The second year of the Luke Fickell era started beautifully, as the Cincinnati Bearcats escaped with a 26-17 win over the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl in their season opener.
Entering play as roughly two-touchdown underdogs, the Bearcats (1-0), who went 4-8 in each of the previous two seasons, played a defensively aggressive game and got big plays from the offense to take in a victory. Michael Warren did a lot of the heavy lifting on offense, rushing for 141 yards on 35 carries while scoring three touchdowns, including a critical score in the final minutes that cemented the victory.