CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2025 Cincinnati

7–⁠6 (5–⁠4 Big 12), coached by Scott Satterfield.

Schedule and results

Cincinnati in 2025, game by game: lost vs. Nebraska 17–20; won vs. Bowling Green 34–20; won vs. Northwestern State 70–0; won at Kansas 37–34; won vs. No. 14 Iowa State 38–30; won vs. UCF 20–11; won at Oklahoma State 49–17; won vs. Baylor 41–20; lost at No. 24 Utah 14–45; lost vs. Arizona 24–30; lost vs. No. 11 BYU 14–26; lost at TCU 23–45; lost vs. No. 22 Navy 13–35+70−31Lost 17–20 vs. Nebraska-3NebraskaWon 34–20 vs. Bowling Green+14Bowling GreenWon 70–0 vs. Northwestern State+70Northwestern St…Won 37–34 at Kansas+3KansasWon 38–30 vs. No. 14 Iowa State+8No. 14 Iowa StateWon 20–11 vs. UCF+9UCFWon 49–17 at Oklahoma State+32Oklahoma StateWon 41–20 vs. Baylor+21BaylorLost 14–45 at No. 24 Utah-31No. 24 UtahLost 24–30 vs. Arizona-6ArizonaLost 14–26 vs. No. 11 BYU-12No. 11 BYULost 23–45 at TCU-22TCULost 13–35 vs. No. 22 Navy-22No. 22 Navy
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsNebraskaL 17–⁠2044%
Sep 6vsBowling GreenW 34–⁠2051%
Sep 13vsNorthwestern StateW 70–⁠092%
Sep 27atKansasW 37–⁠3430%
Oct 4vs14Iowa StateW 38–⁠3038%
Oct 11vsUCFW 20–⁠1167%
Oct 18atOklahoma StateW 49–⁠1770%
Oct 25vsBaylorW 41–⁠2061%
Nov 1at24UtahL 14–⁠4538%
Nov 15vsArizonaL 24–⁠3061%
Nov 22vs11BYUL 14–⁠2636%
Nov 29atTCUL 23–⁠4532%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs22NavyLiberty BowlL 13–⁠3534%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Navy 35–⁠13 in the Liberty Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 39th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 114 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 24
  2. Wk 9: 21
  3. Wk 10: 17
  4. Wk 11: 25
  5. Wk 12: 22
Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 7th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 17
Points
394–⁠333
Coach
Scott Satterfield
Elo
1498 +20 this season
SP+ rating
4.5 No. 56 of 136; offense No. 50, defense No. 67, special teams No. 41
SRS
2.9 No. 56 of 136 in FBS
Returning
50% of last season’s EPA, No. 45 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 61 roster talent No. 73 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brad Glenn
Defensive coordinators
Tyson Veidt and Cortney Braswell
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense16th of 136
  • Defense113th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted20th of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted102nd of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2245%1.3216th of 136
Defense0.1845%1.17113th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.20 off
0.15 def		45% off
44% def		—20th off
102nd def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense47%9.3 yds17%3.6013%
Defense45%9.7 yds16%3.3013%
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.6own 2912% allowed
Defense3.9own 2812% caused

CORE rating 0.7, 62nd of 136 (offense 9.7, defense 9.0).

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 yardsBrendan Sorsby QB2,786 yds
Passing touchdownsBrendan Sorsby QB26 TD
Rushing yardsTawee Walker RB709 yds
Rushing touchdownsBrendan Sorsby QB9 TD
Receiving yardsCyrus Allen WR660 yds
Receiving touchdownsCyrus Allen WR12 TD
TacklesJake Golday LB95 tkl
SacksJake Golday LB3.5 sacks
InterceptionsChristian Harrison DB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Giyahni Kontosis WR★★★No. 537
Zion Johnson RB★★★No. 555
Zach Taylor OL★★★No. 867
Tim Griffin DL★★★No. 880
C.J. Crite LB★★★No. 975

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

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.866
Running backs13.00.885
Receivers33.00.868
Offensive line43.00.854
Defensive line53.00.856
Linebackers13.00.869
Defensive backs33.00.858
Athletes and specialists23.00.843
Whole class203.00.859

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 2026

The 2026 draft
Rd 2Jake Golday LBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 5Joe Royer TECleveland Browns
Rd 5Cyrus Allen WRKansas City Chiefs
Rd 7Gavin Gerhardt CMinnesota Vikings

Roster 110

The 2025 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 20

The 2025 portal
Joe Cotton OT★★★★from South Dakota
Isaiah Johnson WR★★★from Western Carolina
Jaylon White-McClain DE★★★from Old Dominion
Matthew McDoom CB★★★from Coastal Carolina
Tawee Walker RB★★★from Wisconsin
Caleb Goodie WR★★★from Colorado State
Christian Harrison S★★★from Tennessee
Cyrus Allen WR★★★from Texas A&M
Tayden Barnes S★★★from New Mexico State
C.J. McCray DE★★★from Virginia Tech
Elijah Gunn DL★★★from Southern Illinois
Jeff Caldwell WR★★★from Lindenwood

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 13

Tony Johnson WR★★★to Miami
Jordan Robinson CB★★★to Virginia
Jordan Young CB★★★to Arkansas
Sterling Berkhalter WR★★★to Wake Forest
Tyrin Smith WR★★★to Texas State
Kameron Wilson DE★★★to Miami (OH)
Jonathan Harder OL★★★to Toledo
Ken Willis S★★★to James Madison
D.J. Taylor S★★★to Texas State
Brady Drogosh QB★★★to Grand Valley State
Caleb Schmitz TE★★★to Illinois State
Kalen Carroll CB★★★to Central Michigan

And 1 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big 12

2 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2025 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2025 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas Tech8–⁠112–⁠27
BYU8–⁠112–⁠211
Utah7–⁠211–⁠214
Arizona7–⁠39–⁠4
Houston6–⁠310–⁠322
Arizona State6–⁠38–⁠5
TCU5–⁠49–⁠425
Iowa State5–⁠48–⁠4
Cincinnati5–⁠47–⁠6
Kansas State5–⁠56–⁠6
Baylor3–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas3–⁠65–⁠7
UCF2–⁠75–⁠7
West Virginia2–⁠74–⁠8
Colorado1–⁠83–⁠9
Oklahoma State0–⁠91–⁠11

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