Cincinnati Football: How the Bearcats roller coaster campaign will be remembered

Even though there were a lot of memorable moments this season, it will be difficult to look past the Bearcats loss to Tulane on Senior Day and getting blown out by Louisville in the Fenway Bowl.

It was a disappointing conclusion to the roller coaster campaign that included plenty of promise but will likely be remembered for falling short of expectations and suddenly losing Luke Fickell.

Highlights from this season included the historic 30-game home win streak, Fickell becoming the winningest head coach in school history and overtaking Miami in the all-time rivalry series.

More notable moments were a record-breaking 11-sack performance in a 31-21 win at Tulsa and the Nipp at Night comeback win over East Carolina to remain in AAC championship contention.

Cincinnati Football: How the Bearcats roller coaster campaign will be remembered

Despite failing to win a third straight conference title this year, there were a lot of unforgettable games from All-AAC members Dontay Corleone, Ivan Pace Jr, Tyler Scott and several others.

In the midst of a coaching change, the Bearcats were hoping to finish the season on a positive note before falling flat in a 24-7 loss to Louisville in the Fenway Bowl in Boston last week.

Cincinnati fell down by a touchdown in the first quarter and trailed by double digits at halftime before losing a third straight game against Louisville to finish the season with a 9-4 record.

With a new era on the horizon following a disappointing Fenway Bowl performance, the Bearcats have plenty of work to do in the summer to prepare for Big 12 competition next season.

Cincinnati Football: Takeaways from Bearcats disappointing performance in Fenway Bowl

In addition to the offensive line struggling to protect the pocket against Louisville, sophomore quarterback Evan Prater continues to flash promise with very little consistency to back it up.

It’s unknown what Prater will do moving forward with a decision to stay in Clifton and compete for the job under Scott Satterfield and quarterbacks coach Pete Thomas or transfer elsewhere.

Bearcats defensive coordinator Bryan Brown will be tasked with rebuilding the defense on the fly and Dontay Corleone is expected to be at the center of it after a dominant freshman campaign.