2023 Cincinnati Football Predictions and Season Preview

Cincinnati football finished the 2022 season with a solid 9-4 record. The Bearcats only lost to Arkansas, Central Florida, Tulane and Louisville last year, and their marquee wins came against Indiana and SMU. They played eight games that came down to 10 points or less last year.

DraftKings Sportsbook puts the Cincinnati win total at 5.5 with the under juiced to -155. Cincinnati also sits at +120000 to win the Big 12, which ranks just ahead of West Virginia and Houston. With that said, let’s dive into our 2023 Cincinnati football season preview.

2023 Cincinnati Football Predictions & Season Preview

2023 Cincinnati Football Season Preview: Coaching Staff

With Luke Fickell taking the Wisconsin head coaching job, Cincinnati will break in an entirely new head coaching staff in 2023. They now bring in former Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield. Satterfield finished with a mediocre 25-24 record in his time with Louisville after previously coaching at Appalachian State. At offensive coordinator, Cincinnati hired Brad Glenn, who most recently functioned as Virginia Tech’s passing game coordinator in 2022. He functioned as Georgia State’s offensive coordinator before that. At defensive coordinator, Satterfield brought Bryan Brown with him. Brown has coordinated Louisville’s defense for the last four years and previously coached with Satterfield at Appalachian State. While this staff has had some success, plenty of questions remain. It seems like Satterfield is just hiring his bros despite the mixed results.

2023 Cincinnati Football Season Preview: Offense

Quarterback

Cincinnati landed Arizona State transfer Emory Jones. Last year, Jones completed 125 of his 199 pass attempts (62.8%) for 1,533 yards (7.7 yards per attempt), seven touchdowns and four interceptions. Jones had a solid passing season with Florida back in 2021 as well. That year, he completed 224 of his 346 passes (64.7%) for 2,734 yards (7.9 yards per attempt), 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Jones has strong mobility, displayed by his 759 rushing yards on 143 attempts in 2021. Last year, he only rushed for 31 yards, but he also took 21 sacks. The goal for this Cincinnati offense should be cutting down Jones’ negative plays and turnovers. Jones finished as the 11th-graded passer in the Pac-12 last year, per Pro Football Focus. Behind Jones, former 4-star Evan Prater moved to wide receiver. Cincinnati retains Brady Lichtenberg, who initially came to Cincinnati as a 3-star recruit in 2021. They also landed 4-star freshman Brady Drogosh, who impressed in the spring. This offense will look completely different in 2023, but landing a veteran like Jones should be viewed as a positive.

Running Back

Cincinnati lost their leading rusher Charles McClelland, who accounted for 849 yards on 146 receptions along with 14 receptions last year. However, they return three rushers with some experience in Corey Kiner, Ryan Montgomery and Myles Montgomery. Last year, Kiner finished as the second-leading rusher with 81 carries for 362 yards, while catching two passes. At 5-foot-9, 215 pounds, Kiner logged 2.28 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle on 13.6% of his attempts. It should be noted that Kiner battled injury last year. Ryan Montgomery also returns after 63 carries for 270 yards last year. He is 5-foot-10, 205 pounds and averaged 2.09 yards after contact, while forcing a missed tackle on 30.2% of his attempts. Finally, Myles Montgomery rushed 14 times for 120 yards last year. He is 5-foot-11, 205 pounds and could play a larger role this year. The same goes for Ethan Wright, who carried eight times for 43 yards last year. Ultimately, this group should not take a major step back in 2023.

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Wide Receiver

The Cincinnati receiver room will be entirely rebuilt in 2023. Their main losses include Tyler Scott and Tre Tucker, who had 1,571 receiving yards and 106 catches combined. Their top returner is Chris Scott, who only caught four passes last year. Scott is 6-foot-2, 205 pounds and has been with Cincinnati since 2020. From there, Cincinnati added six receiver transfers. This list includes Donovan Ollie (Washington State), Dee Wiggins (Louisville), Aaron Turner (UConn), Sterling Berkhalter (North Carolina A&T), Xzavier Henderson (Florida) and Braden Smith (Louisville). Ollie caught 43 passes for 491 yards and three touchdowns last year. He is 6-foot-3, 212 pounds and registered a mediocre 1.18 yards per route, while playing out wide 92.5% of the time. Wiggins caught just four passes last year, but he suffered a season-ending foot injury after just three games. He is 6-foot-3, 195 pounds and originally came to Miami as a borderline 4-star recruit in 2021. Last year, Turner caught 57 passes for 527 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed 14 times for another 53 yards. Turner is 5-foot-7, 177 pounds and registered a strong 2.03 yards per route last year, while playing in the slot 86.2% of the time. Berkhalter is 6-foot-4, 200 pounds and caught 31 passes for 437 yards and two touchdowns, while playing out wide 93.4% of the time. He will now attempt to make the jump to the power five level after playing in the FCS. Henderson caught 38 passes for 410 yards and two touchdowns last year. He is 6-foot-3, 195 pounds and registered an above-average 1.64 yards per route, while playing out wide 54.7% of the time. Finally, Smith comes over after 21 catches for 215 yards and one touchdown last year. He is 5-foot-10, 185 pounds and played in the slot 88% of the time. Smith logged a poor 0.74 yards per route with Louisville last year. For further depth, Cincinnati moved former 4-star quarterback Evan Prater to receiver. Prater oozes athleticism, but he is new to the position. It is hard to see this group living up to their 2022 stat lines.

Tight End

Cincinnati lost their top two tight ends Josh Whyle and Leonard Taylor, who combined for 50 catches. This now leaves Chamon Metayer as the presumed starter. He only played 90 snaps last year. Cincinnati also has Payten Singletary and Caleb Schmitz for depth. Singletary played 82 snaps last year, while Schmitz logged four. Metayer has a lot of potential and plenty of athleticism. However, this unit is entirely unproven and likely will take a step back.

Offensive Line

Cincinnati lost four starters on the offensive line, which includes tackle Joe Huber, guard Dylan O’Quinn, tackle James Tunstall and guard Jeremy Cooper. The only returning starter is center Gavin Gerhardt, who played 859 snaps last year. The rest of the starting group will likely come down to transfers. Phillip Wilder comes in from Southeast Missouri State after playing 903 snaps over the last three years. He is the early favorite for right tackle, but this will be a massive jump in competition for him. Luke Kandra comes over from Louisville after playing 355 snaps the last two years. He is the favorite for right guard. They also brought in Trevor Radosevich from Penn, where he started for two seasons across the offensive line. With Gerhardt returning at center, left guard is the most likely position for Radosevich. At left tackle, Cincinnati has a few options. In-house replacement John Williams saw 36 snaps as a reserve last year. The Bearcats also added Kentucky transfer Deondre Buford, who played 194 snaps last year. He is a former 3-star recruit from the 2020 class. With this group entirely rebuilt, a decent step back should be expected here.

2023 Cincinnati Football Season Preview: Defense

Cincinnati ranked 17th on defense in 2022. This included the 13th-ranked run defense, fourth-ranked pass rush and 63rd-ranked secondary. This defense lost a ton of production from 2023. This includes three starters in the secondary, stud edge Ivan Pace Jr. and most of their linebacker snaps. Cincinnati did add nine transfers, but filling this many holes could be a challenge for the Bearcats.

Defensive Line

Cincinnati lost premier edge Pace along with Noah Potter. Pace will be a major loss after contributing 136 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks. Luckily, they return Eric Phillips, who played 673 snaps last year. Phillips ranked second on the team with eight tackles for loss, while logging three sacks. They also get Malik Vann back, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 last year. Back in 2021, Vann played 404 snaps and logged a strong 23 quarterback pressures. From there, Cincinnati added Utah State transfer Daniel Grzesiak, who played 810 snaps last year. Grzesiak recorded an elite 50 quarterback pressures on his snaps last year and should play a big role in this rotation. They also added Virginia Tech edge transfer Kyree Moyston. Moyston only played 37 snaps last year, but he should provide depth.

On the interior, Cincinnati returns their top two defensive tackles in Jowon Briggs and Dontay Corleone. Briggs played 632 snaps last year, logging 61 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Corleone proved even more efficient, despite playing just 328 snaps. Corleone logged 45 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. This team also has interior/edge hybrid Justin Wodtly back for depth. In addition, they added transfer Jalen Hunt (Michigan State). Hunt spent four years at Michigan State, accumulating 484 snaps of experience with the Spartans. Despite losing Pace from the edge group, this defensive line should be the strength of Cincinnati’s team in 2023.

Linebacker

Cincinnati lost Jabari Taylor, Wilson Huber, Ty Van Fossen and Jaheim Thomas. This leaves only Deshawn Pace among the returners. Last year, Pace played 612 snaps, logging 62 tackles, five tackles for loss and one sack. With so little returning production, he will be relied upon heavily here. From there, Cincinnati smashed the transfer portal, bringing in Dorian Jones (Louisville), Dion Hunter (New Mexico) and Connor Keyes (Minnesota). Jones played 612 snaps with the Cardinals over the last two years, excelling primarily against the run. Hunter comes over from New Mexico, where he played 900 snaps over the last three years. Hunter does not have the same production as Jones, but he should provide quality depth. Keyes has yet to play in his college career and should also provide depth. Cincinnati lost quite a few talented players here, likely resulting in a step back for the linebacker position in 2023.

Defensive Back

At corner, Cincinnati lost Ja’Quan Sheppard and Arquon Bush. They do return a pair of rotational corners in Sammy Anderson Jr. and Taj Ward. The pair played 381 and 365 snaps last year. Ward was particularly impressive on his limited snaps with four pass breakups and an interception. Anderson only broke up one pass, but he also only allowed 152 yards all season. From there, Cincinnati added Jordan Young from Florida. Young only played 73 snaps last year, but he is a former 4-star recruit from the 2021 class. Fortunately, Justin Harris also returns after 233 snaps last year. Even with that said, this team lacks proven production and will rely on a step forward from multiple players here.

At safety, Cincinnati lost Ja’von Hicks, but they return Bryon Threats. Last year, Threats played 633 snaps, finishing with 58 tackles, two pass breakups and two interceptions. The other safety projects to be Arizona State transfer D.J. Taylor. Last year, Taylor played 280 snaps, which mostly came at corner. Cincinnati also added versatile defensive back George Udo from BYU, who has 515 snaps over the last four years. Taylor and Udo could play corner or safety, but this secondary likely moves a few players around to get the top five onto the field. Already the weakness of last year’s football team, the secondary could take a further step back for Cincinnati in 2023.

2023 Cincinnati Football Predictions & Schedule

2023 Cincinnati Football Schedule

The Bearcats play a non-conference schedule consisting of Eastern Kentucky, Pittsburgh and Miami Ohio. Inside Big 12 play, they draw Oklahoma, Baylor, Central Florida and Kansas among the top half of the division. They also draw the only two teams projected with worse odds to win the Big 12 in West Virginia and Houston.

2023 Cincinnati Football Futures Bet & Prediction

The Bearcats over/under 5.5 wins is juiced to -155 towards the under. Cincinnati plays a reasonable non-conference schedule, where they should finish 2-1. This means they need to pick up four conference wins in order to eclipse this win total. While the schedule is easy by Big 12 standards, they would only be favored in two other games, if the games were played. With an entirely rebuilt team on both sides of the ball, under 5.5 wins at -155 will be the official play.

Best Cincinnati Football Futures Bet: Under 5.5 Wins (-155 at DraftKings)

You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!

2023 Cincinnati Football Predictions and Season Preview

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2023 Cincinnati Football Predictions & Season Preview

2023 Cincinnati Football Season Preview: Coaching Staff

2023 Cincinnati Football Season Preview: Offense

2023 Cincinnati Football Season Preview: Defense

2023 Cincinnati Football Predictions & Schedule

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2023 Cincinnati Football Predictions & Season Preview

2023 Cincinnati Football Season Preview: Coaching Staff

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2023 Cincinnati Football Predictions & Schedule

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