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2020 Cincinnati

9–⁠1 (6–⁠0 American Athletic Conference), coached by Luke Fickell, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Cincinnati in 2020, game by game: won vs. Austin Peay 55–20; won vs. No. 22 Army 24–10; won vs. South Florida 28–7; won at No. 16 SMU 42–13; won vs. Memphis 49–10; won vs. Houston 38–10; won vs. East Carolina 55–17; won at UCF 36–33; won vs. No. 20 Tulsa 27–24; lost vs. No. 10 Georgia 21–24+39−3Won 55–20 vs. Austin Peay+35Austin PeayWon 24–10 vs. No. 22 Army+14No. 22 ArmyWon 28–7 vs. South Florida+21South FloridaWon 42–13 at No. 16 SMU+29No. 16 SMUWon 49–10 vs. Memphis+39MemphisWon 38–10 vs. Houston+28HoustonWon 55–17 vs. East Carolina+38East CarolinaWon 36–33 at UCF+3UCFWon 27–24 vs. No. 20 Tulsa+3No. 20 TulsaLost 21–24 vs. No. 10 Georgia-3No. 10 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 19vsAustin PeayW 55–⁠2085%
Sep 26vs22ArmyW 24–⁠1071%
Oct 3vsSouth FloridaW 28–⁠780%
Oct 24at16SMUW 42–⁠1346%
Oct 31vsMemphisW 49–⁠1063%
Nov 7vsHoustonW 38–⁠1082%
Nov 13vsEast CarolinaW 55–⁠1792%
Nov 21atUCFW 36–⁠3349%
Dec 19vs20TulsaAmerican Athletic Championship GameW 27–⁠2479%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs10GeorgiaPeach BowlL 21–⁠2451%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia 24–⁠21 in the Peach Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; American Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 114 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 20
  2. Wk 3: 13
  3. Wk 4: 14
  4. Wk 5: 15
  5. Wk 6: 11
  6. Wk 7: 8
  7. Wk 8: 9
  8. Wk 9: 7
  9. Wk 10: 6
  10. Wk 11: 7
  11. Wk 12: 7
  12. Wk 13: 7
  13. Wk 14: 7
  14. Wk 15: 7
  15. Wk 16: 6
  16. Final: 8

American Athletic Conference champions6–⁠0 in the conference, won the American Athletic Championship Game

Record
9–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0 shared first in American Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 6
Points
375–⁠168
Coach
Luke Fickell
Elo
1740 +120 this season
SP+ rating
18.6 No. 9 of 130; offense No. 24, defense No. 6
Returning
67% of last season’s EPA, No. 58 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 40 roster talent No. 58 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Denbrock
Defensive coordinator
Marcus Freeman
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense23rd of 127
  • Defense2nd of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted24th of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted1st of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2145%1.3323rd of 127
Defense-0.0935%1.272nd of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
-0.04 def		45% off
36% def		—24th off
1st 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
Offense4.0own 3616% allowed
Defense2.0own 3120% caused

CORE rating 20.1, 7th of 127 (offense 5.2, defense -14.9).

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 QB2,296 yds
Passing touchdownsDesmond Ridder QB19 TD
Rushing yardsGerrid Doaks RB673 yds
Rushing touchdownsDesmond Ridder QB12 TD
Receiving yardsJosh Whyle TE353 yds
Receiving touchdownsJosh Whyle TE6 TD
TacklesJarell White LB77 tkl
SacksMyjai Sanders DE7 sacks
InterceptionsCoby Bryant CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Evan Prater DUAL★★★★No. 174
Jaheim Thomas OLB★★★★No. 334
Jadon Thompson WR★★★★No. 347
Sammy Anderson Jr. CB★★★No. 543
De’Arre McDonald CB★★★No. 714

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

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.928
Receivers33.30.876
Offensive line43.00.842
Defensive line43.00.840
Linebackers23.50.875
Defensive backs43.00.855
Athletes and specialists43.00.847
Whole class223.10.856

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 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 4James Hudson OTCleveland Browns
Rd 5Darrick Forrest SWashington Football Team
Rd 7James Wiggins SArizona Cardinals
Rd 7Gerrid Doaks RBMiami Dolphins

Roster 130

The 2020 roster

130 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

2020 American Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Cincinnati6–⁠09–⁠18
Tulsa6–⁠06–⁠3
Memphis5–⁠38–⁠3
UCF5–⁠36–⁠4
SMU4–⁠37–⁠3
Houston3–⁠33–⁠5
Navy3–⁠43–⁠7
Tulane3–⁠56–⁠6
East Carolina3–⁠53–⁠6
Temple1–⁠61–⁠6
South Florida0–⁠71–⁠8

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