ESPN's SP+ Projects Cincinnati Football To Finish Last in Big 12

A tightly contested bottom half.

Jul 8, 2025; Frisco, TX, USA; Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield addresses the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI —  ESPN's Bill Connelly unveiled his Big 12 SP+ rankings for the 2025 football season and they have Cincinnati all the way in last place as the only negative projection (-0.3 SP+).

That ranking would still be 66th nationally, but leaves them at the bottom of a league they are trying to break through in this fall. The system projects Cincinnati to sport the 86th-best offense and 88th-best defense to go with the 49th-best defense nationally.

It's a tightly contested conference projection with every team in the top 66 and just 3.3 total SP+ points separating Kansas at No. 8 and UC at No. 16. One-score games will likely decide this conference like it did in 2024 when SP+ had eventual conference champion Arizona State also ranked 16th.

Connelly noted the Sun Devils and Iowa State combined for a 22-6 record, which included an 11-3 mark in one-score games. How Cincinnati executes in those moments will go a long way in their pursuit to be the ASU of this season.

Check out the 1-16 numbers below:

ESPN SP+ | ESPN

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