Editor’s note: Eleventh in a series previewing each team in the Big 12 in 2025.
As expected, it’s been a bit of a transition into the Power Four for the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Cincinnati earned Big 12 membership on the backs of some memorable years under coach Luke Fickell (now at Wisconsin) in the American Athletic Conference, including a 13-1 season in 2021 that saw the Bearcats earn the first College Football Playoff invitation for a Group of Five school.
When the first round of Big 12 expansion came in 2021 (the Bearcats would start play in the conference in 2023), there was much to celebrate. Cincinnati would finally have a seat at the table.
But going from a Group of Five league to a power league is a big jump — just ask Utah, which went 5-7 in back-to-back years after an 8-5 season in its first Pac-12 campaign.
Combined with losing Fickell after the 2022 season, it’s taken a bit for the Bearcats to adjust to life in the Big 12, going 3-9 in their first season in the conference and 5-7 in their second, ending the year on a five-game losing streak.
Is this the season that Cincinnati posts a winning record and gets back to a bowl game?
Coach Scott Satterfield brought in a huge transfer class to help make it happen.
Cincinnati returns quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who threw for 2,813 yards and 18 scores with seven interceptions a season ago, plus added 447 yards and nine scores with three fumbles lost on the ground.
The Bearcats brought a bevy of transfer portal receivers for Sorsby, including Jeff Caldwell (1,011 yards, 10 TDs on 52 receptions at Lindenwood), Cyrus Allen (269 yards, one TD on 18 receptions at Texas A&M) and Caleb Goodie (436 yards, four TDs on 21 receptions at Colorado State).
“Certainly wide receiver has been a spot where we felt like we needed to upgrade. We need to get more guys that can produce at a high level,” Satterfield said. “More speed, more explosiveness, being able to knock the top off, being able to win one-on-one battles.
“I think in this league you get into some of these tight games and guys are going to play you man to man. You got to be able to try to get some separation. And I think the first two years we were not good there, and I think that’s certainly a place where we try to address that need.”
Along with a new crop of receivers, tight end Joe Royer is back after a 2024 season where he had 50 receptions for 522 yards and three touchdowns.
There’s no shortage of talent in the backfield, as Cincinnati grabbed Tawee Walker from Wisconsin, where he rushed for 864 yards and 10 touchdowns last year. Complementing him will be Evan Pryor, who rushed for 418 yards and six scores a season ago at RB2 behind Corey Kiner.
The offensive line returns three players from last season as well, but Cincinnati has to replace John Williams and Luke Kandra, who were stars on the line last season. They added Joe Cotton and Tyrone Taio to beef up the offensive line in 2025.
“We lost some great players from last year. You mentioned those guys, they had been two-year starters for us and huge losses. So, we knew we needed to go out and get some experience to bring in,” Satterfield said.
Headlining Cincinnati’s defense will be tackle Dontay Corleone, who earned preseason All-Big 12 honors after a season that saw him get 26 tackles (five for loss) and 3.5 sacks after returning from dealing with blood clots on Sept. 3.
With Corleone back, the defensive line is counting on Jalen Hunt and Marquaze Parker, both of whom had limited playing time last season, to step up. They also added Jaylon White-McLain (42 tackles, 1.5 sacks) from Old Dominion to help things along.
The linebacker unit returns star Jake Golday (58 tackles, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles), who was the second-highest-graded linebacker in the Big 12 by Pro Football Focus, plus Jonathan Thompson (49 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble) and Jack Dingle (38 tackles).
It’s a whole new unit in the secondary, with transfers projected to start at nearly every position.
Cincinnati brought in Matthew McDoom (three interceptions, 10 pass deflections at Costal Carolina last year) and return Logan Wilson (one interception, four pass deflections) at cornerback.
They add Tayden Barens (two interceptions, six pass deflections and one forced fumble at New Mexico State and Xavier Williams (one interception, three pass deflections at Middle Tennessee) at safety.
The secondary gelling will be key for the Bearcats this year. If they can do so, and the offense is productive, Cincinnati could return to a bowl game and get back on a winning track.
“I think also in the secondary being able to stay on top and keeping everything in front of you and not giving up those big plays. It certainly has hurt us in the Big 12 in the last two years as well,” Satterfield said. “So those are ... places I feel like we’ve really tried to address that in the offseason and really try to work on that as we head to this season.”
Cincinnati Bearcats 2025 preview
2024 record: 5-7 (3-6 Big 12)
Utah ties
- Trevon Gola-Callard, former Southern Utah S.
2025 Schedule
- Aug. 28 — vs. Nebraska in Kansas City, Mo.
- Sept. 6 — vs. Bowling Green
- Sept. 13 — vs. Northwestern State
- Sept. 27 — at Kansas
- Oct. 4 — vs. Iowa State
- Oct. 11 — vs. UCF
- Oct. 18 — at Oklahoma State
- Oct. 25 — vs. Baylor
- Nov. 1 — at Utah
- Nov. 15 — vs. Arizona
- Nov. 22 — vs. BYU
- Nov. 29 — at TCU