The Bearcats’ home opener brings Boston College to Nippert Stadium on Saturday, and both teams are trying to start fresh after rough 2025 seasons.
Cincinnati will see an Eagles team it hasn’t faced since the 2019 Birmingham Bowl, when UC rolled to a 38-6 win. This time, Boston College arrives after finishing 2-10 last year and landing second to last in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
A big part of the BC storyline is at quarterback. Redshirt junior Mason McKenzie is set to make his debut in the road matchup after transferring in January. Coach Bill O’Brien announced on July 17 that McKenzie would be the starter.
McKenzie brings a lot of production with him from Saginaw Valley State, where he threw for more than 4,300 yards and 31 touchdowns while also adding 1,600 rushing yards and 18 scores in 25 games.
He’ll have a couple of key receivers to lean on. Redshirt junior Jaedn Skeete played in four games with three starts last season and finished with 13 catches for 140 yards and three touchdowns. Redshirt sophomore Javarius Green comes over from the University of North Carolina, where he appeared in 16 career games and had 14 receptions for 162 yards.
Boston College also has some defensive pieces worth watching. Senior safety KP Price was named captain as a junior in 2025, then started all 12 games and led the team with 94 tackles, three quarterback hits, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. He earned All-ACC Second Team honors and was also placed on the Senior Bowl Top 300 watch list.
Senior cornerback Max Tucker is another name on the list. He played in all 12 games last season, started five times at cornerback, and finished with 25 tackles, two pass breakups and one interception. He, too, is on the Senior Bowl Top 300 watch list.
With both teams looking for a win after disappointing seasons, Saturday’s matchup has the feel of a clean slate. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on Fox.
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Before the first snap of the season, Cincinnati already has a revealing kind of early test on its hands. Scott Satterfield spent the offseason trying to steady a roster that needed it, while also bringing along new quarterback JC French IV, and the opener against Boston College offers a quick read on how far that work has gone. Both programs are coming off disappointing years, which makes this matchup less about pageantry and more about who handled the reset better.
Bill OBrien has been doing his own rebuilding work at Boston College, where a revamped defense and new quarterback Mason McKenzie will be part of the opening-week equation. For the Bearcats, the bigger question is whether the offseason emphasis on stability shows up fast enough to matter. Openers can be messy, but this one feels especially important for a Cincinnati team that cannot afford to start with another round of uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]
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Cincinnati Gambling Scrutiny Put One Bearcats Decision Under The Microscope
The NCAAs review of the Cincinnati case is over, and the school came out clean after questions swirled around Brendan Sorsbys gambling activity. Sorsby had already been ruled ineligible by the NCAA before a Texas judges injunction put him back on the field, but the broader inquiry centered on whether the Bearcats themselves handled the matter properly once the Big 12 flagged it.
Cincinnati said it responded by taking steps to educate Sorsby on gambling rules, and the NCAA ultimately found no violations by the university. The resolution closes one significant front in a situation that had threatened to linger over the program, even if the focus on Sorsby himself is not entirely gone. [Read more 🡒]