TigerSportsReport spoke to Jason Stamm of BearcatReport got his thoughts on the match-up.

Cincinnati travels to the Liberty Bowl for a 2:30 pm CST kickoff on Black Friday. The game will be televised nationally on ABC.

TSR- What's your overall assessment of Cincy's football program this season?

JS- Sometimes, the good teams have to have luck. They aren't on their game all the time. That's definitely been the case for Cincinnati many times this season, including over the past month. It's not that the Bearcats aren't good. You don't get to 10-1 without being talented. But you could make the case that the wins over ECU, USF, and Temple, especially, I'm not sure Cincinnati necessarily deserved to win. The Bearcats, though, did have timely plays, in addition to luck. I mean, USF missed four field goals, Ahmad Gardner had a timely fourth quarter pick-six at ECU, and Darrick Forrest had a last-minute interception against Temple. If Cincinnati beats Memphis, it won't be by a big margin. But it will have made the timely plays, and had some luck ti win it.

TSR- Kind of broad question, but what has Luke Fickell specifically done that's led to the Bearcats' success?

JS- Fickell has single-handedly changed the culture at Cincinnati. This is a program that expects to win every game now. And the Bearcats have a swagger now that I don't think was there before he came. He's been smart with his assistant hires, including Marcus Freeman at defensive coordinator. That guy has really held his own recruiting-wise in southwest Ohio. Cincinnati is in the hunt with pretty much any kid in the state of Ohio now and that hasn't always been the case. And the Bearcats have done a great job keeping guys home in Cincinnati and Dayton. I think we still haven't seen Fickell's best team yet.

TSR- Since Cincinnati has already clinched a spot in the AAC title game, do you think that will play into Memphis' hands? Meaning, will Cincy be on cruise control since they have already have next week punched in?

JS- What I'd be careful of if I'm UC is not giving away too much, since you know you're playing next week, but also, this game is still very important for a New Year's Six Bowl. With the Bearcats not winning any style points lately, this is the type of win Cincinnati needs to win some favor from the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. So the Bearcats aren't conceding this game by any means. It's still very much important, but the pressure, I think is gone, because of clinching the east division. If I'm Fickell, I'm telling the players to relax, just go play, because regardless, they're in the AAC title game.

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