing on ourselves, us focusing on the things that we need to do and what we need to control and not as much about who they are.
“Doesn’t mean we aren’t studying, doesn’t mean we don’t know exactly what they do out of what formation and what defense and things like that, but always in Week 1 – it’s our Week 1 – you gotta really focus on yourself, and you gotta make sure you’re do the little things the way you need to do them and get yourself into those routines of not just preparing to play the game but actually playing the game.”
Austin Peay (suffered a 55-0 loss to Pittsburgh) =
Note: Saturday’s game, which is scheduled for a noon kickoff and will be streamed on ESPN+, features former Ohio State players on both sides; former Buckeye wide receivers L’Christian “Blue” Smith and Garyn Prater aren’t expected to play huge roles for the Bearcats, but former Ohio State running back Brian Snead has seen regular playing time in Austin Peay’s first two games, rushing for 52 yards on 21 carries.
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