The Cincinnati Bearcats have earned the respect of pundits following a 38-30 win over the Iowa State Cyclones at Nippert Stadium on Saturday. So much so that the 2024 Arizona State Sun Devils are being evoked as a potential second-ever trip to the College Football Playoff.
CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah feels UC has its own breakout Cam Skattebo-like star, quarterback Brendan Sorsby, and could be primed to stun the Big 12 with a manageable schedule the rest of the way. Jeyarajah also predicts the Bearcats being ranked before long.
Cincinnati plays the UCF Knights, Baylor Bears, Arizona Wildcats, and BYU Cougars at home, and the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Utah Utes, and TCU Horned Frogs on the road the rest of the way.
“Cincinnati sits at 4-1 heading into manageable games against UCF and Oklahoma State over the next two weeks. The Bearcats should garner AP Top 25 votes, and can enter the polls for the first time since Luke Fickell departed if they take care of business,” Jeyarajah wrote.
“In a Big 12 that's wide open for a trip to Arlington, everything remains on the table. Arizona State followed a specific model to shock the college football world; Cincinnati is well on its way to replicating it.
“Looking at the schedule ahead, there's real reasons for optimism. No. 23 BYU is the only remaining ranked team on the schedule. Baylor and TCU look beatable. Really, the road trip to Utah is the one brutal development ahead.”
UC is 4-1, with their lone blemish being a 20-17 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Bearcats’ other Power 4 win came against the Kansas Jayhawks in a 37-34 shootout in Lawrence.
Scott Satterfield has had a slow and steady rise in Cincinnati, starting 3-9 in his first year and going 5-7 in 2024.
The payoff could be imminent in a wide-open Big 12.