7. Series history:

If anybody knows about bitter football rivalries, it’s Luke Fickell.

The first-year University of Cincinnati coach got up close and personal with one of college football’s most intense rivalries during his 21 seasons as an Ohio State nose guard and coach. The Buckeyes’ annual matchup with Michigan is as grudgy as it gets.

Fickell gets his first taste of a scaled-down version of a rivalry that’s even older than Buckeyes-Wolverines on Saturday when his Bear- cats travel to Oxford for the 122nd meeting with Miami.

“I’ve learned an incredible amount about what rivalries are all about, and I can tell you this,” Fickell said. “It’s not about who’s the most talented. It’s not about who schemed up who more. It’s really about preparation and practice. I want to make sure our guys understand that.

“Everybody will be fired up for Saturday. Both teams want to win. Both teams are going to be excited. There’s going to be incredible emo- tion and energy, but it’s really about the preparation. It’s really about our heart and soul. Who’s willing to sacrifice more? Who’s willing to fight and scratch and claw for it? That’s what it comes down to. You can say that about every game, but none more than a rivalry game. It’s really about respecting, not just the game, but the entire week and how you go about your business and the mindset that you have.”

Kickoff at Yager Stadium is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game is set to be tele- vised by Ch. 19 in Cincinnati.

Miami (1-1), a 31-10 win- ner over Football Championship Subdivision Austin Peay in last Saturday’s home opener, has lost 11 straight games — a series record for both teams — in the “Battle for the Victory Bell” rivalry, but the RedHawks still lead the overall series, 59-55-7, including 14-11-2 in Oxford. Miami’s last win was a convincing 44-16 effort in 2005 — Shane Montgomery’s first season as the RedHawks coach — at Yager in which Josh Betts went 22-of-35 for 359 yards and three touchdowns and running back Brandon Murphy gained 120 yards and scored a touchdown on 20 carries. Martin Nance caught two touchdown passes and Ryne Robinson one, and Miami’s defense came up with five interceptions by five different players.

The Bearcats (1-1) are com- ing off a 36-14 loss at, ironically, Michigan in which they trailed by just 17-14 late in the third quarter before the Wolverines reeled off 19 unan- swered points. Michigan scored two touchdowns on interceptions of junior quarterback Hayden Moore and two points on a safety when a snap sailed over freshman punter James Smith’s head and into the end zone. Smith ran back and batted the ball out of the end zone to keep the Wolverines from falling on it for a touchdown.

The Bearcats have struggled to establish an offensive rhythm, especially on the ground. They’re averaging 224 yards of total offense, including just 82.5 rushing.

“They have very athletic receivers,” Miami junior cornerback Deondre Dan- iels said. “They’re big and fast, and they all can block.”

Cincinnati’s playmaking defense already has forced seven fumbles and recovered three, giving the Bearcats a plus-two turnover margin. Miami is even in turnovers.

“Turnovers are huge every week,” Miami coach Chuck Martin said. “Winning the turnover battle from here on out is going to be crucial.”

“We’ve got to play our game,” Martin said. “They are a crazy athletic team at all positions. They have weapons on offense and weapons on defense.

“If we play well in all facets of the game, we have a really good chance of being competitive and winning the game.” in 2014. The Buckeyes beat Kent State 66-0 one week after losing to the Hokies, starting a 13-game winning streak that culminated with a victory over Oregon in the national championship game.

“We know what it was like,” center Billy Price said. “We’ve been here before. We’ve been here after losses. It’s no fun at all. There’s a high expectation here set by fans, set by the coaches and even more so by the players.”

This is the first meeting between Ohio State and Army. The Buckeyes are 5-1 all time against the service academies with five victories against Navy, most recently in the 2014 season opener, and a 23-11 loss to Air Force in the 1990 Liberty Bowl.

Army seeks its second straight 3-0 start.

“We know we are in for a real battle and test,” Army coach Jeff Monken said, “and it is going to take our very best effort out of every one of our guys and coaches to stay in the ballgame with these guys.”

Bryan Price’s CINCINNATI — experiences with video reviews of close plays often leave him, as he said Friday, “sick to my stomach,” but the outcome of Wednesday’s request far exceeded expectations.

When pitcher Tyler Mahle was called out on a close force play with two outs in the fifth inning, Price asked for a review. The call was overturned, leading to Joey Votto’s RBI single and Eugenio Suarez’s grand slam in a 6-0 Reds win.

Somebody asked Price on Friday if deciding to seek a second opinion in those kinds of situations depended on who was on deck.

“Not if it’s b lack-andwhite,” he said. “If he’s clearly out or clearly safe, then we’ll go ahead, but if it’s a maybe, then it depends on who’s hitting and at what point in the game you are — lots of things go into it. That was Bo Thompson’s call right there.”

Thompson is responsi- ble for checking the replays and telling Price whether the call is clear or if there’s ambiguity.

Price also felt compelled to reward Mahle’s hustle.

“For that kid to run that hard and get a good slide into the bag — his athleticism saved that game,” Price said.

The Reds opened their final homestand of the season Friday with the first of a three- game series against the Pitts- burgh Pirates, followed after Monday’s day off with three games against St. Louis and three games against Boston.

Despite going 2-5 on the trip that concluded Thursday, Cincinnati still went into the homestand on pace to finish the season with 69.498 wins, which rounds up to 70 and would be two more than last season.

The attendance pace was less promising. The Reds went into Friday’s game drawing average crowds of 22,796. If they maintain that over the final nine home games, they will finish with 1,846,488, a decrease from last season’s 1,894,085.

That would be the lowest in the 15-year history of Great American Ball Park and the lowest for the fran- chise since the 1998 team

Last homestand: