Fickell and Ridder Show Great Respect for UCF

Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell and Heisman Trophy candidate Desmond Ridder both address the press yesterday at their weekly gathering.

Both coach and player displayed significant respect for UCF, a club that is just a couple of plays away from being 5-0.

Expect a genuine battle on Saturday.

Check out their full comments below:

I’ve got the same sense about this game as Coach Fickell and Desmond Ridder.

At the beginning of the season, I thought the Cincinnati-University of Central Florida game had the makings of a College Gameday setting. Two 5-0 AAC clubs, both ranked, fighting it out on national TV.

The national TV part is happening. Cincinnati and UCF will be facing off at high noon at Nippert on ABC.

But with UCF at 3-2, ESPN went with Georgia as the home of Gameday this Saturday.

While UCF has two losses, while their fantastic starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel is done for the forseeable future, while UCF may have as many as a dozen regulars out on Saturday, do not count this team out.

Cincinnati has shown great ability this season to stay focused on the task at hand. But a let down is inevitable. And if the Bearcats let down too much against this highly talented UCF team, it could end poorly.