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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/usffan on 2025-06-20 15:33:21+00:00.
The cumulative link to the preseason rankings can be found here.
Cincinnati (high = 53, low = 103) starts a run of 4 Big XII teams over the next 6 days, coming in at #64. Scott Satterfield enters his 3rd year as the coach on the hottest seat in the Big XII (according to coacheshotseat.com) and the 6th hottest in the country. It’s kind of amazing how Cincinnati is the employer/former employer of 3 different coaches ranked on the top 15 on this list, and that doesn’t even include a senator whose seat is so hot he’s abandoning that to try to become governor of Alabama or a former champion of life! The Bearcats “improved” from 3-9 in Satterfield’s first season to 5-7 last season, and failing to get to a bowl game at a minimum will surely seal his fate in 2025.
Roster outlook
Cincinnati ranks 12th nationally and 4th in the Big XII in returning production (seriously - the Big XII has 6 of the top 25 teams returning production in 2025!), including the 16th ranked defense in the country. Brendan Sorsby (27 total TDs, 7 picks) is back behind center, but he loses 1,000 yard rusher Corey Kiner and TD reception leader Tony Johnson (transferred to Miami). Three of the Bearcats four leading tacklers return, though Jared Bartlett and his team leading 7.5 sacks is off to the Jets. What’s going to be rough is that Satterfield is bringing in the worst overall class in the Big XII (63rd nationally), including the 3rd worst recruiting class in 2025 and the 5th worst portal class in the conference. He’ll be counting on former Wisconsin RB Tawee Walker and Texas A&M WR Cyrus Allen to revitalize the offense, and a revamped secondary highlighted by former Tennessee S Christian Harrison to propel Cincinnati back to at least the middle of the pack in the Big XII.
Schedule and outlook
Cincinnati will probably know right off the bat where things stand in their season opener against Matt Rhule and Nebraska (the Bearcats are currently home dogs underdogs by 6.5). Win that game and Cincinnati’s almost certainly halfway to bowl eligibility before the conference season opener at Kansas. Home games against Arizona and UCF, plus road tilts @ preseason basement dweller Oklahoma State suggest that improvement simply HAS to be on the table for Satterfield to return for a fourth season. Cincinnati misses Arizona State, Kansas State and Texas Tech (3 of the 4 highest rated teams on these aggregated rankings), so it seems fair to assume that if the Bearcats can’t make things happen against a relatively light schedule, he’ll be gone. But if Cincinnati gets smacked around in that opener, look out below…