Look, being a Bearcats fan has been a bit of a rollercoaster lately. We all remember the high of the College Football Playoff run, and then the reality check of joining the Big 12. Honestly, the university of cincinnati football schedule 2025 is where the rubber finally meets the road for Scott Satterfield. This isn't just about playing big names anymore; it's about whether Cincinnati can actually hold their own in a conference that has basically become a 16-team meat grinder.
The 2025 season actually kicked off with a massive change of pace. Instead of a cupcake opener at Nippert, the Bearcats headed to Kansas City on Thursday, August 28, to face Nebraska at Arrowhead Stadium. It felt like a road game. It was a road game, basically. Losing that one 20-17 stung, especially with Dylan Raiola leading the Huskers, but it set a tone. This year isn't about padding stats against the AAC; it's about surviving a schedule that ESPN’s Football Power Index ranked as the 58th toughest in the country.
Breaking down the university of cincinnati football schedule 2025
If you were looking for a "get right" stretch, you mostly found it in early September. After the Nebraska heartbreaker, the Bearcats came home to Nippert. They handled Bowling Green 34-20 on September 6—a game where the "White Out" crowd actually showed up. Then came the absolute blowout.
On September 13, Cincinnati hung 70 points on Northwestern State. 70 to 0. It was the kind of game where you start feeling bad for the other team's punter by the second quarter. But that was the end of the easy breathing. After a bye week on September 20, the Big 12 gauntlet began in earnest.
The Big 12 meat grinder begins
Traveling to Lawrence on September 27 to face Kansas was always going to be a problem. Jalon Daniels is a nightmare when he’s healthy, and he was healthy enough to deal UC a 37-34 loss.
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But then something clicked.
The Bearcats went on a tear through October. They took down Iowa State 38-30 at home during Family Weekend, which was a huge statement win considering how much the Cyclones usually lean on you defensively. Then came the UCF game on October 11. It’s always a weird rivalry, and winning 20-11 in a defensive slugfest felt like the team was finally finding an identity.
The absolute peak of the season? Probably October 18. Cincinnati went into Stillwater and absolutely dismantled Oklahoma State 49-17. You don't see Mike Gundy’s teams get blown out at home like that often. Brendan Sorsby looked like an All-Big 12 quarterback that day. He was dealing.
Why the November slump changed the narrative
Coming off a Homecoming win against Baylor (41-20) on October 25, the Bearcats were sitting pretty. They were ranked. People were talking about a dark horse run.
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Then November happened.
- November 1: A brutal 45-14 loss at Utah. Salt Lake City is a nightmare for visitors, and the Utes just bullied the Bearcats at the line of scrimmage.
- November 15: After a much-needed second bye, Arizona came to Nippert. This was the first time these two had ever met. It was close, but the Wildcats escaped with a 30-24 win.
- November 22: Senior Day against BYU. Another loss, 26-14.
By the time the regular season finale at TCU rolled around on November 29, the momentum had stalled. Losing 45-23 in Fort Worth felt like a step back, especially after how dominant the team looked in October.
The final tally and what's next
When you look at the university of cincinnati football schedule 2025 as a whole, it’s a story of two seasons. They finished the regular season 7-5 overall and 5-4 in the Big 12. That’s a massive improvement over Satterfield’s first year, but that 13-35 Liberty Bowl loss to Navy on January 2 left a bitter taste.
Dontay Corleone, our 320-pound wrecking ball in the middle, was everything he was advertised to be. But the defense as a whole still has those gaps that Big 12 offenses exploit.
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If you're looking at the 2026 horizon, the biggest thing to watch is the transfer portal. The Bearcats found gems in guys like Sorsby, but the depth on the offensive line—highlighted by guys like Luke Kandra and John Williams—needs to be replaced or bolstered.
The reality? Cincinnati is no longer the "new kid" in the Big 12. They are a mid-tier power that showed they can blow the doors off a team like Oklahoma State but still struggle with the consistency needed to finish in the top three of the conference.
For the 2026 season, keep an eye on the recruitment of five-star talent like Shon Abaev. The program is attracting bigger names, but they need to turn that talent into a full four quarters of football in November. Go Bearcats.
Secure your season ticket deposits for the 2026 season early through the UC Athletics website to ensure priority seating at Nippert, as the home schedule is expected to feature several high-profile Big 12 matchups.