After escaping Tulsa, Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell says No. 6 Bearcats chasing wins, not style points

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell has been consistent this season about not apologizing for close wins, and he’s not about to start now after Saturday’s 28-20 escape against Tulsa.

The Bearcats (9-0) came up with two goal-line stands in the final minutes to remain unbeaten, their third straight game that was anything but easy. They were a three-touchdown favorite against the Golden Hurricane.

“It’s about winning,” Fickell said. “We’re not going to try to live up to what somebody else expects of us and how we do things.”

Cincinnati, which hosted ESPN’s College GameDay this weekend, was ranked No. 6 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday. Three teams with one loss were ranked ahead of them, but Fickell and his players said they would not be consumed with piling up so-called style points the rest of the way.

His message to his players has been simple: Worry about winning games and not the rankings.

“I said, ‘Hey guys, we have no control over that. Let’s let it be, do what we can do, control what we can control and let the chips fall where they may. If you guys continue to win, then at some point in time at the end of the year, we’ll be up there pounding the table,’” said Fickell, whose Bearcats have won 19 of their past 20 games dating to the end of the 2019 season.

“If it ain’t good enough, it ain’t good enough,” he said. “We can do nothing about that. It is what it is. There’s a lot of ball to be played. That’s the great thing about college football. There’s always going to be some type of controversy. We’re happy to be a part of that controversy and will keep publicizing our program, keep putting that chip on our shoulder and keep finding ways to win.”

The Bearcats gave up 446 total yards to Tulsa, but made stops when it counted. Tulsa ran eight plays from inside the Cincinnati 12-yard line in the final two minutes. Cincinnati stopped Tulsa on fourth down at the 2 with 1:14 to play to seemingly put the game away after leading 14-0 early and then 28-12 midway through the third quarter.

But on the ensuing play after stopping Tulsa on downs, Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder fumbled the snap, and Tulsa recovered at the 3. But once again, the Bearcats held — three times from the 1 — and on fourth down, senior linebacker Darrian Beavers forced a Steven Anderson fumble that was recovered in the Cincinnati end zone for a touchback.

“That’s when we’re at our best, when our backs are against the wall,” Beavers said. “All we care about is winning the game. Winning is hard in college football.”

Ridder said Fickell even got onto the players in the locker room after the game for not celebrating more.

“People can be disappointed … and then you lose sight of really what this is all about, the ability to celebrate with those guys you work so hard with and sacrifice for,” Fickell said. “Some people can strip the joy from it. As a coach, I’m not going to do that. I will probably go home and do it to myself maybe at some point in time, but I won’t do it to them. I want them to enjoy it.”