Before it became a Power Four school, joining the Big 12 in July 2023, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats football team had reached a prestigious level among Group of Five schools.
Playing in the American Athletic Conference at the time, UC was the first school to "crash the party" of the College Football Playoff when its unbeaten 2021 team was invited to play in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl against Alabama of the Southeastern Conference.
Cincinnati Bearcats cornerback Coby Bryant (7) and Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner (1) were key players on UC’s College Football Playoff team in 2021. Coby Bryant went on to win the Jim Thorpe Award and both players were NFL draft picks.
Alabama would win 27-6, handing UC its lone loss of the year to finish 13-1.
Recently, College Football Report rated the best Group of 5 teams of the CFP era. That 2021 UC team took top honors and the 2019 and 2020 Bearcats, then coached by Luke Fickell, were also mentioned.
The 2020 UC team was No. 4 after going 9-1 with the only loss coming in Atlanta in the Peach Bowl vs. No. 9 Georgia. Those Bearcats also had wins over No. 16 SMU and No. 23 Tulsa in the AAC.
The 2019 Bearcats were 11-3, finishing with a Birmingham Bowl win in the rain over Boston College, which is UC's last bowl victory (Jan. 2, 2020).
Future Big 12 teams occupy six of top 10 spots
UC wasn't the only former Group of Five school that caught the Big 12's attention when it came to expansion.
Behind UC's top 2021 squad, the 2017 UCF Knights went 13-0 beating Auburn in the Peach Bowl. No. 3 is the 2015 Houston Cougars, who went 13-1 and beat Florida State in the Peach Bowl. UC's 2020 Bearcats were fourth, followed by the 2018 UCF team that was undefeated up until a loss to LSU in the Fiesta Bowl.
2020's BYU team had just one loss and beat UCF in the Boca Raton Bowl. UC, UCF, Houston and BYU all joined the Big 12 in 2023.
2021 Cincinnati Bearcats were loaded
Upon seeing the poll, former Fairfield and UC Bearcats defensive lineman Malik Vann posted on X, "Our 2020 and 2021 team should be 1/2 in either order."
After UC's Cotton Bowl loss to Alabama, now-retired coach Nick Saban said, "There's no doubt in my mind, Cincinnati belongs in the playoff. They gave us all we could handle."
That team had a school-record nine NFL draft picks: Defensive back Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, first round to the Jets; wide receiver Alec Pierce, second round to the Colts; safety Bryan Cook, second round to the Chiefs; quarterback Desmon Ridder, third round to the Falcons; defensive lineman Myjai Sanders, third round to the Cardinals; defensive back Coby Bryant, fourth round to the Seahawks; running back Jerome Ford, fifth round to the Browns; linebacker Darrian Beavers, sixth round to the Giants; and defensive lineman Curtis Brooks, sixth round to the Colts.
UC went 9-4 in its last season in the AAC under Fickell before he left for Wisconsin.
Power conference football has been challenge
Scott Satterfield's record at Cincinnati is 15-22, though he is 91-70 overall as a head coach. In that same time at Wisconsin in the Big Ten, Fickell is 14-19.
The Bearcats have had quick starts all three seasons:
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2023: Started 2-0, then fell to 3-9.
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2024: Started 5-2 after beating eventual CFP semifinalist Arizona State, then dropped five in a row to finish 5-7.
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2025: Started 7-1 and was featured on ESPN's College GameDay at Utah to start November, then dropped five straight to end the season, including the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
The 2026 team returns several offensive line mainstays, but it is surrounded by new players in the skill positions. Defensively, UC has returned to a four-man front and has some veteran linebackers and a much better secondary. An early Athlon Sports ranking has them 13th in the league, but very little is known about many teams with all of the transfers. And, early rankings aren't always reliable as Arizona State was picked dead last in 2024 before making the CFP semis. In media polling last year, UC was No. 11 and had the 7-1 start, and BYU, Houston and Arizona were all picked in the back end of the standings and all three finished better than expected. BYU was 8-1 in the Big 12.
UC starts its schedule with four September games, all in Cincinnati (three in Nippert Stadium, one at TQL). The first road trip is Oct. 3 at Arizona.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC Bearcats had 3 of best Group of 5 teams ever before Big 12 entry
