Tyson Veidt (left) is introduced as Bearcats new defensive coordinator by head coach Scott Satterfield. (Mike Petraglia-CLNS Media)
CINCINNATI — Familiarity can often breed contempt. But in the case of Tyson Veidt, the Bearcats are hoping his familiarity with the offenses of the Big 12 can produce results.
UC head coach Scott Satterfield introduced the Logan, Ohio native as the team’s new defensive coordinator, replacing Bryan Brown, who had been with Satterfield over the last 12 seasons, bridging Satterfield’s time with Appalachian State and Louisville.
But after the Bearcats went 1-8 in their inaugural Big 12 season and 3-9 overall, change was needed. The Bearcats struggled on defense, allowing 30 points per game, giving up 401 yards per contest, four-highest in the Big 12. And no team yielded more yards per snap than Cincinnati, which allowed a Big 12-high 6.7 yards per play.
Satterfield needed someone he could trust with a proven track record of slowing down high-powered offenses in the Big 12.
Enter Veidt (pronounced VITE).
Veidt served as Iowa State’s associate head coach and linebackers coach for the past eight seasons. He was named the National Linebacker Coach of the Year by Football Scoop in 2017 and a nominee for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach, in 2018.
Under head coach Matt Campbell, Veidt coached a pair of All-America linebackers at Iowa State in Joel Lanning (2017) and Mike Rose (2020). Lanning was a quarterback his first four years of college before Veidt helped transform him into a star linebacker, Veidt helped coach and inspire the linebackers room at the Big 12 school. helped transform Iowa State into one of the nation’s top defenses during his tenure with the Cyclones, beginning in 2016.
Since Veidt joined Iowa State as part of Matt Campbell’s staff in 2016, the Cyclones lead the Big 12 in:
Iowa State’s 5.1 yards per play allowed since 2020 is the ninth-fewest in the nation.
“I think in the football world you’re obviously connected through college football with watching many guys over the years,” Veidt said. “Obviously, Coach Satterfield had great success everywhere he’s been that I knew of him, did not know him, but that was certainly exciting to me. Then, the opportunity here at the University of Cincinnati, I think, is a place that speaks for itself, with the history and the tradition that’s happened here and obviously, the potential to be now in the Big 12 and take the program to another level. It was also very exciting.”
Cincinnati in 2023 was a defense that had names like Dontay Corleone, Deshawn Pace, Malik Vann and Jowon Briggs. This is a program with a defense that has sent Sauce Gardner, Bryan Cook, Ivan Pace Jr and Coby Bryant to the NFL. It should not be at the bottom of the conference and if a return to conference competitiveness is to happen, it’s going to happen on the defensive side of the ball.
Satterfield is responsible for continuing that pipeline of talent to Clifton, though he admitted Monday that his main responsibility is still on the offensive side of the ball. Veidt is charged with designing a defense that players will want to play in. He certainly did that at Iowa State, his most recent employer.
“When you spend a lot of time on the offense like I do as a head coach, you want to go find someone to help with that defense that you trust, number one,” Satterfield acknowledged. “Someone that you can that feel good about them, organizing and running that side of the ball with staff and players. There were a lot of great candidates out there. A lot of people reached out and there were a lot of people that we talked to. It wasn’t something that I was just going to jump in too quickly. We wanted to take the process and take our time with that, but there were many reasons why we hired Coach Veidt. First, being in the Big 12 for the last eight years has been huge, and what Iowa State has been able to accomplish and do over that period, particularly on defense.
“They’ve done an outstanding job with being in that league that long. When you think about some of the offenses that have been in this league for many years and for Iowa State to be able to be one of if not the best defense over that span in the Big 12. From total defense, scoring defense, and rushing defense to do all those things, they’ve done an outstanding job with that. He’s been an integral part of that, he mentored and worked with those linebackers and the linebacker group there. He’s had some outstanding players there and has done some great things with them and teaching them and being a great teacher is the key when for you to be a good football coach, and he’s certainly got those attributes.”
Satterfield will try to avoid the big pitfall that brought down Tommy Tuberville. If you’re a coach at UC, you cannot ignore the talent in your backyard. Veidt should help in that regard, at least given the fact he has a true appreciation of the talent in the greater Cincinnati high schools.
“Being from Ohio is a huge thing he has great respect for high school coaches in the state,” Satterfield said. “He has been a head coach, having to do all the things as a head coach and wear all the many hats he’s had to be able to deal with that. I think that’s a big thing. Then just sitting down and going over his philosophies and things that he thinks are important are some of the same things that we think are important. It’s a great alignment there. So for all those reasons, I think we got an outstanding coach and person here. He has a great family as well, I think we hit a home run with Tyson here.”
With an offense that was producing 200 yards on the ground per game and 200 yards through the air, the defense was letting the Bearcats down. Going forward, Veidt wants to change that.
The Bearcats head out to Boulder, Colo. on Oct. 26 for their first contest against the Buffaloes in Colorado’s first season in the Big 12 – and their first matchup against the one and only Deion Sanders, heading into his second season in Colorado.
West Virginia’s trip to Cincinnati for a Thursday or Friday night game and Arizona State’s first visit to Historic Nippert Stadium are among the highlights of the 2024 Cincinnati football schedule.
The Big 12 Conference released the full schedule for the 2024 fall season on Tuesday.
After welcoming Towson (Aug. 31) and Pitt (Sept. 7) to Nippert Stadium to open the season, the Bearcats travel to Oxford, Ohio, for their first true road game at Miami (Ohio) since a 21-17 victory in 2017.
The Bearcats open Big 12 play by hosting Houston on Sept. 21 and also host conference opponents Arizona State (Oct. 19), West Virginia (Nov. 7 or Nov. 8) and TCU (Nov. 30) to wrap up the regular season.
In league play, Cincinnati hits the road to face Texas Tech (Sept. 28), UCF (Oct. 12), Colorado (Oct. 26), Iowa State (Nov. 16) and Kansas State (Nov. 23).
Cincinnati’s bye weeks will be on Oct. 5 and Nov. 2.
2024 Schedule (home games in bold)
Towson – Aug. 31
Pitt – Sept. 7
at Miami (Ohio) – Sept. 14
Houston – Sept. 21
at Texas Tech – Sept. 28
BYE WEEK – Oct. 5
at UCF – Oct. 12
Arizona State – Oct. 19
at Colorado – Oct. 26
BYE WEEK – Nov. 2
West Virginia – Nov. 7 or Nov. 8
at Iowa State – Nov. 16
at Kansas State – Nov. 23
TCU – Nov. 30
Fans can purchase season tickets here. Away game information on away game tickets can be found here.
2024 Opponent Capsules
2023 Record: 5-6
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting
Cincinnati will look to win its 23rd consecutive home-opener against Towson in a matchup that will also mark UC’s first game against a CAA opponent since beating Rhode Island in 2003.
2023 Record: 3-9
Series Record: Pitt leads 8-5
Last Meeting: Cincinnati won 27-21 in 2023
The “River City Rivalry” returns to Cincinnati for the first time since 2012. The Bearcats picked up a 27-21 road win at Pitt last fall behind a 153-yard, one-touchdown performance from running back Corey Kiner.
2023 Record: 11-3
Series Record: Tied 60-60-7
Last Meeting: Miami (Ohio) won 31-24 in 2023
The matchup with Miami (Ohio) will be the 128th Battle for the Victory Bell in a series that is tied 60-60-7 following the Redhawks 31-24 overtime upset win at Nippert Stadium in 2023. UC travels to Yager Stadium for the first time since 2017. The UC-Miami series is the oldest non-conference college football rivalry with the first game being played on Dec. 8, 1888.
2023 Record: 4-8
Series Record: Houston leads 15-14
Last Meeting: Cincinnati won 24-14 in 2023
The Bearcats picked up their first Big 12 win, 24-14, over the Cougars in Houston last season. Houston returns to Nippert Stadium for the first time since UC used a 35-20 win over UH in the 2021 AAC Championship Game to cap a 13-0 season and propel Cincinnati into the College Football Playoff.
2023 Record: 7-6
Series Record: 0-0-1
Last Meeting: 10-10 tie in 1968
Cincinnati and Texas Tech will meet for the first time since a 10-10 tie in Lubbock, Texas to open the 1968 season.
2023 Record: 6-7
Series Record: UCF leads 5-4
Last Meeting: UCF won 28-26 in 2023
Cincinnati and UCF have seen four of their last five matchups be decided by 4 or fewer points. The two teams were the premier Group of 5 programs headed into the last wave of realignment with Cincinnati capturing AAC Championships and New Year’s Six bowl bids in 2020 and 2021 and UCF doing the same in 2017 and 2018.
2023 Record: 3-9
Series Record: Cincinnati leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Cincinnati won 14-0 in 1976
The Bearcats will host the Sun Devils for the first time ever in ASU’s first season in the Big 12. UC picked up a 34-7 victory in Tempe, Ariz., in 1954, and a 14-0 win at Arizona State in 1976. The victory in 1954 (Nov. 6) marked legendary coach Sid Gillman’s final victory as the Bearcats’ head coach. He took over as the Los Angeles Rams coach in the NFL the next season.
2023 Record: 4-8
Series Record: Colorado leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Colorado won 56-14 in 1972
Cincinnati’s more-than-1,200-mile trip to Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. will be its longest away trip of the season as the Bearcats will welcome the Buffaloes back to the Big 12, which they were in from 1996-2010.
2023 Record: 9-4
Series Record: West Virginia leads 17-3-1
Last Meeting: WVU won 42-21 in 2023
The excitement will be palpable when Cincinnati hosts West Virginia for a likely “Nippert at Night” event on either a Thursday or Friday. It will be the Mountaineers first trip back to Nippert Stadium since Isaiah Pead rushed for 175 yards and an injured Tony Pike split time at quarterback with Zach Collaros to lead Cincinnati to a 24-21 victory in 2009. The win kept UC a perfect 10-0 on the season.
2023 Record: 7-6
Series Record: Iowa State leads 1-0
Last Meeting: ISU won 30-10 in 2023
Cincinnati will make its first trip to Ames, Iowa to face the Cyclones in Jack Trice Stadium. The Bearcats’ new defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt served as Iowa State’s associate head coach/linebackers for the last eight seasons.
2023 Record: 9-4
Series Record: Cincinnati leads 4-2
Last Meeting: KSU won 35-0 in 1996
Cincinnati travels to Manhattan, Kansas to face the Wildcats for the first time since 1996. UC picked up home-away sweeps over Kansas State in 1951-52 and 1965-66 before falling twice 1995-96.
2023 Record: 4-8
Series Record: Cincinnati leads 2-1
Last Meeting: Cincinnati won 21-10 in 2004
TCU (2022) and Cincinnati (2021) – the last two current Big 12 teams to advance to the College Football Playoff – will meet for the first time since three straight Conference USA matchups from 2002 to 2004. The Bearcats’ 36-29 overtime victory over TCU at Nippert Stadium in 2002 kicked off a home-opener win streak that continues to this day (22 straight).
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