UC coach Luke Fickell reacts to the Bearcats' win over Tulane, in which UC achieved bowl eligibility for the first time since 2015. Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com
Show of hands, here. How many thought the University of Cincinnati football team would be 6-0 at the midway point of the season, and already bowl-eligible?
At best, most thought UC would lose its opener at UCLA and hopefully be able to start with a 5-1 record. Many fans would have settled for 3-3 at this point, given UC was coming off of two straight 4-8 seasons.