What is your team thankful for
According to the American Automobile Association, 43.6 million Americans will make at least a 50-mile trip to be home with their families for Thanksgiving.
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College football teams can relate; there's no place like home.
Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones believes that his student body presents a major advantage for the Bearcats. His team is 5-1 at home and will close its regular season against South Florida on Friday.
Since entering the Big East for the 2005 season, Cincinnati has a cumulative home record of 38-10.
"I believe Nippert (Stadium) is one of the best venues in all of college football," Jones said.
"Our student body has been amazing and our fans have been outstanding, but (the reason for) going back to really supporting this football team is having an opportunity to win. ... Our fans dictate a lot and help us win and provide momentum, energy, spark, great home-field advantage."
Cincinnati has evolved from a Conference USA program to a legitimate Big East power, and it is a consistent threat to win the conference title.
Jones thinks that it is just the beginning of something special. This is a program that took its first steps under Mark Dantonio, now at Michigan State, and then major leaps with Brian Kelly, now at Notre Dame, but it is Jones who is charged with continuing the process.
"The great thing about being the head football coach is you get to paint the vision of everything," he said. "Playing in front of sold-out crowds as we continue to grow and elevate this program, that is one of my visions and we will get it done."
Winning the conference for the fourth time in six seasons will add to the excitement.
"Right now, we are embarking on the greatest era of Cincinnati football, and that is what people need to realize," Jones said. "Ten to 15 years ago, we may not have been having this conversation, but looking at the era we are in surrounding Cincinnati football, we are on the national stage."
The next step in giving thanks will be filling the stands, because Cincinnati finished last in attendance in the Big East in 2011.
Here is a look at what other programs around the country are thankful for:
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