Cincinnati Bearcats Ranked 43rd In Preseason Coaches Poll
By Chris Bains
The Cincinnati Bearcats are ranked 43rd in the first Amway Coaches Poll leading up to the 2014 college football season. UC received 6 votes, tied with with Minnesota.
Among the AAC, Cincinnati is the second highest ranked school:
- UCF: 28th
- Cincinnati: 43rd
- Houston: 48th
Among the Group of 5 (including Independents), Cincinnati is sixth:
- UCF: 28th
- Marshall: 37th
- BYU: 38th
- Boise State: 39th
- Louisiana-Lafayette: 40th
- Cincinnati: 43rd
- Fresno State: 46th
- Houston: 48th
- Northern Illinois: 50th
And here’s a breakdown of the Bearcats’ opponents:
- Ohio State: 6th
- Miami (FL): 34th
- Houston: 48th
Here’s the thing about preseason polls (other than that they’re useless), they’re extremely heavily weighted by a team’s performance the previous year. That’s why Florida State, who won the National Championship, top the list. The Seminoles are loaded next year but Alabama, now dealing with major questions at quarterback with A.J. McCarron gone to the pros, are #2. They finished third at the end of the 2013 regular season.
Additionally you see Central Florida as the top ranked Group of 5 team. They won the AAC last year and impressed in the Fiesta Bowl but lost their starting quarterback and runningback to the NFL. While they might be the best “returning” team out of the G5, it’s difficult to say if a new signal caller at the helm will lead them the way Blake Bortles did.
But overall, the initial ranking seems fair in the Cincinnati Bearcats’ perspective. They return 57% of their starters in 2014 but will be without Brendon Kay, turning the keys of the offense over to sophomore Gunner Kiel. He was excellent in Cincinnati’s Spring Game but hasn’t playing against a live opponent since high school. So the slotting seems fine especially, as mentioned, these preseason polls are about as useless as national championship winner predictions at this time of the year.