Cincinnati Bearcats 2026 Offseason Ranked Among Big 12's Bottom Three Teams

ESPN's college football coverage team broke down the offseason for all 68 Power 4 teams this week and did not instill much hope for Year 4 of the Scott Satterfield era.

The crew ranked Cincinnati 14th among all 16 Big 12 teams, just ahead of West Virginia and Iowa State. It fits right into the betting markets, where Cincinnati has the third-longest consensus odds to win the Big 12.

"Coach Scott Satterfield did not retain offensive coordinator Brad Glenn after the 2025 season, and he promoted two position coaches -- Pete Thomas (quarterbacks) and Nic Cardwell (offensive line) -- to co-OC roles," the site stated. "Cardwell has helped Cincinnati become one of the Big 12's top offensive line groups. The team also parted ways with defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt, who rejoined Matt Campbell at Penn State, and replaced him with veteran coordinator Nate Woody, who was most recently at Army. Satterfield added or shifted several defensive assistants, hiring Larry Murphy to coach cornerbacks. Vijay Stingley, who coached inside receivers in 2025, will oversee the entire wideout room this fall."

Rough Outlook

Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Scott Satterfield speaks to the referees in the fourth quarter of the NCAA football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Bowling Green Falcons at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Sept. 6, 2025. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cincinnati's loss of top-end talent stood out to the site's experts, although they dodged a bullet by losing Brendan Sorsby, who almost assuredly will not be able to play his final year of eligibility.

He is fighting a sports betting investigation that historically makes players ineligible.

"Sorsby was certainly a high-profile loss, but not a shocking one, given his options between the portal and the NFL draft," the article continued. "Seven more players hit the portal and landed at other Power 4 destinations, including defensive backs Jiquan Sanks (Indiana) and Christian Harrison (Arkansas), receivers Caleb Goodie (Missouri) and Noah Jennings (Minnesota), and running back Evan Pryor (Florida). Add in Cyrus Allen, Jeff Caldwell, Joe Royer, and Tawee Walker heading off to the NFL, and it's clear Satterfield is moving forward with a new-look offense in a lot of ways for 2026."

They did get some love for their talent development in recent years, sending off the biggest NFL Draft class last month since the 2021 College Football Playoff team's elite group.

"The Bearcats have consistently done a great job of finding under-recruited quality players in the portal and reloaded with a highly experienced transfer class that has compiled more than 300 career starts," the site concluded. "The rebuild on offense started with getting starting linemen Joe Cotton, Taran Tyo, and Evan Tengesdahl re-signed for 2026. They inked two transfer QBs in French (Georgia State) and Liam O'Brien (Penn), three transfer backs, and a bunch of intriguing options at wide receiver. They're hoping their evaluations pay off on defense with a dozen transfers who are all moving up from the Group of 5, FCS, or Division II, including five who bring multiple years of starting experience."

It would be a disastrous season if Cincinnati finishes 14th in the conference. They face a really tough schedule to overcome this assumption, battling six of the top-8 teams by consensus betting odds to win the Big 12, while also facing three of the worst projected teams in their other matchups.

Cincinnati has to get off to a strong start and find a way to win at least one game in November for the first time since 2023. If not, it will be hard to see the upward momentum of 2024 and 2025 roll over.

Check out the full ranking here.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Bookmark Bearcats Talk for the latest news, breakdowns, and so much more. Be sure to check out our YouTube page as well, starting with the video below.

Also, don't miss the podcast, Bearcat Blitz, wherever you get your shows!

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

Be sure to keep it locked in on Bearcats Talk, as we cover the trials and tribulations of the Big 12!

Follow Bearcats Talk on Twitter: @BearcatsTalk

Like Bearcats Talk on Facebook: Bearcats Talk

Add us as a preferred source on Google