Cincinnati Fans Appear to Troll Texas With ‘Horns Down’ During Cotton Bowl

Texas is nowhere to be found in the College Football Playoff, but UC still appear to be trolling them.

Cincinnati is set to join the Big 12 in 2024, potentially having some overlap with Texas if UT and Oklahoma aren't able to leave for the SEC before the current 2025 timeframe. 

As members of the AAC, the Bearcats are making history in their matchup against Alabama on Friday, becoming the first Group of 5 team to appear in the College Football Playoff. Coach Luke Fickell has downplayed the importance of it, even if the team will rejoin the Power 5 ranks soon enough.

Bearcats fans are getting in on some Big 12 traditions early though, it seems. During the Cotton Bowl against the Crimson Tide, cameras caught an enthusiastic Bearcats fan throwing what certainly appeared to be the “horns down” gesture, while saying the phrase out loud.

Texas catching a stray horns down from this Cincinnati fan 😂 pic.twitter.com/gefMs2XYeM

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) December 31, 2021

Rivals like Oklahoma popularized “horns down,” but other Big 12 programs have gleefully adopted it to the point where the league has gone back and forth on penalizing it as a taunt.

The Bearcats and Longhorns have never played in the history of the two programs.  

It doesn't make a ton of sense to “horns down” during a game against Alabama, but Cincinnati may be gaining some brownie points with its future conference mates.

Of course, UC has much bigger concerns Friday. Fickell's team trails Alabama 17–3 at halftime of today's CFP semifinal, gaining just 76 yards of offense to 302 for Nick Saban's squad.

• All Bearcats: Luke Fickell Gives His Thoughts on Power 5 Label
• CFP Predictions: Setting the Stage for Friday's Semifinals
• Viral Cincinnati Fan Doubles Down With ‘We Want Bama’ Videos
• Nick Saban Dropped the Quote of the Bowl Season

For more news on the Cincinnati Bearcats, head over to All Bearcats.