It's game week.

At noon ET on Friday, Cincinnati will kickoff against Georgia in the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl. And typically, the Bearcats would already be at the site of the bowl. They'd take part in pre-bowl festivities, take tours of places of interest, participate in community projects such as handing out toys to less fortunate, and spend plenty of time together as a team.

Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this time is a little different. Yes, Cincinnati will get the national spotlight of playing in a New Year's Six bowl, against an SEC opponent. But they'll be largely quarantined, save for a welcome dinner and during the game itself.

And in getting to this point, there has been the grind of daily COVID-19 tests, quarantining and staying physically distant from those outside of position groups. It's taken a toll on the physical and mental well-being of players, which has presented plenty of challenges for coach Luke Fickell and every other coach.

"The uniqueness this year is we're gonna be coming to the same place, the same locker room, we're gonna make the same walk out to our bubble," Fickell said. "So, it's very difficult to spice it up, difficult to change the look for some of the guys. It's much more into the challenge of trying to get inside their heads. Really, more than anything, them getting out of what it is that you do, trying to work on the mindset, to say, we understand. I understand. It's no different for a coach, 45 years old or 19 years old. It's still the monotony of what we started a long time ago, but you can't allow yourself to do that.

"For us, it's just trying to rely upon the relationships these guys have, the dedication they have, and trying to challenge them more mentally than anything."

Check out Fickell's full Zoom press conference above.