Cincinnati Football schedule analysis: week one, Nebraska

This is the first post of a full 12-post analysis of the Cincinnati Bearcats football schedule. The Bearcats play Nebraska on August 28th, 2025, at Arrowhead Stadium at 9:00 p.m. on ESPN.

The Cincinnati Bearcats open the 2025-26 college football season on the road against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The game is being played at Arrowhead Stadium. Still, it actually counts as a home game for the Bearcats, as it was originally scheduled to be played at Lucas Oil Stadium and it was too late for either program to wave home/away changes to their schedules.

The Cincinnati Bearcats finished 5-7 overall and 3-6 in the Big 12 after a 5-2 start, losing their final 5 games of the regular season

The Nebraska Cornhuskers finished 7-6 overall and 3-6 in Big Ten play. They made a bowl game unlike the Bearcats and narrowly defeated Boston College 20-15 in the Pinstripe Bowl.

The two teams faced one common opponent in 2024, the Colorado Buffaloes. The Nebraska Cornhuskers played them before they got in stride on September 7, 2024, at home and beat them 28-10. The Cincinnati Bearcats played them on October 26, 2024, losing 34-23.

The big headline between both the Cornhuskers and the Bearcats is who can get the most stops on defense. The Bearcats averaged 24.58 points allowed last season while the Cornhuskers averaged 18.92 points allowed last season. you can blame it on the play style difference between the two conferences, but both defenses weren't very good.

Both offenses are headlined by up-and-coming quarterbacks who want to make a splash nationally next season. Brendan Sorsby passed for 2,813 yards, while Dylan Raiola passed for 2,819 yards. Sorsby had 18 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, and Raiola had 13 Touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Both quarterbacks were full-time college starters for the first time in their careers, and a big part of this game will come down to who shakes off the offseason rust quicker and makes big plays down the stretch.

This game is up for grabs, neither team being significantly more talented at any position group on the field. But as Dave Portnoy says best, "thats probably a loss"