Cincinnati's 27-24 win over UCF in 2019 has been looked at by many as a turning point in the Bearcats' football program history. The Golden Knights had been the face of the American Athletic Conference the previous few years, made two consecutive New Year's Six bowls and defeated Cincinnati the previous three seasons.

UCF doesn't quite have the luster this season that it did two years ago. The Knights are 3-2 and far from the juggernaut at that point.

Still, UCF will bring more of the spotlight Cincinnati desperately needs in its push towards the College Football Playoff. With few games remaining against notable competition, the Knights offer the opportunity to play a good team, on ABC nevertheless. And it's something coach Luke Fickell has pushed his players to treat this game like any other big game.

"Maybe (UCF) hasn't been as explosive the last couple of weeks as maybe they were a couple of years ago, but nonetheless, they still have that talent," he said. "They still have the big-play capability. They're better defensively than they have been and sound, with still, really good football players.

"The whole picture is what you have to look at. You can't forget, those guys were here five years ago. What that looked like on that night, how far we had to come, more than anything, it's respect."

Check out Fickell's full press conference above, along with that of quarterback Desmond Ridder.