CINCINNATI — The somber expressions on the faces of Dan Hoard, the iconic voice of the Bearcats, and color man Jim Kelly Jr. told the whole story. That was just at halftime, when the Cincinnati Bearcats trailed the TCU Horned Frogs 20-7.
TCU didn’t score in the second half, which is the crazy part of a Saturday night that was both bitterly disappointing but also expected. But a Bearcats offense that was reeling down the stretch, once again, didn’t have enough in them for a second half comeback. The 20-13 loss completes the 2024 Bearcats football season at 5-7. Two seasons in the Big 12. Two seasons with head coach Scott Satterfield leading the way. Two seasons watching bowl season from the couch.
It shouldn’t be this way. Not for a program that won seven conference championships in a 14-season span from 2008-2021. For a program that went to back-to-back New Year’s Six bowls including the College Football Playoff. A program that worked so hard to get into a Power Five conference after the Big East dismantled, constantly punching above its weight class and defying the odds. Now what?
What’s next for a Bearcats Football program that “should” have championship aspirations. I say should because that’s the Bearcats Football program I got used to growing up and going to school at Cincinnati. A program that had it all in 2021… may now be stuck in neutral. That’s a hard pill to swallow, and a reality I don’t think anything of us thought the Bearcats would be facing in December 2024.
Three years ago, Nippert Stadium was full of flash bulbs popping and chants of “C-F-P” as the Bearcats, as Dan Hoard said on the radio call, had “zero losses, zero doubt.” The Bearcats were 13-0, had just won their second straight conference championship and finished their second straight undefeated regular-season and were on their way to the College Football Playoff.
AT&T Stadium. Taking on No. 1 Alabama. A spot in the National Championship on the line. It was the highest of highs for the Bearcats.
Nineteen miles to the west of AT&T Stadium is Texas Christian University. On Saturday night, in 20-degree temperatures and snow engulfing Nippert Stadium, the Horned Frogs handed the Bearcats their fifth straight loss on the season. Even more damaging, the fifth straight loss ends the Bearcats season at 5-7. No bowl game… for the second straight season.
From the College Football Playoff to two straight non-bowl eligibility seasons. As the hair band Cinderella once wrote, you “Don’t Know What You Got ‘Til It’s Gone.” That 2021 season was a joyride for everyone associated with the Bearcats and the University of Cincinnati. I remember being on the beach in the Bahamas listening to Tony Pike talk about how they could beat Alabama in the College Football Playoff. Now, to quote one of Cinderella’s albums, we’re entering another Long Cold Winter wondering about the future of the Bearcats Football program. A program that, again, should be about having yearly championship aspirations.
On Oct. 19, Bearcats head coach Scott Satterfield had the Bearcats at 5-2 and talking about this team playing for a Big 12 Championship. They certainly looked the part of a team capable of competing for a berth in the Big 12 Championship Game. I bought into what Scott Satterfield was doing as the head coach. Even the loss at Boulder, you tip your cap and acknowledge Colorado was the better team. Certainly this team would still clinch a bowl berth and continue on a surprisingly promising season, right?
Satterfield said after the game Saturday night that this is the program is trending in the right direction. What do you think and feel when you hear him say that? I think about how that’s the wrong time and place to say that. Positivity is always admirable but not in that instance. Then again, maybe Satterfield is in over his head being the head coach of this program. Not to mention, following the greatest head coach in program history in Luke Fickell.
This Bearcats team was a really likable team. The leaders were good people, in addition to good players. Even Satterfield was likable this season. His resolve through the first seven games suggested he was going to get this program back to championship contention. He even said after the game Saturday this was one of the most connected teams he’s even been a part of.
But what is there to suggest this program can get back to championship contention? What does the future look like for this program? Is Satterfield leading this program into the future? Does the University of Cincinnati look elsewhere for someone to come in and lead the Bearcats into the future with the hopes of restoring championship contention to a program where that should be standard?
A lot of questions remain after another subpar football season. The Bearcats are in the Big 12, but they may be in over their heads. Who is responsible for that? It all falls back on head coach Scott Satterfield. He had the Bearcats at 5-2 just six weeks ago. It turns out that he, nor this team, were able to handle success and being in the Big 12 conversation in the middle of the season.
Standards have not been met the last two seasons. This offseason is pivotal. Who will it include, and who will not include? Those are two key question that may define not only next year but years down the road.
