When you’re a quarterback having a season like Brendan Sorsby is having right now, you expect people to start knowing your name. Cincinnati’s signal-caller has been putting up numbers that have him sitting at No. 8 in the On3 Heisman poll. The problem? Nick Saban just made sure everyone will remember his name, just not quite the way Sorsby hoped. 

So here’s what happened. Nick Saban was on GameDay doing his thing, breaking down Cincinnati’s offense ahead of their matchup. He was genuinely impressed with what he saw on tape. He raved about the Bearcats’ quarterback, talking about how efficient and effective he’s been, mentioning his 24 touchdowns at the time, praising his arm talent and his ability to move. The only problem? Nick Saban kept calling him “Brendan Sorely.” Not once, not twice, but repeatedly throughout the entire segment. 

“This Brendan Sorely guy, the quarterback, I mean, this guy can throw, he can move,” Saban said while describing a play where Sorsby outruns a defender before making a great throw. Every single time, it was “Sorely” instead of “Sorsby,” and it wasn’t a quick slip-up that got corrected. It kept going.​

The best part? Kirk Herbstreit and Pat McAfee were sitting right there on the set, and they couldn’t help themselves. Both of them started laughing as Nick Saban kept rolling with “Sorely,” and Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati’s head coach, was watching the whole thing unfold live. According to Scott Springer’s report, Satterfield caught the segment in real time and saw Herbstreit and McAfee cracking up at the repeated mispronunciation. 

Naturally, Sorsby’s teammates have been absolutely relentless about it. Satterfield confirmed that the guys have been riding Sorsby ever since the segment aired, giving him grief about his new nickname courtesy of Coach Saban. “They’ve been riding him about it,” Satterfield said, adding with a grin that he hopes Saban corrects it this week. Saban’s praise was genuine and clearly came from a place of respect. But the name mix-up became the story that everyone latched onto. It’s one of those moments that’s harmless in the grand scheme but also hilariously unavoidable once it’s out there.​

When reporters asked Sorsby about it afterward, they went straight for the jugular: “Have you considered the name switch on the back of your uniform to Sorely?” He laughed and played along. “I’ve thought about it a couple of times,” Sorsby admitted. “Don’t know how happy my parents would be with that, so I decided to stick with the Sorsby nameplate.” It’s the perfect response, honestly. 

He’s leaning into the joke without making it a bigger deal than it needs to be, and he’s keeping his sense of humor about the whole thing. Because at the end of the day, Nick Saban just talked about how good he is, and that’s not something a lot of quarterbacks get. 

While Brendan Sorsby’s been handling the whole “Sorly” situation with a laugh, there’s something way more serious brewing for Cincinnati heading into Saturday’s massive showdown against Utah.

Cincinnati injury clouds Utah showdown

Scott Satterfield dropped some concerning news during his Tuesday press conference. He said Evan Pryor, the team’s leading rusher, will likely be listed as “out” on Wednesday’s availability report.

He went down with a lower leg injury in the second half of that 41-20 win over Baylor last weekend. And even though he managed to put up 66 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries before leaving, the fact that he couldn’t finish the game isn’t a great sign. Now Cincinnati’s sitting here at 7-1, trying to stay on top of the Big 12 standings, and they might have to do it without the guy who’s been their most explosive back all season.​

Pryor’s leading the entire Big 12 in yards per carry at 7.2, and his 478 rushing yards pace the Bearcats’ backfield. That’s the production you can’t just replace overnight, especially when you’re going up against a Utah defense that just held Colorado to 38 rushing yards total. 

Cincinnati runs this three-headed monster in the backfield with Pryor, Tawee Walker, and Sorsby all contributing to an offense that’s grinding out 193.6 yards per game on the ground, which is fifth-best in the conference. The beauty of that setup is how it keeps defenses guessing and wears them down over four quarters. Take one of those heads away, particularly the one averaging over seven yards every time he touches the ball, and suddenly the whole dynamic changes.​