This season, Cincinnati has no more room for error. Following a 5-7 inaugural season in the Big 12, the Bearcats understand the conference won’t be patient. Scott Satterfield is entering his third year, with a roster of 39 new players—21 transfers and 18 freshmen—and a clear objective: close out games, win in November, and demonstrate their competitiveness. Fresh from the first scrimmage, Satterfield surprised everyone by announcing he’s shortening the next one to keep the team sharp and focused. The message is clear: it’s time to win and prove they can hang with the best.

With the season just weeks away, the heat is on Scott Satterfield and the Cincinnati Bearcats, and ESPN’s Bill Connelly isn’t making things any easier. His SP+ rankings place Cincinnati at the bottom of the Big 12, the only team with a negative score (-0.3). While they’re 66th overall nationally, that’s not much consolation when the offense is projected to be 86th and the defense 88th. Even with their special teams ranked 49th, the numbers suggest they’ll struggle in this conference. The bottom line: in a league this tough, the Bearcats need to defy the projections quickly or risk a rough November.

And that’s the reason why Scott Satterfield is taking some bold steps this fall camp. Now, the scrimmage plan was to rotate a lot of players instead of just playing the starters the whole time. But that didn’t happen. So, to make it happen, Satterfield laid out a perfect plan to the media after the scrimmage: “It really hadn’t been that way. It’s kind of been a mix of guys that are getting reps and getting in the game today. And you know, part of this part of the scrimmage was thud, and part was live. So that’s another thing that you have to look at. So, I think after this scrimmage, now you really want to start narrowing it down a little bit more.”

Now, that makes sense, as giving more attention to the weak links will only improve their team’s position in the league. And Scott Satterfield already has some names in his mind. “The guys that need the extra reps, like you know, guys like Joe Royer and Gavin Gerhardt and Corleone and (Jack) Dingle. Those guys don’t need reps, so they probably won’t get hardly any next scrimmage, and we’ll start focusing on the twos and threes,” he said. And can we blame him for this approach?

Scott Satterfield is well aware that Cincinnati’s pass rush needs a significant boost. Last season, no player managed to get more than eight sacks, and only three – Dontay Corleone, Jared Bartlett, and Eric Phillips – recorded at least three sacks. With Bartlett and Phillips now gone, the pressure is on the new players, including Jaylon White-McClain, C.J. McCray, Mikah Coleman, and Marquaze Parker, to step up and make plays. The team can’t depend on just a few key players; they need a deep roster and consistent pressure from multiple positions.

This explains why Satterfield is prioritizing the entire rotation, not just the starters. Now, the good news is that “The Godfather,” Dontay Corleone, is healthy again after dealing with blood clots last year. If Corleone returns to his dominant form and creates havoc inside, it will significantly improve the entire pass rush. This added depth and disruption could give Cincinnati the defensive advantage it’s been lacking.

Now, let’s get into what Satterfield’s QB has to say about the team’s offense.

Scott Satterfield’s QB sends a clear verdict to his team

Last season, Brendan Sorsby quietly put up some impressive stats, becoming one of only three FBS quarterbacks to throw for 2,500+ yards and 15+ touchdowns. He finished with 18 passing touchdowns, nine rushing, 2,813 passing yards with a 64% completion rate, and 447 rushing yards. He had huge performances, including a 426-yard passing game against Texas Tech and a 143-yard rushing game against Iowa State. While Cincinnati only won five games, scouts still see his potential; The Athletic even ranked him No. 20 among FBS quarterbacks.

But he’s not just sleeping on last season’s success. He’s been working hard all offseason to build chemistry with a completely new group of starting receivers. He’s been putting in extra practice, summer workouts, and mental preparation, telling the receivers exactly where he wants them and then implementing it on the field. And after the first fall scrimmage, he just has one message for his team: “Just continue to stay consistent.”

As it is, Scott Satterfield’s offense has the Bearcats humming, employing a balanced attack that keeps defenses on their toes. Last year, Cincinnati put up 420.6 yards per game (36th nationally). Corey Kiner had his second consecutive 1,000-yard season, Lorenz Kandra earned another All-American honor, and Joe Royer broke Travis Kelce’s school record for tight end catches with 50.

Doubling down on last season’s success, Sorsby kept it real after practice: “I mean, we showed it out here today that, you know, we can be really explosive. Still miss some things. Obviously, that’s not just like the quarterback and me saying that, you know, we have to go back and correct some stuff. There are still some things that we missed. We had a really good day, but you know, just go in and correct those little mistakes.” So if they want to win against Nebraska, they need to act fast.

Best part? He has serious weapons. Cincinnati brought in five new receivers from the portal, including Isaiah Johnson from Western Carolina and Cyrus Allen from Texas A&M, and Sorsby says the increased speed and spacing are exactly what he needs. After the scrimmage, he’s already seeing the results. “You know, I think they showed, you know, how deep they are today just in that room. You know, a lot of guys that can go out there and make plays and guys that you can count on whenever you’re out there,” he said. Now, with new key weapons, let’s wait and see how this season turns out for the Bearcats.