On Sunday, we looked at the BYU Cougars, their biggest challenge, and their expectations as they enter the Big 12.
We move on to the Cincinnati Bearcats, who, alongside BYU, Central Florida, and Houston, joined the Big 12 as part of the next wave of conference realignment.
The Bearcats are entering the Big 12, coming off arguably their best five-year stretch in program history. However, Luke Fickell, who led the Bearcats to three 11+ win seasons, including a College Football Playoff appearance in 2021, has moved on to the Big Ten and the Wisconsin Badgers.
Nonetheless, very few programs in America have the momentum of the Bearcats entering this season. Over the last five years, the program established itself as one of the best in the Group of Five, with a 53-11 record and two New Year’s Six bowl game appearances.
But now, under head coach Scott Satterfield, can the Bearcats carry that momentum into the Big 12?
After the somewhat surprising departure of Fickell, Cincinnati athletic director John Cunningham hired Scott Satterfield, who had just finished his fourth season with the Louisville Cardinals. Satterfield’s time in Louisville was not overly successful, collecting an eight-win season in his debut season before going 17-19 over the last three seasons. However, the Cardinals did improve their record each season.
That being said, the hiring was still widely considered by college football experts as underwhelming for a program with recent substantial success and was about to enter a Power Five conference.
While it will take a few years to truly see what type of quality the hiring of Scott Satterfield was, there is an opportunity for Satterfield to solve the program’s most significant challenge moving forward.
First, we dive into the biggest challenge