Cincinnati’s dream season came to an end on Friday in a 27-6 loss to Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

Luke Fickell’s first season at Cincinnati finished with a 4-8 mark. He was 44-6 in the last 4 seasons coming into Friday’s game as the Bearcats put together a 13-0 season and became the 1st non-Power 5 team to make the Playoff field.

While the Bearcats found themselves within arm’s length of the Crimson Tide, ultimately the Tide’s run game–powered by Brian Robinson Jr.–and a defense that registered 6 sacks kept Fickell’s offense in check.

“We at least had the opportunity to step back here and reflect a little bit more, and recognize where it is that we’ve come from,” Fickell said during his postgame press conference on Friday.

Fickell grew emotional when discussing how far the program had come within the past 5 seasons, mentioning that it would be tough to truly reflect on things so soon after the loss.

“I promise you my wife will make me later tonight [to] try to take a couple of deep breaths and recognize where these guys have taken us and what they’ve done for us,” he said as his voice broke.