Bearcats Expectations in 2023
What should the expectations be for Cincinnati in the Big 12?
If you had asked this question last fall, the answer would’ve been very different, with the program still under Luke Fickell’s direction. But the tide has quickly changed in Cincinnati.
In the short term, it will come down to Scott Satterfield. Will the Bearcats see the head coach, that was once one of the hottest rising names in coaching circles at Appalachian State? Or will they have the head coach who had his fair share of struggles at Louisville but was still putting a competitive team on the field most of the time? Long term, it will come down to that previously mentioned coaching stability.
Ultimately, Cincinnati is a program that should recruit at a high enough level to be competitive in the Big 12 going forward. Their recruiting under Satterfield has been solid thus far and has matched expectations set by Luke Fickell over the last several years.
In terms of this upcoming season, the Bearcats will likely struggle. There are going to be hiccups naturally by making the jump from Group of Five football to Power Five football. Throw in losing a chunk of their roster, including several key players, to the transfer portal and having a new coach, and those three factors combined usually aren’t a potent recipe for success.
In the long-term, however, Cincinnati has the chance to consistently be a middle-of-the-pack program in the Big 12.
Their recruiting would likely need to step up if they wanted to be in the top portion of the conference regularly, but they should be able to succeed as a mid-conference program as it currently stands. Minimizing the head coaching turnover once again will be their biggest key, if they could do so, being that middle-of-the-pack program with occasional seasons of 9-10 wins is foreseeable.