The Cincinnati Bearcats finished with a record of 5-7 last season and 3-6 in conference play, good enough for No. 11 in the Big 12.
Even with the Bearcats off to a strong start of 5-2, they lost their final 5 game of the year and missed out on a bowl game, a dissapointing end to Scott Satterfields second year as head coach.
Football analyst Phil Steele released his preseason power rankings for the Big 12 ahead of the 2025-26 college football season, where the Cincinnati Bearcats ranked No. 12 of 16.
Steele notes that the Bearcats seem off track, even though they improved from 3-9 to 5-7 the year before.
"A bowl game is likely the goal for Satterfield and company." Says Steele, "However, matchups against the likes of Nebraska to begin the season doesn't help their effort."
I'm not sure if Steele is extremely high on the Cornhuskers or extremely low on the Bearcats for this upcoming season but Cincinnati has a great chance to make a run at the Big 12 next season.
Steele has schools like Houston and Kansas ahead of the Bearcats, regardless of Cincinnati retaining more starters and addressing key positions through the portal. Houston (30) and Kansas (27) each had to add a large number of players through the portal for next season, which makes it hard to go out and compete with a brand-new roster. The Bearcats should be as high as 8 and as low as 10 going into this season.
According to K-Ford Ratings, the Bearcats have the No. 7-ranked schedule in opponent difficulty for the Big 12, being in the easier half of the conference. Additionally, K-Ford has Cincinnati at a 55% chance of reaching six wins next season, and a 12% chance of getting to 8 wins. The statistics don't seem to be adding up. If the Bearcats have a generally easy schedule in comparison to the rest of the Big 12, you think they would have a better chance of getting to 6 or 8 wins.
The Bearcats continue to be underrated, regardless of offseason returners and additions, an easier schedule, and building off of last year's success. The Bearcats seem to have a good opportunity to make some noise next year. People either don't see the opportunity or don't believe in them.
Steele's Full Big 12 Ranking
1: Arizona State
2: Kansas State
3: Baylor
4: BYU
5: Texas Tech
6: TCU
7: Iowa State
8: Utah
9: Kansas
10: Colorado
11: Houston
12: Cincinnati
13: West Virginia
14: UCF
15: Arizona
16: Oklahoma State