It's been mentioned in pretty much every article and forum posted since the game ended, but I wanted to start a thread for Luke Fickell and the Cincy Bearcats. Going in to South Bend and laying the smackdown on Brian Kelly's candy ass.

For those that have yet to watch the highlights yet, the final score doesn't justify how dominant Cincinnati was today. UC's kicker missed two chip shot field goals (30 and 37 yarders), and the 'Cats offense wasn't that great in the red zone. But their defense, specifically their linebackers and secondary, are legit. They didn't create much of a pass rush today, but that's not much of a surprise considering they're undersized and Notre Dame has a bunch of 300+ pounders up front. But the run defense was outstanding.

Desmond Ridder has some ups and downs, but the kid is clutch. He was 5/14 for 40 yards prior to UC's final drive of the first half; a drive that saw UC go 80 yards in just over a minute without having to use a single timeout. Then in the 4th quarter, when Notre Dame had cut the lead from 17-0 to 17-13, Ridder fires a beautiful 35-yard strike up the seam to his tight end, and caps the drive with a 6-yard TD run to put the dagger through the Irish's heart and secure the team's first ever road win against a top 10 opponent.

Finally, the man of the hour, Luke Fickell. During the post game interview, all I could think about was all the crap he had to endure during 2011. Ten years and one day after losing one of the ugliest games in Ohio Stadium history, a 10-7 loss to Michigan State, in which the Buckeyes didn't score until the dying moments of the fourth quarter, he pulls out the biggest win in the history of UC football.

Congrats, Coach Fickell. Congrats, UC. Hope they meet the Bucks in the playoff.