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2019 Cincinnati

11–⁠3 (7–⁠1 American Athletic Conference), coached by Luke Fickell, finished No. 21 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Cincinnati in 2019, game by game: won vs. UCLA 24–14; lost at No. 5 Ohio State 0–42; won vs. Miami (OH) 35–13; won at Marshall 52–14; won vs. No. 18 UCF 27–24; won at Houston 38–23; won vs. Tulsa 24–13; won at East Carolina 46–43; won vs. UConn 48–3; won at South Florida 20–17; won vs. Temple 15–13; lost at No. 17 Memphis 24–34; lost at No. 16 Memphis 24–29; won vs. Boston College 38–6+45−42Won 24–14 vs. UCLA+10UCLALost 0–42 at No. 5 Ohio State-42No. 5 Ohio StateWon 35–13 vs. Miami (OH)+22Miami (OH)Won 52–14 at Marshall+38MarshallWon 27–24 vs. No. 18 UCF+3No. 18 UCFWon 38–23 at Houston+15HoustonWon 24–13 vs. Tulsa+11TulsaWon 46–43 at East Carolina+3East CarolinaWon 48–3 vs. UConn+45UConnWon 20–17 at South Florida+3South FloridaWon 15–13 vs. Temple+2TempleLost 24–34 at No. 17 Memphis-10No. 17 MemphisLost 24–29 at No. 16 Memphis-5No. 16 MemphisWon 38–6 vs. Boston College+32Boston College
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsUCLAW 24–⁠1472%
Sep 7at5Ohio StateL 0–⁠4224%
Sep 14vsMiami (OH)W 35–⁠1367%
Sep 28atMarshallW 52–⁠1446%
Oct 4vs18UCFW 27–⁠2445%
Oct 12atHoustonW 38–⁠2356%
Oct 19vsTulsaW 24–⁠1387%
Nov 2atEast CarolinaW 46–⁠4381%
Nov 9vsUConnW 48–⁠393%
Nov 16atSouth FloridaW 20–⁠1771%
Nov 23vsTempleW 15–⁠1371%
Nov 29at17MemphisL 24–⁠3439%
Dec 7at16MemphisAmerican Athletic Championship GameL 24–⁠2935%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvsBoston CollegeBirmingham BowlW 38–⁠664%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Boston College 38–⁠6 in the Birmingham Bowl; No. 21 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 114 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 25
  2. Wk 8: 21
  3. Wk 9: 18
  4. Wk 10: 17
  5. Wk 11: 17
  6. Wk 12: 17
  7. Wk 13: 17
  8. Wk 14: 18
  9. Wk 15: 21
  10. Wk 16: 23
  11. Final: 21

AAC East champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in American Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 21 peak No. 17
Points
415–⁠288
Coach
Luke Fickell
Elo
1680 +117 this season
SP+ rating
9.1 No. 34 of 130; offense No. 64, defense No. 31, special teams No. 33
SRS
7.6 No. 31 of 130 in FBS
Returning
82% of last season’s EPA, No. 16 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 79 roster talent No. 61 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Denbrock
Defensive coordinator
Marcus Freeman
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense49th of 130
  • Defense28th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted53rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted19th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1344%1.1449th of 130
Defense0.0239%1.1928th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.01 def		44% off
39% def		—53rd off
19th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.2own 3117% allowed
Defense2.6own 2622% caused

CORE rating 9.4, 28th of 130 (offense 0.9, defense -8.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsDesmond Ridder QB2,164 yds
Passing touchdownsDesmond Ridder QB18 TD
Rushing yardsMichael Warren II RB1,265 yds
Rushing touchdownsMichael Warren II RB14 TD
Receiving yardsAlec Pierce WR652 yds
Receiving touchdownsJosiah Deguara TE7 TD
TacklesDarrick Forrest S106 tkl
SacksMichael Pitts DE5.5 sacks
InterceptionsJa’von Hicks S5 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Cam Jones PRO★★★No. 447
Justin Harris CB★★★No. 706
Jonathan Allen OT★★★No. 770
Steven Hawthorne WDE★★★No. 1157
Dorian Holloway OLB★★★No. 1244

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.865
Receivers23.00.840
Offensive line32.70.822
Defensive line33.00.841
Linebackers23.00.835
Defensive backs33.00.849
Athletes and specialists13.00.848
Whole class162.90.841

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 3Josiah Deguara TEGreen Bay Packers

Roster 116

The 2019 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 American Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Memphis7–⁠112–⁠217
Navy7–⁠111–⁠220
Cincinnati7–⁠111–⁠321
UCF6–⁠210–⁠324
SMU6–⁠210–⁠3
Temple5–⁠38–⁠5
Tulane3–⁠57–⁠6
Houston2–⁠64–⁠8
South Florida2–⁠64–⁠8
Tulsa2–⁠64–⁠8
East Carolina1–⁠74–⁠8
UConn0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.