Cincinnati Preview: 6 Days Until Kansas Football
The final game of the 2023 season for the Kansas Jayhawks will take place in Cincinnati as KU will face the Bearcats for the first time as Big 12 foes. Cincinnati has risen to football prominence over the last half decade as a non-power-five member, finding a consistent home in the AP Top-25 poll and even breaking into the College Football Playoff.
But the conference affiliation isn’t the only change Cincinnati is dealing with this year.
Pre-Game Notes
The man who took the Bearcats to a 53-10 record over the past four years (not counting last year’s bowl game in which he did not coach) is now gone. Luke Fickell is in the Big Ten as the new coach of the Wisconsin Badgers. So now Cincinnati is taking on the Big 12 for the first time with Scott Satterfield at the helm. Satterfield got his head coaching start at Appalachian State, where he led it to four straight bowl games and 40 wins in four years. Then he took over at Louisville in 2019, winning at least four games every year and going 7-5 in 2022.
When Cincinnati faces Kansas this year, it will be just the third meeting in these programs’ history. The first came in 1995, when KU beat the Bearcats 23-18 in Lawrence. The Jayhawks then traveled to Ohio two years later and lost to UC 34-7 in 1997.
The Mike Plank Four-Down Scouting Report
First Down
Cincinnati will have a vastly different roster on the field in 2023 than it has had under Fickell. Less than half of the 2022 production on both sides of the ball is returning, and the Bearcats are at the bottom of the conference with only seven starters back. To combat this, Cincinnati has been active in the transfer portal, including nabbing a new quarterback.
Second Down
The man who could be Cincinnati’s starting quarterback entered college as Fickell’s run at UC began. The Bearcats brought in Emory Jones, who was a freshman at Florida in 2018. He then went to Arizona State last year, where he played eight games, and is now using his final year of eligibility (taking advantage of the COVID year) in Cincinnati.
Jones is a threat to pass and run. His best season was in 2021 at Florida where he threw for 2,734 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions along with rushing for 758 yards and four rushing touchdowns.
Third Down
The new faces continue with the skill positions, especially at receiver. Tre Tucker and Tyler Scott, by far the most productive receivers for Cincinnati last year, are now both in the NFL, as is tight end Josh Whyle. Meanwhile, Jadon Thompson transferred to Louisville. UC hit the transfer portal for replacements, bringing in Washington State’s Donovan Ollie and Louisville’s Dee Wiggins.
In the backfield, 2022 lead back Charles McClelland is gone, so it will likely be Corey Kiner and Ryan Montgomery to replace that production. Those two combined for more than 600 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground in 2022.
Fourth Down
While there are some questions in the secondary, the Bearcats have some guys up front. Despite losing linebacker Ivan Pace to the NFL after a monster season, UC still has Jowon Briggs and Dontay Corleone on the line. But again, many of the top defensive starters are gone and the Bearcats are looking for a handful of transfers to fill the void.
Matchup On Paper
It’s hard to say what this team will look like with so many new parts, but it’s fair to say it probably won’t operate like last year’s team. Cincinnati’s quarterback last year, Ben Bryant, was a pocket passer with no chance of running. So immediately that’s a major change in scheme with Jones coming in. The Bearcats overall weren’t great on the ground a year ago, averaging just 130 yards per game. But Satterfield’s Louisville teams were much more balanced between the run and pass, averaging at least 200 yards through the air and on the ground in each of the last four years.
One aspect that could stay the same is an emphasis on defense. Cincinnati has been one of the better defensive units over the past few years, and Satterfield’s Cardinals last year were 11th nationally in opponents points per game, only giving up 19.2 per game. The question is, can they replace the talent enough while also facing a tougher, different opponent and style?
Final Whistle
This probably isn’t going to be the powerhouse Cincinnati we’ve seen the last few years. With a new coach and a ton of new players, it’s likely that there will be some growing pains. But this program has made a living developing talent and getting them to the NFL. Satterfield has done well in the transfer portal. Now it’s time to see how they look on the field together.
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