The place will be packed. Luke Fickell knows that.
“It’s going to be a tough, nasty game, just like the environment’s going to be,” Fickell said. “I think they pride themselves in things like that. We pride ourselves in things like that.”
The truth is both teams have plenty to gain, but plenty to lose, too. Arkansas is ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll and No. 23 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The Bearcats are No. 23 and No. 22 in the same. Such a preseason ranking shows the teams are expected to be good enough to make a run toward the College Football Playoff if things go right. If they don’t go right, however, well, that’s a different story.
Cincinnati has won five straight true road games. They lost in the CFP last year to Alabama on a neutral site. Fickell remembered how that environment troubled his team a bit.
“What the environment and atmosphere comes down to is your emotions,” he said. “But it’s not like you’re going to trigger those kinds of motions in a practice based on the environment.”
The DWRRS capacity is 76,000. No stadium in the American Athletic Conference, where Cincinnati plays, can match that. The two closest are professional stadiums, but South Florida and Temple don’t come close to meeting their capacities.
Fickell said he is looking forward to the challenge.
“Wanting these guys to experience the environments like we’re going to play in on Saturday, but also the environments of what a college campus feels like when there’s a buzz, what a community feels like when there’s a buzz.”
