Luke Fickell: Indiana 'Very Similar' to Past UCF Teams

The UC head coach spoke to the media on Tuesday.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Updated:
Sep 20, 2022 5:24 PM EDT

CINCINNATI — UC head football coach Luke Fickell had plenty of thoughts ready to fire for the media at his weekly press conference.

Check out some of the best quotes he had on this weekend's game against Indiana and more.

On The High Powered Passing Attack:

We are comfortable with winning and scoring points. Every year you are going to be a little different, and that still doesn’t get away from who we think we are and who we want to be. For us to be able to establish and find the guys that are going to carry the running game I think more than anything is where we still got to grow.

We are not going to get away with being a Top-15, Top-10 team in the country throwing the football. I mean, the reality is the teams that are top-two or top-three in the country in those stats aren’t always the best, just like the top-two or top-three teams running the football aren't always the best because there needs to be a balance. For us to continue to grow, we know we have got to be able to throw the football, but we have to make sure that we have enough balance.

I am not saying we didn't, Charles (McClelland) rushed for over 100 yards, and I thought that was really good for a team (Miami (OH) that basically, in the past, said they are not going to allow you to run the football.

I think Kentucky rushed for 40 or so rushing yards and they have done a really good job, but I know for us to continue to develop we have to create and make sure that we are balanced in what we are doing and that is establishing an ability to run the football.

On How The Defense Played With Malik Vann Out Due To Injury:

We're going to have to play guys. That's the, I guess, the good of how we've played the last few years. But it's hard. It is difficult. I mean, I don't just feel bad for our team. I feel bad for Malik. I mean, it is a really difficult situation, you know, to come back for another year, and prepare really, really well. And then to have something like that happen, and it's not something you can avoid.

I mean, there's not like, well, if I'd have done something different, I could have taken care of myself, and it's just one of those things that you got no explanation for. And so all around it, it's a tough situation, but it's a part of the game. You know, that's why we've been harping and hammering on those guys. I call them younger guys, but guys that maybe haven't played as much ball. They're going to be a big part of this.

Obviously, Eric (Phillips) and Justin Wodtly, and Noah Potter are the guys that probably maybe went from playing 40 snaps a game or 35 snaps a game to playing 50 snaps a game, or maybe they were only gonna play 20 snaps.

So we're gonna have to be able to use those guys in some different ways and still be able to kind of roll them a little bit more and gotta find now for us, we got to find who is that seventh and eighth guy and that's the role Ryan Mullaney has also fallen into, you know, he'll really be able to help us a lot.

On Facing A Pass-Heavy Indiana Team (136 attempts, fifth-most nationally):

Yeah, it's you know, there's not a giant sample size too because you're kind of looking around and obviously what Walt Bell, the offensive coordinator, had done in other places or whether it was at UMass. You know, and then just got three games looking at him. So there's a lot of things that you're still trying to speculate. But you know this, that they're going to spread the ball around.

If you remember playing a UCF's of the world, I think, you know, that is very similar to what it is that they're doing. And the unique thing about UCF was that, hey, if you didn't pay attention to the run, that's where they were most dangerous.

You know, everybody talks about the shots down the field and the space but their ability to have balance is what made them so good. And, you know, that's a little bit of a vision of what I see from Indiana. You know that sometimes you notice just the splits and things like that, but their ability to still be able to run the football is I think, where they create the difficult situations. When you really got to they got to bounce to what it is they are doing.

On Defending Indiana Wide Receiver D.J. Matthews Jr.:

The good thing is we have got some pretty good slot receivers that we've gone against every day, and that's where Tre Tucker and the guys that we face on a regular basis really help prepare us for when we get opportunities like this.

Our nickels and defensive backs have been challenged a lot, but they (Indiana) do create some more space with some of those splits and things like that. There's always different things and you got to be aware of them, but that's why I kind of said before that I think those nickels will have a little greater challenge on their hands not just because of (D.J.) Matthews but also because of how they use the space that they create. That's a great challenge for us.

Check out his full comments below.

The Bearcats play the Hoosiers at 3:30 p.m. ET this Saturday on ESPN2. Streaming options the contest are available on fuboTV—start your free trial today.

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