Cincinnati and Boston College both walk into Saturday with the same basic mission: put last season behind them and start fresh.
The Bearcats and Eagles are opening their seasons under pressure, but for different reasons. Cincinnati spent last year looking like a team on the rise after a 7-1 start and a 5-0 run through the Big 12, only to crash hard with five straight losses. That skid included a 35-13 defeat to Navy in the Liberty Bowl, leaving the Bearcats at 7-6.
Boston College’s path was uglier. The Eagles beat Fordham in their opener and won at Syracuse to close the year, but everything in between went sideways. They dropped 10 in a row and finished 2-10.
Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield has spent the offseason trying to steady a roster that changed a lot. Graduation and the transfer portal took away important pieces, and now the offense belongs to veteran Georgia Southern transfer JC French IV.
The Bearcats no longer have multi-year starter Brendan Sorsby to guide the unit, but they do have a major asset up front in a strong offensive line led by preseason All-American guard Evan Tengesdahl.
Satterfield has pushed French through a demanding offseason and says the quarterback has handled the learning curve well.
"We're throwing a lot of stuff at JC because for us and how we want guys to play at that position it's new to him, so there's a lot of new things," Satterfield said. "He's going to make some mistakes when that happens.
We understand that, and to his credit, he's done a good job of learning when he goes back to watch the film, not making that same mistake again. I think that's the key."
Boston College is also bringing in a new look, and coach Bill O'Brien enters his third year with plenty riding on how quickly it comes together. The Eagles are debuting a revamped roster built around a rebuilt defense and quarterback Mason McKenzie, a Division II Saginaw Valley State transfer.
That defensive overhaul comes after last season’s group finished last in the Atlantic Coast Conference in total defense, allowing 433.3 yards per game.
O'Brien didn’t sugarcoat what happened a year ago.
"It was a disappointing year," O'Brien said. "We lost a lot of one-possession games and we made too many mistakes, whether it was turnovers or penalties or not executing in the red area. So we worked hard on that in the offseason to improve that, and I think we have."
In Other News...
Boston College Women's Soccer Just Delivered Another Early Statement
Boston Colleges women kept rolling early in the season with a convincing road win over Vermont, using a balanced attack to stay perfect and keep building momentum. Emily Mara and Nicolette Kiorpes both scored twice, Georgina Clarke added another, and the Eagles looked every bit like a team that has settled in quickly under Chris Watkins.
The result also carried a notable milestone for Watkins, who reached a new career benchmark in the process, adding a little more significance to a strong start that now has Boston College sitting at 5-0-0. For a program trying to establish itself as a real presence right away, the performance at Virtue Field offered another reminder that this group is not just winning, but doing it with depth and confidence. [Read more 🡒]
Boston College Opens Home Invitational With An Encouraging Early Statement
Boston College opened its home invitational with a clean start, rolling past Stonehill in a 3-0 sweep that gave the Eagles an early boost in tournament play. Audrey Ross paced the attack with 14 kills, while the offense kept humming around her as Boston College controlled the match from the outset and stretched its winning streak over Stonehill to four straight.
There was plenty else to like in the performance, including a strong night at the net from Sam Hoppes and a breakout contribution from Reese Dunkle, who notched a career-high seven kills. The Eagles will try to carry that momentum into their next tournament match against Bucknell, with the kind of balanced production that can make a home weekend turn quickly from encouraging to meaningful. [Read more 🡒]
Boston Colleges Cincinnati Opener Will Test A Risky New Eagles Formula
Boston College heads into its season opener against Cincinnati with a roster that has been turned over in a major way, a mix of 26 transfers and 25 freshmen giving Bill OBriens first team in Chestnut Hill a very different look. The Eagles have spent camp trying to stitch together an identity around a revamped group on both sides of the ball, with new faces expected to help lift a program that wants a better start than it managed a year ago.
The spotlight will fall early on the offense, where the staff has leaned into change everywhere from the quarterback room to the play-calling structure. Mason McKenzie, one of the more intriguing additions, is part of a quarterback setup that reflects how aggressively Boston College has reworked the roster, while Ted Roofs arrival as defensive coordinator adds another layer of uncertainty as the Eagles try to find out quickly whether this new formula can hold up against a real opponent. [Read more 🡒]