Scott Satterfield, Longshot Bearcats Football Team Blocking Out Doubt Ahead of 2026 Season

The Cincinnati Bearcats football contingent is out in Frisco, Texas, this week for the latest round of Big 12 Media Days. Head coach Scott Satterfield took to the podium on Wednesday to break down his latest new-look team.

The roster has come together with 30-plus new names this offseason and will have a new quarterback leading the way in JC French IV. Cincinnati has the longest odds in the conference to win the Big 12, and Satterfield discussed that uphill climb.

Cincinnati holds 100-1 betting odds on Fanduel Sportsbook, tied for the longest in the conference with Iowa State.

Low Outside Expectations

New University of Cincinnati head football coach Scott Satterfield speaks during a press conference at the University of Cincinnati s Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. Satterfield holds a 76-48 record as a head coach at the University of Louisville and Appalachian State. Bearcats Football Scott Satterfield | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

"we've gotten better each and every year in this league," Satterfield said about expectations this fall. "Obviously, when you're making a move up to the Power League, there's going to be some challenges, and I think we certainly have learned a lot over the first three seasons. Last year we talked about, we just got into a new facility at Cincinnati. It's an incredible facility where we house our football team, indoor facility, new weight room, training room, many apparatuses that can help in recovery, aid in recovery, that certainly will help (this year).

"One year anniversary getting in the new building, and then also learning the lay of the land and the teams that we have to play in this league, just some great teams, and some great coaches, great players, very competitive, we're having to travel a lot of places throughout the country and playing in some great venues, and in this league we all know you have to bring at your A-game if you want a chance to win. But like everybody else, we're trying to put out a great team of individuals that come together and play as a team."

Cincinnati plays the 17th-hardest schedule in the country by its 2026 opponents' 2025 final records (59.5% win rate in 2025) and the fourth-hardest in the Big 12. Even projecting just based on 2026 projected talent alone, it's a top-three most difficult schedule in the league.

The entire program has to rise together, get off to a strong start in its all-Cincinnati-area-game September, and find a way to get Satterfield's second-ever November win for UC, leading the Bearcats to shock the world in this race.

Getting that defense out of the national basement when it comes to stop rate will be crucial to those goals in 2026.

"I think that's one of the things that we needed to get better at defensively," Satterfield said about the system and coordinator change. "For the last couple years, we were mainly a drop-eight defense, and in this league, with so many great quarterbacks, these quarterbacks, man, they pick you apart. I feel like you got to be able to mix it up and change some things to cause a little bit of havoc for the offense."

All of the key work continues this week and beyond with no Camp Higher Ground trip scheduled at the end of the month. All of Fall Camp will be in Clifton. All of the resources are there for Cincinnati to succeed this fall; we'll soon find out how ready they are for this gauntlet.

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