Teams:

• Arizona
• Arizona State
• Baylor
• BYU
• Cincinnati – At bat
• Colorado – On deck
• Houston – In the hole
• Iowa State
• Kansas
• Kansas State
• Oklahoma State
• TCU
• Texas Tech
• UCF
• Utah
• West Virginia

Portal Team Rankings:

• On3: Big 12 13th | National 59th
• 24/7 Sports: Big 12 7th | National 41st
• The Athletic: D+

Via AI:

• Cole Tabb: A highly touted power back who transferred into the program and is expected to compete for the lead running back role.
• Gi’Bran Payne: A former blue-chip recruit who returned home to Cincinnati after transferring from Notre Dame to bolster the backfield depth.
• Evan Pryor: An explosive and experienced running back who joined the Bearcats via the portal to add veteran leadership.
• JC French IVth: An incoming quarterback transfer expected to bring immediate competition and energy to the signal-caller position.

Via The Athletic:

Top players added: QB JC French (Georgia Southern), RB Zylan Perry (Louisiana), WR Cade Wolford (Kent State), WR JaVonnie Gibson (Oklahoma), CB MJ Cannon (Bowling Green)

The Bearcats, who started 7-1 before losing five games in a row to end the 2025 season, have to replace 19 starters, including six lost to the portal. The key portal losses were quarterback Brendan Sorsby (Texas Tech) and safety Christian Harrison (Arkansas). Coach Scott Satterfield and general manager Zach Grant signed nine starters off other FBS rosters and four more off FCS teams. They bolstered the secondary with four players who started at Group of 6 schools last season. French was 15-11 as a starter over the last two seasons at Georgia Southern and has a similar skill set to Sorby, but is smaller. Wolford is a big-play threat who had 19 receptions for 509 yards and seven touchdowns as a redshirt freshman at Kent State. It feels as though Cincinnati is counting on a lot of guys who haven’t had success yet at the Power 4 level to exceed expectations.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly:

Transition and slight improvement, rinse and repeat. It’s the story of Satterfield’s Cincinnati tenure. He set the bar nice and low out of the gate (3-9 and 87th in SP+ in 2023), and his Bearcats improved to 5-7 (72nd) and 7-6 (56th) in the years that followed. But it’s hard to tell if he’s actually gaining traction or not. His 2026 team will feature new coordinators, a new quarterback, a new skill corps, a mostly new defensive line and a new secondary. He did a solid job in the portal and might have just the guys to engineer another round of slight improvement, but it’s fair to wonder what the ceiling is here.

There’s an interesting dynamic on offense, where maybe the most proven line in the conference — three returning linemen (tackle Joe Cotton and guards Evan Tengesdahl and Taran Tyo) have all earned at least third-team All-Big 12 honors in their careers — will support a quarterback and skill corps plucked almost entirely from mid-majors and smaller schools.

There’s more at the link.

Team Recruiting Rankings:

• On3: Big 12 12th | National 60th
• 24/7 Sports: Big 12 12th | National 58th

Via AI:

• Lance Dawson (DL, Avon, OH): The highest-rated recruit in the class, standing 6-4 and 260 pounds. The four-star standout chose the Bearcats over Illinois and West Virginia.
• Brooks Goodman (QB, Atlanta, GA): A consensus three-star prospect. The signal-caller threw for over 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns during his high school career.
• Luke Grover (OL, Lewis Center, OH): A consensus three-star offensive tackle. Standing 6-5 and 280 pounds, he chose Cincinnati over Iowa State and Virginia Tech.
• Gavin Gregory (TE, Alliance, OH): A towering 6-7, 240-pound three-star tight end who racked up over 1,400 receiving yards in high school.

Big 12 Power Rankings

• ESPN’s Bill Connelly: 10th in the Big 12
• CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah: 1st in the Big 12
• The Big Lead: 2nd in the Big 12
• Desert News’ Brandon Judd: 2nd in the Big 12

AI Projection: What is the outlook for Cincinnati Bearcats football for 2026?

The Cincinnati Bearcats are entering the 2026 season in a rebuilding phase with over 40 new players and a projected starting quarterback in JC French IV. Picked to finish near the bottom of the Big 12, the team will rely heavily on an elite offensive line anchored by Taran Tyo.

Key Team Dynamics

Offense: The team will be led by JC French IV at quarterback, stepping in for the departed Brendan Sorsby. The offense’s strength is undoubtedly the offensive line, which returns top talent like Taran Tyo and Evan Tengesdahl under co-offensive coordinator Nick Cardwell.

Defense: The defense is undergoing a significant overhaul following major departures, notably standout linebacker Jake Golday. The staff has aggressively restocked through the transfer portal, adding pieces like Jacob Finley (NIU) and MJ Cannon (BGSU) to shore up the unit.

Expectations: Head coach Scott Satterfield is entering his fourth year with the program. Media polls peg Cincinnati 13th in the Big 12, and oddsmakers view them as longshots with roughly 100-to-1 odds to win the conference.

The 2026 Schedule

Cincinnati’s non-conference schedule kicks off in September with matchups against Boston College, Western Carolina, and the Victory Bell rivalry game against Miami (OH). The conference slate presents a difficult challenge, featuring home games against Big 12 heavyweights like Kansas State, Texas Tech, and Utah, along with tough road trips to Arizona, Iowa State, and BYU.Could you tell me which specific upcoming opponent or position group you are most interested in? I can provide you with deeper scouting and matchup breakdowns.