Late last year the Big East released the opponent list for each team. Cincinnati was fortunate enough to host games against not only rival Louisville but incoming non-AQ powerhouse Boise State. However, since the Broncos and fellow Western school San Diego State elected to stay in the Mountain West, UC’s schedule took a bit of a hit. Instead of welcoming Boise State to Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati will instead host the SMU Mustangs. And instead of traveling to the sandy shores of San Diego to take on the Aztecs, the Bearcats will be heading to Houston where the air is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
On the plus side, Cincinnati’s bye weeks this year are spread evenly throughout the season, with one popping up in late September and the other a month later. In 2012 the Bearcats were forced to deal with a 10 game stretch without a bye week because they were unfortunately placed at the beginning of the year. Not so in 2013, which can only help this team. Also you’ve got to love the way the Big East clusters games. Cincinnati, Rutgers, and Louisville are favorites to win the conference next year. As such, the Big East made the annual Keg of Nails game UC’s last one on the schedule and placed the matchup with the Scarlet Knights just two weeks earlier. Oh the force-fed drama!
Cincinnati’s full schedule is below:
- August 31st: Purdue
- September 7th: @ Illinois
- September 14th: Northwestern State
- September 21st: @ Miami (OH)
- September 28th: BYE
- September 5th: @ South Florida
- October 11th (FRI): Temple on ESPN/ESPN 2
- October 19th: UConn
- October 26th: BYE
- October 30th (WED): @ Memphis on ESPN 2 at 8 pm
- November 9th: SMU
- November 16th: @ Rutgers
- November 23rd: @ Houston
- December 5th: Louisville on ESPN at 7:30 pm