Behind Enemy Lines with Baylor's Week 9 opponent No. 21 Cincinnati Bearcats

Baylor now sits at 4-3 overall, with a .500 conference record as the home stretch of the season starts. With that record, the Bears will trek to central Ohio to face off against the 21st-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats, who sit near the top of the conference in just their third season as members of the Big 12. Brendan Sorsby has ascended to the top of the conference in terms of quarterback, and head coach Scott Satterfield, since his coming over from Appalachian State in 2023, has slowly but steadily built the Bearcats into a place where the depth and top-end talent can compete within the conference. With the Bears taking on the Bearcats this Saturday, we continued our Behind Enemy Lines series with James Sapien, who covers the Bearcats on SI, to get their perspective on how they feel about the Bears.

Q: What has been the biggest reason for Cincinnati's surprising 6-1 start? Is this a start thats' even a surprise to fans and those who closely track the team?

Sapien: There have been two major factors: Brendan Sorsby leveling up to a top 10 quarterback nationally, and the special teams have gone from bottom-30 to top 30 with one coach hiring. Luke Paschall and Tim Connor have done a fantastic job with that unit. They haven't had a block or touchdown yet, but have been solid across the board in every facet of ST. Their punter has been ultra precise in Max Fletcher, Stephen Rusnak hasn't missed a kick yet, and their return men haven't made any back-breaking mistakes like a bad coffin corner or turnover.

Sorsby has been ultra-efficient like the special teams. He is super comfortable in the second year of the system for the first time since high school. He's tied for the national lead in TDs accounted for and matches it with an elite 1.4% turnover-worthy play rate (tied for fifth nationally). He's putting the ball in the endzone and taking care of it about as well as you can ask for. Yes, this is a surprise to fans for sure. I'm also pretty surprised after predicting a 7-5 record in August.

Q: What has been Brendan Sorsby's biggest improvement this season compared to last? Going from 17 TDs to just 1 interception, with a 65% completion rate, he's become one of the top quarterbacks in the conference and among the best nationally, starting to attract some NFL attention. What offseason work contributed to this progress, and how have his surrounding weapons played a role?

Sapien: The biggest reason for the jump is the second year in the system and the added weapons. Cyrus Allen, Caleb Goodie, Jeff Caldwell, and Joe Royer have all joined the program in the last two years, and the first three have completely transformed one of the worst WR groups in the country. Sorsby has a weapon in the slot (Allen), over the middle (Royer, Caldwell), and deep (Goodie, Caldwell) to work with after really just relying on Royer last season. Add in a complete fine-tuning of his body in the Bearcats' facilities, and you get an even better season so far than Desmond Ridder had for UC in 2021.

Q: How has it been transitioning to a power conference for the Bearcats? Two losing seasons since joining, but a major jump from the first year to the second year. With OU and Texas no longer a part of the conference and it being wide open, does Cincinnati expect to be a regular top-tier contributor? How much did that Iowa State win provide a confidence boost of sorts?

Sapien: Yes, they expect to contend every year now and will invest to do so. The new Sheakley Athletic Facility was a $134 million crown-jewel project for the school, and in my eyes, the continuity and recovery aspects the building has brought have already added one, maybe two wins compared to last season's facilities. UC has been one of the winningest programs in the country this century, and don't expect that to fall off for more than a couple of seasons at a time.

Q: Simply put, how has Scott Satterfield been able to recruit and assemble all this talent at a non-traditional football power? Cyrus Allen, Jeff Caldwell, Dontay Corleone, and Jake Golday are all guys that I figure the blue bloods of college football would surely love to have. What about Satterfield allows him to convince guys of that caliber to come in and stay?

Sapien: Enter general manager Zach Grant and his talent team. He has done a great job, along with that whole group, identifying talents that could take a big leap at UC. One of the most important (if not the most) things a college football coach has to do is hire a great staff, and Satterfield has the magic touch there. Outside of recruiting, the key coaches have almost all been here multiple years with time to fix what was a broken 2023 culture and mold it into one of the best in the nation.

Q: How does this Cincinnati team view this Baylor team and the Baylor game? Obviously, coming off a loss, but it's an interesting mix of one team still new to the conference and one of the conference's oldest members. Does Cincinnati view this as something that should be an easy win, or are the Bearcats still on their toes with Baylor coming into town?

Sapien: They're very much on their toes, and fans view this as a true gateway game to really contending for the 2025 Big 12 title. If they win as projected favorites, then the fanbase will really believe they can pull off some magic with four wins over traditional Big 12 teams in a month's time. Cincinnati has a shaky pass rush and bendy defense (72nd nationally in stop rate) to go up against the nation's top passing attack, so unless they can find multiple turnovers like last week, fans are likely in for a pretty tight contest on Saturday.

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