Luke Fickell addresses Cincinnati's underdog status against Alabama

Unsurprisingly, Luke Fickell’s No. 4 Cincinnati Bearcats, the first Group of Five school to ever make the College Football Playoff, is a heavy underdog in the semifinals against No. 1 Alabama. And no one — except for those within the Cincinnati program — would argue that it should be otherwise.

However, the fact that Fickell and Cincinnati have had to prove themselves to the college football world time and time again has grown exhausting, he said. Fickell explained Sunday night that it “took a toll” on Cincinnati that the players repeatedly felt the need to prove something — perhaps prove more than other Power Five teams would need — just to be included in the College Football Playoff.

Here they are, though, in the College Football Playoff. Now that they’ve gotten here, no one expects Fickell and Cincinnati to emerge victorious, and Las Vegas oddsmakers are no different. Alabama is currently a 14.5-point favorite over Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl, and Fickell can’t stand to see that number.

“I wasn’t quite aware exactly where those things are,” he said Sunday. “Usually when I start to see them pop up on the bottom of the ticker, I change the channel.”

Fickell, Cincinnati led by Ridder, stout defense

Quarterback Desmond Ridder has blossomed from three-star recruit via the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, to a national title-contending quarterback in five years — and this year is his best one yet.

Ridder this season has thrown for 3,190 yards with a 65 percent completion rate, while boasting an excellent 30-to-eight touchdown-to-interception ratio. Ridder also contributes on the ground, adding 371 rushing yards and six touchdowns, but Cincinnati’s 13-0 season and AAC Championship was made possible in large part thanks to its defense.

Cincinnati’s front seven comes in at 19th in the FBS with 37 sacks, while also ranking No. 6 with 96 tackles for loss. Ahead of the Cotton Bowl matchup, Nick Saban even said he’s impressed by the front seven’s ability to avoid mistakes.

“They’re very active, they’re very aggressive, they’re a good group,” Saban said of Cincinnati’s front seven. “They play a three-three stack, they slide over to a four-down front sometimes. They plug a lot of backers, they have a lot of good pressures, they play a lot of man-to-man, but they change it up quite a bit. They play very well together as a team. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. They fit the runs, they do the things they need to do to have success together as a group and they’ve got some very talented guys.”

Saban went on to say that Cincinnati has a “very good secondary,” and frankly, the secondary is Cincinnati’s strongest suit. The group is led by consensus All-American defensive back Ahmad Gardner and consensus All-American defensive back Coby Bryant, making for a tough duo for opposing quarterbacks.

“Their two corners (Gardner and Bryant) are good players,” Saban said. “They’re long they play a lot of man-to-man, they got good ball skills, they’re good man-to-man players. They’re aggressive in the way they play, they don’t make a lot of mistakes, they’re smart, they got a lot of experience even when they change it up and play zone, they’re ball hawkers, they’re all ball hawkers back there. They really attack the ball, they have a lot of turnovers. It’s a talented group.”