Cincinnati Antsy for Game Time against Alabama

Luke Fickell and the Bearcats anxiously await the College Football Playoff matchup against the Crimson Tide.

DALLAS — The clock is ticking, and Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell and his team can feel it. 

It has been more than three weeks since the Bearcats have taken the field, and now it's nearly game time against the biggest program in college football. The anticipation is building. 

When Fickell spoke to the media Thursday morning approximately 30 hours before his team is scheduled to take on No. 1 Alabama in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, you can tell that his team is over the waiting. It's time to play.

"The last 30 or so hours are the longest time I think in all that we do— I know for us and for me," Fickell said. "We’re right here on the cusp of kind of finishing up the preparations, excited about tomorrow, and it’s been a long time coming."

By this point, there is not much more work that can be done. Players have had more time to scout and watch film, rest and recover, practice and prepare for this game than any other game in the regular season. 

The same can be said for the Crimson Tide. Alabama is much more familiar with this situation having been in the CFP seven out of eight seasons, but it's a new challenge for every team. Nick Saban also spoke on Thursday about how challenging it can be to manage the three-week plus break. 

As has been well discussed since Selection Day, Cincinnati is the first Group of Five school to make the College Football Playoff. The Bearcats do not play the same level of competition week in and week out that Alabama plays in the SEC, but they did beat Notre Dame on the road in the regular season and nearly beat Georgia in last season's Peach Bowl. 

However, Fickell knows that the program's biggest test stands in front of them on Friday afternoon.

"We understand that it's a larger challenge than maybe anything we've faced in the past meaning that a team that obviously has been in the playoffs seven times and as we refer to as 'the champs,'" Fickell said. "So I think the messaging is kind of specific for who our guys are and what they've been through. But it's definitely about hey, these are the champs, and in order to beat the champs, you're gonna have to play at your best."

Fickell said he saw his team beginning to get antsy Wednesday during final practices and meetings. Saban was asked if he's sensed growing eagerness from his team as the week as gone on, and he said the Alabama coaching staff does its best to gain a sense of urgency as it gets closer to the game. And it is what he's seen from his team this week. 

Whatever distractions or external factors that have been surrounding both programs since early December will cease when No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Cincinnati meet in AT&T Stadium Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m on ESPN. Once the ball is kicked off, the noise ends and the game begins.

"It’s close to that talk being over and about time for us to go back out there and do what it is that we'd love to do," Fickell said. "And I think everybody in this program is really excited about what's to come tomorrow."