A year can make a big difference in how you see, view and interpret things. That’s the case with the Cincinnati Bearcats and their place in the Big 12’s Preseason Media Poll. The Bearcats have been picked to finish 14th out of 16 teams in the Big 12 in 2024.
A year ago, the Bearcats were picked to finish 13th out of 14 teams in the Big 12. That projection was perceived as too low, even though the Bearcats were a newcomer to the Big 12 and going through a coaching change with roster turnover. But after how the 2023 Season played out for the Cincinnati Bearcats, being picked to finish 14th out of 16 teams feels like a relief the Bearcats didn’t get picked to finish last.
The pressure is on Scott Satterfield this season. He has to get the Bearcats back to at least a bowl game. He has to show that this program is on the right track back towards being a top 25 team. He has to show that this team is going to compete for conference championships by 2025.
The Bearcats are less than three years removed from being in the College Football Playoff. Now, they are coming off a 3-9 season where they were noncompetitive down the stretch.
I don’t know where this program is going. It’s great that this program is in the Big 12. But the competition is only getting tougher. And if the Bearcats can’t establish an identity, a consistency in winning, I don’t know what the future of this program is going to look like.
The Bearcats haven’t even won a home game in Big 12 play. Heck, they don’t even have a winning streak in the Battle for the Victory Bell.
All this is to suggest that there should be a lot of pressure on Scott Satterfield to restore this program to where it belongs: bowl games, competing for conference championships and going back to the College Football Playoff. We saw signs of what a Satterfield program can look like through the first two games of 2023, but the inability to respond after the home loss to Miami was eye-opening. The pressure is on Scott Satterfield in 2024 to show that the Bearcats are way better than a bottom feeder in the Big 12.
