If you were watching the cincinnati university football score tick upward during the first half of the 2025 season, you probably thought Scott Satterfield had finally cracked the code. Nippert Stadium was vibrating. The Bearcats were 7-1, ranked in the Top 20, and looking like a legitimate dark horse for the Big 12 title.
Then, the wheels didn’t just come off; they basically disintegrated.
It ended in a cold, soggy mess at the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on January 2, 2026. If you missed the final tally, Cincinnati fell to No. 22 Navy with a lopsided 13-35 scoreline. That loss wasn’t just a bad afternoon in Memphis—it was the exclamation point on a five-game losing streak that left fans wondering how a season with so much promise evaporated into a 7-6 finish.
The Liberty Bowl Disaster
Honestly, the weather in Memphis was gross. It rained the entire time, but you can’t blame the sky for everything. Cincinnati’s offense looked totally lost without Brendan Sorsby. With a bunch of starters hitting the transfer portal or prepping for the NFL Draft, the Bearcats had to rely on Samaj Jones and Brady Lichtenberg at quarterback.
It was rough.
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They combined for only 97 passing yards. Imagine trying to win a modern football game with fewer than 100 yards through the air. You just can’t. Navy, meanwhile, did exactly what Navy does. They ran the ball 50-plus times, controlled the clock, and let the rain do the rest of the work.
Key Stats from the Final Game
- Total Yards: Navy 349, Cincinnati 239
- Rushing Yards: Navy 241, Cincinnati 142
- Turnovers: Cincinnati gave it away twice; Navy only once.
- Time of Possession: Navy held the ball for nearly 34 minutes.
It’s kinda wild that Cyrus Allen managed to tie the school record for receiving touchdowns in a season (13) during this mess, but that was about the only highlight. The defense, led by guys like Antwan Peek Jr. and Jonathan Thompson, actually played decently given how often they were forced back onto the field. But eventually, the dam broke.
Why the Cincinnati University Football Score Tanked Late
To understand how we got to 7-6, you have to look at the November collapse. After starting 7-1, the Bearcats ran into a gauntlet. It started with a 45-14 blowout loss to Utah, followed by a frustrating six-point drop to Arizona.
By the time they played BYU (14-26) and TCU (23-45), the momentum was gone. The depth issues that have haunted the program since joining the Big 12 became glaringly obvious. When Sorsby wasn't playing at an elite level, or when the offensive line got banged up, there just wasn't enough talent in the second string to keep the cincinnati university football score on the winning side.
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People forget that this team beat Iowa State 38-30 in October. They hammered Oklahoma State 49-17 on the road. The ceiling for this group was incredibly high, which makes the 13-35 bowl loss to a Group of Five opponent like Navy feel even more like a gut punch.
Looking Toward the 2026 Reset
If you're a Bearcats fan looking for a silver lining, it’s mostly in the recruiting trail. On December 3, 2025, the program celebrated a pretty solid National Signing Day. They’ve got some big bodies coming in, like offensive linemen Luke Collins and Luke Grover, both locally grown Ohio talent.
They also landed Brooks Goodman, a three-star quarterback from Georgia who threw for over 4,500 yards in high school. With the current quarterback room looking a bit thin after the Liberty Bowl performance, Goodman might find himself in a competition sooner than expected.
2026 Signees to Watch
- H'eij Jackson (WR): A 6'4" target from New Orleans who could replace some of the production lost to the draft.
- Lance Dawson (DL): A massive kid from Avon, Ohio, who chose UC over several Big Ten schools.
- Kam Hurst (CB): A track star from St. Louis who should help a secondary that got scorched in the final few weeks of the season.
The transfer portal is already humming, too. Satterfield has been aggressive in looking for immediate starters to plug the holes left by departing seniors. The 2025 season showed that Cincinnati can compete at the top of the Big 12, but they haven't figured out how to sustain it through a full twelve-game schedule yet.
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What Needs to Change
The defense ranked 107th in "stop rate" against FBS opponents this year. That is, frankly, embarrassing for a program that built its identity on "Blackcats" defense during the Fickell era. Tyson Veidt has his work cut out for him in year two as defensive coordinator.
They moved to a 3-4 look in the bowl game, which showed some flashes of potential, but they need more speed on the edges. If they can’t stop the run, the cincinnati university football score will keep looking like a basketball tally for the opposing team.
Actionable Insights for Fans
- Watch the Portal: Keep an eye on the spring transfer window; the Bearcats are specifically targeting veteran defensive backs and a bridge quarterback.
- Nippert Advantage: Despite the late-season slide, UC went 5-2 at home. If you're betting or planning trips for 2026, home games remain their best bet for a "W."
- Recruiting Shift: Notice the emphasis on Ohio and Georgia. The staff is doubling down on these regions to build the "trenches" (OL/DL), which is where they lost the Liberty Bowl.
The 2025 season will be remembered as a massive "what if." What if Sorsby stayed healthy? What if the defense could've made one more stop against Arizona? For now, the 13-35 score against Navy is the reality they have to live with until kickoff in late August.