Bearcats Football Leaders Eager to Get Back on Track Following 2026 Bye Week

Cincinnati got to reset during its bye week.

Sep 19, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback JC French IV celebrates on the field after defeating the Miami (OH) RedHawks at TQL Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bearcats football team is back to game prep this week ahead of Saturday's rivalry matchup at West Virginia. Cincinnati is trying to shake the road troubles that drove home a 34-7 loss at Arizona in their last outing.

The team still has all its goals in front of them, but they can't lose many more conference games and expect those goals to stay alive for long. Four undefeated teams in conference play remain (Texas Tech, BYU, Utah, and Baylor).

UC head coach Scott Satterfield discussed how his team returned to work.

"Bye comes at a good time. You didn't play well. Say, look, we got to regroup right here, and also, it's such a long trip. So, I thought they did a great job in practice last week," Satterfield said about how his group responded to the loss. "They attacked it better than last year's team on the two bye weeks that we had. Looking at the Catapult numbers from last year to this year, better, more intensity, power output. Then just mentally, I thought they were better. So, yeah, I mean we're disappointed in that one, but I think the guys bounced back and came back strong."

Cincinnati continues to be pretty healthy and enters the most trying stretch of its whole season. They face three of the next five opponents on the road and three of the next four are ranked in the (controversial) AP Poll.

The team is about to learn a lot when it comes to where they firmly stand in the Big 12. JC French IV continuing to take great care of the football program is key. He's the only Big 12 starting passer to not throw an interception this season.

"I think it just starts with coming back with a level head, kind of flushing it almost. Obviously, you've got to learn from the film, and kind of watch it and see what you can get better at. But after that, you just got to flush it. As hard as it was, you just got to move on and get ready for this next week," French said on Tuesday.

The game kicks off at noon ET from West Virginia and airs on TNT.

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