Scott Satterfield has Cincinnati back in bowl territory, and now the next question is whether the Bearcats can build on that and stack together another season with seven-plus wins. There’s a path there if enough pieces click.
The challenge starts on offense, where Cincinnati is trying to replace the spark it got from Brendan Sorsby last season. Things were rolling at 7-1, and the Bearcats had strung together five straight conference wins over Kansas, Iowa State, UCF, Oklahoma State, and Baylor before the season unraveled. Cincinnati then dropped four of its final five, and Navy handled the Bearcats in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
Now Satterfield has turned to a new quarterback room, bringing in Georgia Southern transfer JC French and Penn transfer Liam O’Brien. French arrives as a senior after a 5,760-yard season in the Sun Belt, while O’Brien gives Cincinnati another experienced option. One of them will be asked to fill the role Sorsby played last fall.
The Bearcats do bring back plenty of production at receiver, though it comes from a mix of different schools. Cincinnati returns 2,000-plus receiving yards from last season.
Isaiah Johnson averaged 15.9 yards per catch for the Bearcats and looks like the leading target, while Oklahoma transfer JV Gibson is back after six starts and 199 yards. Larenzo Fenner is another name in the mix after posting 1,000-plus yards in eight starts at South Dakota.
The backfield also has pieces to work with, including Notre Dame transfer Gi’Bran Payne and second-year back Zion Johnson. The bigger issue is whether Cincinnati can keep carving out a real identity through the air.
On the other side of the ball, there’s reason for optimism. Cincinnati returns just five total starters from last year’s team, but the defense brings back six different FBS starters across the front seven and secondary. Tyson Veidt is gone to Penn State, but his 2025 unit showed real promise early before the offense left it too exposed down the stretch.
Enter Nate Woody, who joins Satterfield’s staff after leading Army’s defense at West Point for the past five seasons. The front has Marquaze Parker back at tackle, along with Thomas Johnson from N.C.
Central and Cal transfer Josh Hough at nose tackle. Jonathan Thompson returns for his fourth year at linebacker, and the secondary includes safeties MJ Cannon from Bowling Green and Jasper Beeler from Northern Illinois.
Cincinnati finished 30th nationally in points allowed at 28.9 per game last season.
One date that stands out on the schedule is Oct. 3 at Arizona. It will be Cincinnati’s first trip to Tucson, and just the second meeting between the Big 12 programs since Arizona’s 30-24 win in Ohio last year.
The Bearcats face Kansas State at home on Saturday, Sept. 26, then make the 1,800-mile trip west to play Brent Brennan’s team. It’s the kind of game that would mean plenty heading into a bye.
In Other News...
Tony Pike Staying Tied To Bearcats Even As Bengals Role Grows
Tony Pike is adding another prominent seat in Cincinnati football media this fall, joining Dan Hoard on the Bengals radio broadcast team while keeping his place on University of Cincinnati football broadcasts. Hoard has become a familiar voice across both levels of the local football scene, calling Bengals games for 15 years and UC games for 27 years, and Pikes move keeps a former Bearcats quarterback right in the middle of the citys biggest football conversation.
The arrangement also creates the sort of scheduling puzzle that comes with overlapping seasons and overlapping loyalties. Pike will work alongside Dave Lapham on Bengals broadcasts, while Mo Egger is set to cover at least one UC game when the Bengals are in Madrid, a reminder that the Bearcats radio crew will have to stay flexible as the calendar gets crowded. For UC fans, it means one of the programs most recognizable alumni will still be tied to the Bearcats even as his NFL profile grows. [Read more 🡒]
Two Cincinnati Walk Ons Are Forcing Their Way Into The Rotation
As Cincinnati gets deeper into its offseason prep, two walk-ons have started to push their way into the conversation on Scott Satterfields roster. Linebacker George Leibold and tight end Lyviel Waters have drawn praise from the Bearcats coach for the way theyve worked and the kind of presence theyve brought to camp, the sort of climb every program loves to see from players who arrived without much fanfare.
Waters, in particular, has been turning heads with notable plays during offseason work, and Satterfield said hes expected to factor in alongside starting tight end Gavin Grover when the season opens. For a team still sorting out its depth chart, the emergence of players like Leibold and Waters matters because it gives Cincinnati more options, more competition and a reminder that roster spots can be earned in more than one way. [Read more 🡒]
Cincinnatis Transfer Class Could Decide How Fast The Bearcats Compete
Cincinnati spent the offseason patching a roster that was hit by graduation, transfers and the NFL, and the answer was a heavy dose of portal work. The Bearcats brought in 22 transfer players to help fill the holes, a group that includes wide receiver Larenzo Fenner from South Dakota, cornerback MJ Cannon from Bowling Green and running backs Cole Tabb from Stanford, Zylan Perry from Louisiana and Gi'Bran Payne from Notre Dame.
How quickly that class comes together will go a long way toward shaping Cincinnatis first steps in Big 12 play this season. The Bearcats need those newcomers to settle into key roles fast, because the margin for error is thinner now and the roster turnover left plenty of jobs open for players who can make an immediate impact. [Read more 🡒]