Tag: Cincinnati Bearcats

Arizona State vs. Cincinnati: A battle of two Big 12 teams exceeding expectations

The Big 12 Conference continues to put out the most exciting games every week. This week? It will be the Arizona State Sun Devils, led by Cam Skattebo, and Cincinnati Bearcats.

The Big 12 is as exciting as any college football conference in America. Every weekend there are comeback wins, last-minute victories, and incredible individual performances.

The Arizona State Sun Devils’ lone blemish this year was a one-score loss in Lubbock to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Outside of that, the Sun Devils have spent the year laughing at a preseason ranking that had them dead last in the Big 12. ASU is 5-1, doesn’t play a ranked team until mid-November, and has a realistic shot at 10 wins on the season.

But standing in their way this weekend are the Cincinnati Bearcats. Cincy has a similar one-score loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock, but they also let the No. 20 Pittsburgh Panthers, an undefeated Power 4 team, come back and beat them by one point. Cincinnati faces a similarly tough November, but also has a chance at really shocking the world by breaking through the nine-win mark.

The matchup between ASU and Cincinnati is the game of the weekend in the Big 12 because it will propel ONE of these teams to a year that far exceeds expectations and the other, well… the other may be who we thought they were.

This game features two of the most electric athletes in the Big 12 who aren’t getting enough national attention. The running backs, ASU’s Cam Skattebo and Cincinnati’s Corey Kiner, are different runners stylistically but they are similarly dominant. Skattebo is averaging 5.8 yards per carry and more than a touchdown per game. Kiner gets 5.9 yards per game himself.

The difference is going to come down to who gets more out of their quarterback, and Brendan Sorsby of Cincinnati may be the Sun Devils’ spoiler. When given time to throw, Sorsby has scorched teams. His 13 touchdowns to three interception ratio is strong and could easily be the difference maker in this exciting Big 12 matchup.

Chiefs scouting report: Cincinnati Bearcats OT John Williams

The Kansas City #Chiefs should consider selecting Cincinnati Bearcats left tackle John Williams in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Kansas City Chiefs continue rotating through short-term fixes at left tackle, and the position remains a glaring weakness amid their effort to secure a Super Bowl three-peat. If the Chiefs avoid committing premium assets to the role, they could take another shot at filling the spot in the middle rounds of the 2025 NFL draft.

Cincinnati Bearcats lineman John Williams primarily plays left tackle but took some snaps on the right side of the line in 2020 and 2021. He uses his thick upper frame and wide base to anchor in pass protection. Rushers struggle to overcome his power and rarely find success bullrushing through the center of his frame.

Williams lacks elite explosiveness in his kick step but has enough speed to protect his outside shoulder. He adjusts his movement’s tempo to match the pass rusher’s speed and keeps the door shut on B-gap counters. When Williams goes on the offensive, he uses his jump set to engage the rusher and overpower them quickly.

Williams’ arms meet the NFL’s thresholds for an offensive tackle, but he doesn’t maximize his length. He needs to deploy his hands sooner and prevent defenders from gaining access to his chest. Williams’ punches pack the power to stun and stall pass rushers when he engages his hands early in the play.

Cincinnati plays on the road against UCF on October 12 at 2:30 p.m. CST.  The Bearcats are 3-2 this season with one-score losses to Pittsburgh and Texas Tech.

Growing unrest for pair of Big 12 coaches as hot seat warms

It was a tough weekend for two Big 12 head coaches on the hot seat coming into the season.

2024 represents a make-or-break season for both Dave Aranda of the Baylor Bears and Scott Satterfield of the Cincinnati Bearcats. Week 2 did not go well for either head coach, as the hot seat got even warmer after the performances of their teams on Saturday.

Things Are Not Well in Waco

Aranda and his Bears were not prepared for their Big 12 opener. They trailed the Utah Utes 23-0 before getting a field goal just before halftime. The Bears then scored nine points in the third quarter to make it somewhat respectable, but that was largely in part due to the injury to Utah’s Cam Rising.

The Bears quarterback play was miserable, with Dequan Finn completing just 9 of 21 passes for 115 yards in the game. On the defensive side, the Bears looked lost. Rising was torching them all over the field before the injury.

The 47-year-old Aranda has been with the Bears since 2020 and is under .500 in his career. He did have a monster 2021 season with the Bears, including a Sugar Bowl win. But, after back-to-back losing seasons, the folks in Waco are growing tired, and patience is running thin.

The heat will remain on as they host Air Force on Saturday, and then go to Boulder to take on Coach Prime and the Buffaloes on September 21st.

Epic Collapse to Rival not a Recipe for Success

Scott Satterfield was awfully good at Appalachian State and Louisville, but the 51-year-old has really struggled at Cincinnati so far. It may be too early, but a loss to a big rival such as Pittsburgh is many times a death sentence for a head coach. The loss dropped him to 4-10 as the leader of the Bearcats.

Cincinnati scored 27 of the first 40 points in the game. They led 27-6 late in the third. Then, disaster happened. Cincinnati saw Pittsburgh score three straight touchdowns and added a field goal to win the game on Saturday.

Running back Corey Kiner finished with nearly 150 yards but had a massive fumble in the game. The defense was good early, but could not get off the field when they needed to the most. Play calling, and lack of ability to put a game away, almost always falls on the head coach.

The Bearcats are at Miami OH on Saturday. A game they better be ready for, because the MAC has already shown up with big massive wins this early part of the season.

Both Aranda and Satterfield are going to be watched every game the rest of the way. If they can make it through this season, it probably is a miracle with the patience these athletic departments have when a coach is not winning.

Cincinnati defensive tackle cleared to play after blood clot scare

Great news for Cincinnati’s Dontay Corleone. He was cleared to start playing football again following blood clots in June.

It was a great day on campus for the Cincinnati Bearcats. The big 6’1, 320 lbs defensive tackle Dontay Corleone was cleared to resume all football activities, following treatments for blood clots in his lungs.

The treatments started in June, which significantly limited Corleone in training camp. He did not play in the win over Towson, and is not likely to play against Pittsburgh this weekend, but is on his way back.

When asked about his feelings in regards to returning to the field, Corleone had this to say to reporters:

I’m excited to be back on the field with my brothers. I also want to thank all of our fans for their love and support throughout this process. For the last few months, I have worked extremely hard to make a return.

Head coach Scott Satterfield is excited to have him back as well. Corleone was a second-team All-Big 12 selection last season with 39 tackles. In 2022 he had 45 tackles, along with three sacks. Satterfield said this about the return:

Dontay has really worked hard to get to this point, and we are excited to have him back. Despite being limited, he has stepped up as a team leader and maintained a steadying influence on the team. We are grateful to our medical staff for implementing a plan that will allow Dontay to play. We will continue to closely monitor him. We are thrilled he is healthy and ready to come back.

The Bearcats will host Pittsburgh this weekend, and then head to Miami OH next weekend. Cincinnati will host Houston on September 21st in their first Big 12 game of the season.

Former Cincinnati quarterback released by Arizona Cardinals

Former Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder was released by the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday.

Life comes at you fast. One day you’re a 23-year-old NFL starting quarterback, two years removed from a top ten finish in the Heisman Trophy race, and the next you’re losing the competition to be a backup and getting waived just before your third NFL season.

That’s the sad reality for former Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder, who was released by the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday, according to a report from NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.

Ridder was a four year starter for the Bearcats in the American Athletic Conference, twice winning AAC Offensive Player of the Year and finishing eighth in Heisman voting in 2021.

That year the dynamic quarterback completed 251 passes for 3,334 yards and 30 touchdowns, leading Cincinnati and coach Luke Fickell to a sparkly 13-1 record which ended with a 27-6 loss to Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.

Ridder was then picked in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, and by the end of his rookie year he had replaced Marcus Mariota under center – going 2-2 in four starts while completing 73 passes for 708 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Ridder then got the keys to the kingdom in 2023, but he took a step backward. The 24-year-old started 13 out of 15 games and went 6-7 with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, which ultimately led Atlanta to not only sign Kirk Cousins in the offseason, but also draft Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Ridder was then dealt to Arizona where he competed with former Houston quarterback Clayton Tune to back up Kyler Murray – a competition he ultimately lost.

With age and starting experience both on his side, Ridder will likely catch on somewhere as a practice squad/third string quarterback, but it is not always easy to get back atop the starting quarterback mountain once you’ve fallen off.

Cincinnati gives starting quarterback nod to Big Ten transfer

Cincinnati will begin the 2024 season with Indiana transfer Brendan Sorsby starting at quarterback.

The Cincinnati Bearcats will open up the 2024 season on Saturday, August 31st at home against Towson at 2:30 local time. When they do, they will be using Brendan Sorsby under center to start the game.

On Thursday, Bearcats head coach Scott Satterfield announced the former Indiana Hoosiers quarterback would get the nod. He beat out third year Brady Lichtenberg and freshman Samaj Jones, each who will back him up.

Satterfield is very high on his quarterback and had this to say about him:

He has worked hard to learn the offense, and he’s made a lot of plays. I think he has earned the respect of his teammates, which is huge. There are so many little things that go into being the starter, and I think Brendan has handled himself well. He has a quiet confidence about himself but he shows humility too, which I like in a quarterback.

In two seasons with Indiana, Sorsby started seven games. Last season he threw for nearly 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns. The signal caller grew up in Denton Texas and attended Lake Dallas High School. He chose Indiana originally over several other schools, but in December announced he would transfer to Cincinnati.

The Bearcats are projected at the bottom of the Big 12 standings in 2024. They start their conference season on September 21st at home against the Houston Cougars.

A defensive coordinator believes that Notre Dame’s offense under Riley Leonard will look like this Big 12 team

What do you think of this comp?

When Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman lured [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag] away from LSU, many believed the Irish offense would resemble the Tigers’.

That may not be the case. Personnel will dictate how Notre Dame looks in less than 10 days. ESPN took a look at each of the top 2024 quarterbacks in college football, and broke them down with some help from anonymous sources.

When talking about Riley Leonard, an unnamed defensive coordinator told them (subscription required) he believes the Irish offense will look more like when Denbrock was at Cincinnati with Desmond Ridder as opposed to LSU’s with Jayden Daniels.

The defensive coordinator didn’t say this had anything to do with Leonard’s skills. It is more a case that Notre Dame doesn’t “have the receivers they had at LSU.”

That’s a fair assessment. The Tigers were very talented at the position last fall.

While at Cincinnati from 2018-2021, Denbrock guided the offense to 38.1 average points per game. With the talent on those teams, those numbers are pretty impressive.

The hope is the Irish receivers take that next step and become closer to who Denbrock had in Baton Rouge, which would make Notre Dame’s offense more similar to LSU’s, even if the Bearcats’ totals aren’t all that terrible. That would be a great development.

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Cincinnati needs a big second season under coach Scott Satterfield

Cincinnati Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield on the hot seat entering second Big 12 football season.

When the Cincinnati Bearcats open the season on August 31st, there may not be another head coach in the Big 12 with more pressure on him than Scott Satterfield.

The 51-year-old did not have a banner season with the Bearcats in 2023. He came to Cincinnati from Appalachian State and then Louisville. The former Appalachian State quarterback was 76-48 in his head coaching career and led his teams to seven bowl games in eight seasons before joining the Bearcats.

Satterfield took over for Luke Fickell, who took the job at Wisconsin. The Bearcats started their Big 12 career with just one win in nine games last season under Satterfield. Before he came to the program they had five straight winning seasons, and were 53-11 during that time.

Scooby Axson of USA TODAY Sports put together a list of the Top 10 college football head coaches that were on the hot seat entering the season and Satterfield was squarely on the list.

Moving forward, Cincinnati should be listed as one of the betting favorites in a Big 12 Conference whose two most powerful schools, Texas and Oklahoma, took their egos and brands for the greener pastures of the SEC. This conference is ripe for the picking, but it is tough to win when you aren’t good in any aspect of the game. Then again, the school could be patient and wait until Jan. 1, 2026, to fire Satterfield so that the buyout wouldn’t be as bad.

The Bearcats take on Pittsburgh on September 7th and go on the road at Miami Ohio on September 14th. The first two Big 12 games for the Bearcats are at home against Houston, and then on the road at Texas Tech. Cincinnati gets a break this season and will not face conference favorite Utah at all.

Remembering Colorado football’s last matchup with Cincinnati

Colorado and Cincinnati met over 50 years ago at Folsom Field

You’ll have to stretch your memory to remember the last time the Colorado Buffaloes matched up with the Cincinnati Bearcats. That will soon change, however, now that the two teams share a conference in the Big 12.

The only other time Colorado and Cincinnati met was in 1972. Colorado was coming off a 10-2 campaign in 1971 that saw the Buffs finish at No. 3 in the final AP Poll. Head coach Eddie Crowder’s team was ranked No. 2 when the Bearcats rolled into Folsom Field on Sept. 16, 1972. The Buffaloes rolled past Cincinnati that day by a final score of 56-14.

That 1972 season had its ups and downs for the Buffs as they would finish the year at 8-4. The highlight of that season came on Oct. 21 when the No. 9 Buffs upset the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners, 20-14.

Cincinnati struggled in its first Big 12 season last fall, and while I don’t expect another 56-14 score, the Buffs should be heavy favorites when they host the Bearcats on Oct. 26.

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Former Texas forward Dillon Mitchell commits to Cincinnati

Former five star forward Dillon Mitchell committed to the Cincinnati Bearcats out of the NCAA transfer portal.

Former Texas Longhorns forward Dillon Mitchell is staying in the Big 12 after all, committing to join Wes Miller and the Cincinnati Bearcats out of the transfer portal.

Mitchell, a highly regarded prospect out of Montverde Academy in Florida, spent the past two seasons with the Longhorns.

The 6’8 forward averaged 9.6 points and 7.5 rebounds last year, cementing himself as a big time athlete, defender, and rebounder while working to develop a consistent offensive game.

He will now join a roster at Cincinnati that is mostly intact from last season, getting a chance to play alongside Aziz Bandaogo, Jizzle James, Daniel Skillings, and Simas Lukosius.

Mitchell, alongside fellow transfer portal additions Arrinten Page (USC) and Connor Hickman (Bradley) will help replace John Newman (out of eligibility) and Viktor Lakhin (Clemson) for the Bearcats.

The transfer trio and bevy of key returners gives coach Miller a roster capable of leading this program to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Mick Cronin was head coach back in 2019.