Two things stood out as the Black team beat the Red 22-6 in the annual University of Cincinnati spring football game at Nippert Stadium on Friday night.
First, the defense clearly is ahead of the offense right now.
Second, the fans are back. After a 4-8 season and growing discontent with then-coach Tommy Tuberville, a crowd estimated at 7,000-plus attended Friday on a warm spring night. Many observers could not recall UC having a larger crowd for a spring game.
“It lets you know that even though we did have a bad season last year, we still have a lot of fans that believe in us and that believe in coach (Luke) Fickell and what he’s doing,” said junior cornerback Alex Thomas, who had two interceptions for the Black team
First-year UC coach Fickell also praised the fans for their attendance, and also noted that his defense looked strong on both sides.