The Cincinnati Bearcats will go to Arrowhead Stadium on August 28 to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers on national television in just under six weeks.
With media days wrapping up and players starting to pull away in position battles, we can get a real look at what the Bearcats' offense will be this season, and in the opening game.
This is a deep dive into the good, the bad, and the ugly for what to expect from the Bearcats' offense in week one against the Cornhuskers.
The Good
We are likely to see good quarterback play out of Brendan Sorsby going into his second year as a starter at Cincinnati. His arm strength and running ability will cause problems for the Cornhusker defense, as they lost a decent amount of players to the transfer portal and have to replace some key positions on defense.
Running back play will also be something that can be good or even great for the Bearcats. They have two running backs, Tawee Walker and Evan Pryor, who are starter-level players.
Walker played in the Big Ten last season and brings a sense of familiarity to this game, playing Nebraska last season while he was a Wisconsin. Walker is a threat to break out for a big run at any moment on any part of the field.
Evan Pryor is a speedy running back who does most of his damage outside the hashes on sweeps and pitches, as well as being part of the receiving game.
If Walker and Pryor can get off to a good start against the Cornhuskers, running the ball, it can open up the passing game, more specifically the play-action game if the passing offense has a sluggish start, which could defienitly happen.
Joe Royer is going into his Senior season, and betting on himself to raise his stock in the NFL Draft is a huge move for the Bearcats' offense. Royer caught 50 passes last season and will likely be the leading receiver for Cincinnati this year.
Royer is a projected first-round pick and, alongside Dontay Corleone coming back for his final season as well, will serve as great leaders who have played in games as big as and bigger than this year's season opener. It's important to set the tone for this game and the year.
The Bad
The Bearcats still have Scott Satterfield calling the plays, and last year, they were near the bottom when it came to redzone production.
As this was an issue that they worked on and will continue to work on this offseason, as noted by Scott Satterfield and Brendan Sorsby during Big 12 Media Day, how do we know for certain that anything will change? Why should we trust Satterfield?
As good as we like to say Sorsby and Royer will be next season, they can only carry offensive production so far, as Xzavier Henderson and Corey Kiner are both on to the NFL. They need someone to step up in the receiver room and someone to step up in the running back room (which isn't as big a concern as wide receiver).
The Ugly
In common Bearcat fashion, there is a good chance we could see the Bearcats come out to a sluggish start to the season. With a lot of moving pieces this offseason, and the Bearcats not opening with an FCS opponent like last year, the Bearcats would find themselves in a hole after the first quarter or two.
A revamped offensive line that won't take a live snap together until this game could take some getting used to and cause issues for the offense. Sorsby being a good improvisor, can always make some big plays out of situations like these but it is more likely than not that an unproven offensive line will cause some issues.
A brand new wide receiving core also begs the question if they will be ready as a group come week one. The Bearcats got a trio of receivers in the Transfer Portal this offseason, Jeff Caldwell, Cyrus Allen, and Caleb Goodie.
All haven't proven to be dominant players at the Power 4 level, but have tremendous upside in an offense that needs someone to stand out. Maybe one of them does come up big on third downs throughout the game, but it is almost certain that as a position group, they start slow in this game.