Cincinnati Bearcats Football 2026 Instant Takeaways: Arizona Wildcats

The Bearcats took it on the chin against Arizona 34-7, on Saturday night. Cincinnati couldn't get any consistency going on offense and moved to 0-2 all-time against the Wildcats and 0-4 since 2023 in games that kick off at 10 p.m. ET or later.

That time slot has been a big issue for Scott Satterfield's teams, and it continued in the desert. Cincinnati averaged just four yards per play (a bottom-10 number nationally over a full season) and couldn't find enough turnovers to overcome that ineptitude.

"I think they did a really good job of muddying up the front with their defensive line and their linebackers," UC head coach Scott Satterfield said. "There were a lot of different things they were doing. Stacking four guys in between the B gaps there, and then running linebackers through, and we never got in a good rhythm. I mean, I think we had four possessions in the first half; two of them were three-and-outs."

It's a tough missed opportunity, given AZ was missing multiple starters due to injury or eligibility reasons.

UC gave up 522 yards and 30 first downs to Noah Fifita (25-37, 284 yards, three scores, one INT). It was an all-around rough showing for the Bearcats, who could've made noise in the national polls with a win.

Top Takeaway: Momentum Flattened

Oct 3, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats tight end Tyler Powell (87) celebrates a touchdown he made during the fourth quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Casino Del Sol Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cincinnati was one of a few teams still undefeated in the Big 12 entering today and had pretty comparable deeper metric ratings to Arizona, but got worked on the road like they have too many times under Satterfield.

They tried to leave a day earlier and do whatever they could to overcome the travel/altitude/time difference, but it clearly had no effect. Cincinnati got blown off the ball this week after dominating the physicality at home against Kansas State. The offense averaged 2.6 yards per carry as Cole Tabb (six carries, 19 yards) saw his red-hot run fall flat in Tucson.

Arizona loaded up the box with its top-10 run defense nationally and made any wide receiver but JV Gibson (no catches) go make a play. They could not, and JC French (16-29, 153 yards) couldn't adjust his processing time quickly enough to keep pace.

"I thought they did a really good job getting pressure," French said. "After making quick decisions in a split second. So credit to them, and I think they're a great defense, great team. They're going to be successful this year. But, when opportunities come forth, we got to make them hit. And we didn't do that tonight."

French was under duress the most he's ever been at UC, getting sacked three times and hit six. Multiple passing options have to start popping up, or more Big 12 teams will execute this plan. BYU and Texas Tech are now the only undefeated teams left in the league.

Offensive Player of the Game: Isaiah Johnson

The slot wide receiver was one of the only impactful UC offensive players on Saturday. He did a nice job making people miss and finding gaps in the underneath areas of the pass defense for eight catches and sixty yards.

He helped bail out French a few times in the rough outing for UC's offense. Max Fletcher also had a stellar game punting the ball, booting five of them for a 48-yard average and two inside the 20-yard line. It was hard to find other big performers on a night where Johnson and Tabb took up 16 of the 26 total targets through the air.

Cincinnati is now 89th nationally in time of possession after Arizona had the ball for nearly 36 minutes.

Defensive Player of the Game: Jasper Beeler

The Bearcats safety was strong in the open field throughout the loss. Beeler tallied 12 tackles to lead the team and had two huge tackles for loss, including a fourth-down blow to AZ that kept the score from being worse.

Beeler earned a season-high 64.8 Pro Football Focus grade for the outing and helped complement Jacob Finley at outside cornerback. The NIU transfer was strong in run defense on Saturday. Finley had seven tackles and a forced fumble to lead the whole defense with an 81 PFF grade in the game.

Cincinnati has a week off before facing West Virginia on the road Saturday, Oct. 17.

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