It was no surprise, but Luke Fickell finally did it. University of Cincinnati football coach Fickell on Monday named junior Hayden Moore as the starting quarterback for the Bearcats' opener against Austin Peay on Thursday (7 p.m.) at Nippert Stadium.
Incumbent starter Moore and sophomore Ross Trail had been battling for the job. Trail's cause was hurt by an abdominal strain which has limited him recently, but Moore emerged No. 1 from spring practice and did nothing to lose the job in summer practices.
"It kind of comes down to experience, consistency in the things we're doing and the management of our offense," Fickell said, speaking on the first weekly American Athletic Conference coaches teleconference.