With a glorious head coaching tradition and gridiron success over the last 20+ years (including a good stretch in the Big East), the Bearcats are in the Power 5 spotlight. How will they do?
Even though Cincinnati is a relative newcomer to major college football (beginning in 1954), the Bearcats have been led by a string of nationally recognized head coaches.
They include the very first head coach in the modern era, Sid Gilman of San Diego Chargers fame, who also served as an NFL head coach of the Rams and Oilers. Tony Mason went on to coach at Arizona. Mike Gottfried also coached at Pitt and Kansas. Mark Dantonio won a national championship as DC at Ohio State before making his mark at Michigan State, and he is on the College Hall of Fame ballot this year. Brian Kelly, who went on to coach at ND, is now at LSU. Butch Jones went on to coach at Tennessee and is the Arkansas State head coach today. Tommy Tuberville coached at Auburn, Ole Miss, and Texas Tech and is currently a U.S. Senator (R-AL). Most recently, Luke Fickell—he of a 72% head coach winning percentage—coached for one year at Ohio State, made national news at UC, and now is in his first year at Wisconsin.
Cincinnati has also had its share of good seasons, especially since 2000. They’ve been ranked in the Top 20 ten times since 2007, finishing as high as #4 in 2021 under Fickell. That’s quite a feat for a team that mostly competed in the lower tier of the Football Bowl Subdivision, recently in the Group of 5 American Conference, except for a stint in the now-defunct Big East Conference (2005-2012).
In the Big East, Cincinnati played the likes of Pitt, West Virginia, and Syracuse, and won ten or more games five times, and claimed four sole or shared conference championships. Ranked in the Top 25 at some point in most of those seasons–save 2005, 2006, and 2010–the Bearcats played in six bowl games as a Big East representative, including two New Year’s 6 Bowls–the Orange and Sugar under Kelly.
Before that, Cincinnati played for many years as an independent (1954-1956 and 1970-1995) and in mid-major conferences, including the Missouri Valley and Conference USA. Earlier, small college football was the norm. Intercollegiate football began in 1885, and small college conference affiliations shifted over the years, starting with the Ohio Athletic Conference (1910), then the Buckeye Athletic Conference (1926), and finally as a charter member of the Mid-American Conference (1946).
Today, UC is in “the big time.” And while its home field, Nippert Stadium, isn’t big (40k seating), it is widely known for being filled with boisterous fans. They’ll get a huge treat on September 23 when their Bearcats open the home Big 12 schedule against Oklahoma, and tickets (as of July 18) are going on the secondary market for about $200 a seat. How’s that for excitement?!
It’s a fitting upgrade for a university that stands in the shadow of Ohio State, Ohio’s flagship public university. But let’s give UC its due. This major public research university was founded decades before OSU (1819 v. 1870), and even though the University of Cincinnati isn’t a state flagship university, a land-grant institution, or an elite private school, it fits well with the academic profiles of other Power 5 schools—in and beyond the Big 12.
It also has—like Houston—previous power conference football experience, and that standing could give it a leg up as it transitions back into big-time football. The big question is how competitive Cincy will be in the Big 12 and when.
My take is sooner than later, and one thing that helps right off the bat (at least theoretically) is the Bearcats’ 2023 projected Strength of Schedule, which FanNation ranks #73 nationally, about the same as last year’s standing (#74). Who would have thought that possible? The Bearcats played in the American last year against the likes of Navy, Temple, East Carolina, and Tulsa. Now, they will compete in what many believe to be the toughest top-to-bottom Power 5 conference.
Other B12 teams aren’t projected to have it easy, schedule-wise, including four teams that rank in the nation’s Top 10– WVU (#3), fellow newcomer Houston (#6), Iowa State (#8), and Kansas State (#10). Three other schools made it into the Top 25 of difficulty–Texas Tech (#14), Baylor (#17), and Texas (#21). So what’s up with the Bearcats? College Football News ranks UC’s 2023 schedule as the easiest in the league. The reason? “The home games against Eastern Kentucky and Miami University are a big, big help to ease the way into the Big 12 season. There are four conference road games, two against Houston and West Virginia, and no Kansas State, TCU, or Texas to deal with.”
Here’s the thing, though. Except for picking its out-of-conference foes, the Bearcats didn’t pick who they’ll play conference-wise or where those games will be played. So, if there’s a credit to be given on the scheduling score, give the league office a high-five, Bearcat fans.
Not only is Cincinnati new to the Big 12, but their head coach is also new to the Bearcats. Scott Satterfield had great success at Appalachian State (51-24) before departing for Louisville, where the results were mezza mezza—25-24 overall, 15-18 ACC, and two losing seasons. So, will Satterfield’s UC performance be more like ASU or UL? That’s anybody’s guess, but one thing that helps is that Bryan Brown will continue as the Bearcats DC.
Cincinnati finished in the top 30 overall defensively last year, in the top 20 in scoring defense, and in the top 15 in passing defense. Rushing D (#71) kept UC from having a national-class defensive unit. That’s why improvement on the D-line and linebacker is important. Look for the best name in college football, defensive lineman “The Godfather” Dontay Corleone, to step up, along with senior linemen Malik Vann and Juwon Briggs. Linebacker Dorian Jones followed Satterfield from UL to UC, and his knowledge of Satterfield’s system will help.
On offense, analysts expect Satterfield to emphasize the run game. Still, the biggest challenges for that unit are players who were lost to graduation and those who left the program following the coaching change. The bottom line is that we’ll likely see what emerges at running back, on the O-line, and at wideout in the early games against EKU, Miami (OH), and Pitt. There’s a new QB, too. He’s Emory Jones, a transfer from Arizona State by way of Florida, who threw for nearly 3,000 yards with the Gators in 2021.
Special teams look solid. Another ASU transfer, Carter Brown (80% FG accuracy), will take over placekicking duties. Returning punter Mason Fletcher, a boomer, led the unit to a #2 ranking in net punting last year and was named the American’s Special Teamer of the Year. Those guys will be handy in close games.
Satterfield is going from the frying pan to the fire, exchanging the ACC for the Big 12, and he has a tradition to follow in the Queen City–winning. The Bearcats have experienced only five losing seasons since 2000, and they’ve been in the Top 25 at some point in each of the past five seasons. The 2018-2022 cumulative record is 53-11 (83%). Yowza!
My bet? If the transition to Satterfield is reasonably smooth, UC should be able to finish the 2023 season with the best record among the Big 12 newcomers.
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NOTE: Text is drawn from comments made on Wolfman’s Call with Host Dale Wolfley (Tuesday, July 25 edition, 4 p.m. Eastern). Watch on YouTube at the West Virginia Football at the Voice of College Football and on Facebook.
SOURCES: Besides the text stations in hypertext, this article draws on material published in Sports Reference, College Football, Cincinnati; Winsipedia.com; Lindy’s College Football, National 2023 Preview; and publically accessible information from Wikipedia and other sources about the University of Cincinnati.
