Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 53. Cincinnati
Bearcats Eat Skyline Chili
Cincinnati has turned into a stomping ground for pretty good coaches. Since 2004, the top men have been Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly, Butch Jones, Tommy Tuberville, Luke Fickell, and Scott Satterfield. In 2005 they moved from Conference USA to the Big East—finally, a Power 6 conference! Only for it to become a Group of 5 conference a decade later. Thanks to Fickell though, they’ve made it into the Big 12, and until that becomes a Group of 5/6/7…N-2 conference (N-2 for the way the Big Ten and SEC are moving), they’re sitting pretty.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+------------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+------------+------+--------------+--------+
| 5 | Cincinnati | 2009 | 43.516 | 12-1 |
| 7 | Cincinnati | 2021 | 37.777 | 13-1 |
| 11 | Cincinnati | 2020 | 28.39 | 9-1 |
| 12 | Cincinnati | 2007 | 26.343 | 10-3 |
| 15 | Cincinnati | 2008 | 22.811 | 11-3 |
| 24 | Cincinnati | 2019 | 19.739 | 11-3 |
| 23 | Cincinnati | 2018 | 19.004 | 11-2 |
| 24 | Cincinnati | 2011 | 18.596 | 10-3 |
| 27 | Cincinnati | 2012 | 14.059 | 10-3 |
| 33 | Cincinnati | 2006 | 11.552 | 8-5 |
| 42 | Cincinnati | 2014 | 6.765 | 9-4 |
| 29 | Cincinnati | 1993 | 5.184 | 8-3 |
| 43 | Cincinnati | 2022 | 3.835 | 9-4 |
| 41 | Cincinnati | 1995 | 2.514 | 6-5 |
| 42 | Cincinnati | 1997 | 0.9 | 8-4 |
| 56 | Cincinnati | 2013 | -0.065 | 9-4 |
| 43 | Cincinnati | 2004 | -3.815 | 7-5 |
| 49 | Cincinnati | 2000 | -3.936 | 7-5 |
| 60 | Cincinnati | 2001 | -8.856 | 7-5 |
| 62 | Cincinnati | 2002 | -9.34 | 7-7 |
| 70 | Cincinnati | 2015 | -9.965 | 7-6 |
| 53 | Cincinnati | 1996 | -10.266 | 6-5 |
| 60 | Cincinnati | 1986 | -12.686 | 5-6 |
| 62 | Cincinnati | 1985 | -17.513 | 5-6 |
| 68 | Cincinnati | 1983 | -18.14 | 4-6-1 |
| 78 | Cincinnati | 2010 | -19.534 | 4-8 |
| 78 | Cincinnati | 2003 | -20.026 | 5-7 |
| 84 | Cincinnati | 1999 | -26.212 | 3-8 |
| 95 | Cincinnati | 2005 | -29.378 | 4-7 |
| 81 | Cincinnati | 1991 | -29.971 | 4-7 |
| 89 | Cincinnati | 1992 | -31.783 | 3-8 |
| 86 | Cincinnati | 1987 | -34.128 | 4-7 |
| 103 | Cincinnati | 2016 | -35.37 | 4-8 |
| 108 | Cincinnati | 2017 | -35.886 | 4-8 |
| 91 | Cincinnati | 1994 | -42.289 | 2-8-1 |
| 94 | Cincinnati | 1988 | -47.966 | 3-8 |
| 107 | Cincinnati | 1998 | -51.266 | 2-9 |
| 99 | Cincinnati | 1984 | -51.808 | 2-9 |
| 103 | Cincinnati | 1989 | -56.792 | 1-9-1 |
| 104 | Cincinnati | 1990 | -62.879 | 1-10 |
+------+------------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 20227 (53rd)255-221-3 record
8 conference titles
8-11 bowl record
5 consensus All-Americans
66 NFL players drafted
I may have overrated Cincy’s strength of schedule during the Big East era, since I use my own SOS calculation. According to CFB Reference, 2009 (Big East) had the 51st ranked SOS while 2021 (American) had the 64th ranked. But wow, Cincy’s had some major success in the last 16 years, with eight 10-win seasons, a 9-1 season, 7 conference titles, and a 143-62 record overall. All of Cincy’s 19 bowl appearances have come in the last 26 years, with 4 from Rick Minter, 2 from Dantonio, 3 from Kelly, 2 from Jones, 3 from Tuberville, and 5 from Fickell. The Consensus All-Americans we won’t discuss below are K Jonathan Ruffin (2000), who won the Lou Groza Award hitting 26 of 29 FGs, and LB Ivan Pace Jr (2022), who won AAC Defensive POTY with 136 tackles, 9 sacks, and 11.5 TFL. The most famous alumni are without a doubt, TE Travis Kelce, C Jason Kelce, and CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. Other notable alumni include DE Trent Cole, DE Connor Barwin, DT Derek Wolfe, TE Brent Celek, and P Kevin Huber.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 1990 (1-10 overall, Independent)
The 80’s and early 90’s were not kind to Cincinnati. The program was in rough shape at the time, with broken down facilities and just 63 scholarship players (with a limit of 95 at the time). Cincinnati was largely uncompetitive; a 20-34 loss to Bowling Green was followed up with a 0-34 shutout against Central Michigan, and then 10-63 to Iowa. They did manage to beat 0-3 Kent State for their only win on the year, but things would get far worse, losing 7-49 to Tulane, 21-70 to #12 Florida State, and 7-45 to Alabama. The QBs weren’t very good, throwing 9 TD to 20 INT. Statistically they were bottom 5 in offense and defense, averaging 15.6 PPG while giving up 41.8 PPG. Oh, and the next season? They lost 0-81 to Penn State in their first game. Cincy’s certainly come a long way.
5. 2008 (11-3 overall, 6-1 Big East)
A historic season for the team. Cincinnati had been a surprise story in 2007, and in 2008 were expected to be one of the “tier 2” contenders for their first ever Big East title, behind West Virginia, Pitt, and USF. After a 1-1 start with a big loss to Sam Bradford and #4 Oklahoma, Cincy started playing their weaker competition, beating rival Miami (OH), Akron 17-15, and Marshall 33-10. A 13-10 win over Rutgers saw both teams’ kickers make 50 yard FGs, but a subsequent 16-40 loss to UConn cast doubt on their conference title hopes. It was now or never, with USF and West Virginia up next. Despite being 2 point underdogs at home to #23 USF, the defense came to play in a 24-10 win, with QB Tony Pike finally coming out of his shell and former TE converted to DE Connor Barwin catching a TD pass. Yes, you read that right. On a primetime Saturday night game at #20 West Virginia, Pike went blow for blow with WVU senior QB Pat White, throwing the game winning TD pass in overtime to win 26-23. Cincinnati just needed to win out to win the title, but Pitt still loomed in the distance. A come from behind win over rival Louisville set them up for the game, #19 Cincinnati vs #20 Pitt, and Pike had his best game of the season, completing 26 of 32 for 300 yards and 3 TD in a 28-21 win. With a win over Syracuse, Cincinnati claimed their first ever Big East title and a spot in the Orange Bowl. Down 10-24 in the 4th quarter to Hawaii, a come from behind 29-24 win got them their 11th win, a school record at the time, before a 7-20 loss in the Orange Bowl to #19 Virginia Tech.
A #17 final ranking was just their second ever top 25 finish. Pike threw for 2400 yards 19 TD 11 INT, while the backups combined for 7 TD 4 INT. Mardy Gilyard was the do-it-all guy and the best Cincinnati player from the Brian Kelly era, catching 81 passes for 1276 yards and 11 TD to go with 2 kickoff return TDs. WR Dominick Goodman also had 1000+ receiving yards, and finished as Cincy’s 2nd all-time leading receiver with 2512 yards. Converted TE → DE Connor Barwin led the Big East in sacks in his first ever year as a DE, with 11, and was a 2nd round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft due to his potential. P Kevin Huber, who made his 2nd consecutive consensus All-American team, was also a 5th round selection to make a total of 6 Cincinnati players taken in the 2009 NFL Draft.
4. 2007 (10-3 overall, 4-3 Big East)
Believe it or not, I have their prior 2007 season, with 1 less win and no Big East title, as the better year. This was certainly one of the most impactful seasons in school history. They were the first 10-win team in over 50 years, led by first year coach Brian Kelly. Both the offense and defense were firing on cylinders all year, both ranking top 20 in the nation with 36.3 PPG and 18.8 PPG allowed. A 6-0 start featured wins like 34-3 over eventual #25 Oregon State, 47-10 over rival and MAC East champion Miami (OH), and 28-23 over #21 Rutgers. Cincinnati entered the top 25 for the first time since 1976, getting up to #15 before losing 2 straight to bottom half Big East teams Louisville and Pitt. Despite the setbacks, this was a DAMN good Cincy team, and overlooked in history. They beat #20 USF 38-33, #16 UConn 27-3, and barely lost 23-28 to #5 West Virginia in the conference title decider. Wins over Syracuse and Southern Miss finished off the year.
Transfer QB Ben Mauk had one of the best seasons in school history, throwing for 3121 yards with 31 TD 9 INT. WRs Marcus Barnett and Dominick Goodman each went for 850+ yards and 13 and 8 TD, respectively, with the freshman Mardy Gilyard going for 536. The defense was full of playmakers, with DE Anthony Hoke logging 13 sacks, DL Terrill Byrd getting 17 total TFL, S Haruki Nakamura finishing 1st Team All-Big East with 95 tackles and 4 INTs, and DBs Mike Mickens and Deangelo Smith combining for 14 INTs and 3 defensive TDs. Mickens and P Kevin Huber were All-Americans, with Huber leading the nation with 46.9 yards per boot.
3. 2020 (9-1 overall, 6-0 American)
The arrival of Cincinnati on the national stage. They had finished in the top 25 the previous 2 years, going 22-5, but they hadn’t taken that “next step” yet. Enter 2020, with a #13 preseason ranking. This team was legit, don’t be fooled by the weird covid-shortened season—they had a lot of quality wins. They had their 2nd of 3 unbeaten regular seasons in the last 15 years, going 9-0 and entering their New Years Six bowl game at #8. The schedule included wins of 24-10 over #22 Army, 42-13 over #16 SMU, 49-10 over eventual 8-3 Memphis, 38-10 over Houston, 36-33 over UCF, and 27-24 over #23 Tulsa in the AAC championship game. That’s a 3-0 record against top 25 teams with blowout win after blowout win. I actually had Cicinnati as my #4 team heading into the playoff, but Notre Dame was chosen instead. Cincy put on a good showing against #9 Georgia in the Peach Bowl, leading 21-10 in the 4th quarter before eventually losing on a 53 yard FG.
As expected, this team was LOADED. Of course most of the players from this squad returned for the unforgettable 2021 season, but there were 4 players drafted in the 2021 NFL Draft as well. QB Desmond Ridder threw for 19 TD 6 INT while rushing for 12 TD, winning AAC Offensive POTY. RB Gerrid Doaks joined him as 1st Team All-AAC, accumulating 875 yards and 9 TD in 9 games. The All-AAC defense was pretty much just Cincinnati, as 5 players made the 1st team and 3 players the 2nd team. As a team, they averaged 37.5 PPG and gave up 16.8 PPG against the 69th ranked strength of schedule, pretty good if you ask me.
2020 Cincinnati is my 45th ranked Group of 5 team since 1983.
2. 2021 (13-1 overall, 8-0 American)
This is without a doubt, one of the most stacked Group of 5 teams of all time. I mean, this team was so stacked that their 13-0 regular season was actually underwhelming at times. All that to say though, Cincinnati definitely lived up to the hype, and most fans probably consider this the best season in school history. Heading into the year, Cincy was the #8 preseason team, by far the highest opening rank in school history, as they had previously only been ranked once before in the preseason, at #20 in 2020. With a top 10 Notre Dame on their schedule, some thought an unbeaten Cincinnati could become the first Group of 5 team to sneak into the playoff if they went unbeaten. It was a solid start, going 3-0 with a 38-24 road win over previous season top 25 team Indiana. The set up one of the biggest games in school history, #7 Cincinnati at #9 Notre Dame. Cincy passed the test, winning 24-13, and Notre Dame would win out the rest of the year, getting as high as #5. That win spurred Cincinnati the rest of the year, as they continued to blow out AAC competition like 56-21 over eventual 9-4 UCF, and 48-14 over 8-2 SMU. With a 35-20 win over #21 Houston in the AAC championship game, Cincinnati became the first ever Group of 5 team to make the College Football Playoff. They didn’t play terrible against #1 Alabama, holding Heisman winning QB Bryce Young to just 17 of 28 passing for 181 yards. It was the trenches where Bama dominated, rushing for over 300 yards, and Ridder had one of the biggest let down games of his career, seemingly unable to hit his targets.
It was a FANTASTIC year for Cincinnati. This team was RIDICULOUSLY loaded, maybe the most talent in a Group of 5 squad ever. Going by position group: QB Desmond Ridder won AAC Offensive POTY and finished 8th in Heisman voting, throwing for 3334 yards 30 TD 8 INT with another 6 rushing TD. He’s now the starting QB for the Atlanta Falcons. RB Jerome Ford was 1st Team All-AAC, leading the conference with 1319 rushing yards and 19 TD, and was a 5th round draft pick. WRs Alec Pierce, Tre Tucker, Tyler Scott, and TE Josh Whyle have gone in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th rounds, respectively, in the 2022-23 NFL Drafts. 3 offensive linemen were 1st Team All-AAC, including the 6’9 330 lb Lorenz Metz. DE Myjai Sanders and DT Curtis Brooks were both 1st Team All-AAC, and 3rd and 6th round picks, respectively. LB Joel Dublanko led the team with 113 tackles and was 1st Team All-AAC alonside LB Darrian Beavers, who was a 6th round pick and finalist for the Dick Butkus Award. The secondary was by far the most loaded position group on the team. CB Sauce Gardner was a consensus All-American, AAC Defensive POTY, went 4th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, and was 1st Team All-Pro as a rookie. The CB opposite of him, Coby Bryant, won the Jim Thorpe Award and was a 4th round draft pick. S Bryan Cook joined them on 1st Team All-AAC and was a 2nd round selection. That’s 12 first team all-conference players (out of 22 available spots), and 9 players went in the 2022 NFL Draft, only Georgia (15) and LSU (10) had more players taken. How did Luke Fickell assemble the avengers at a Group of 5 Ohio school???
2021 Cincinnati is my 13th best Group of 5 team since 1983. They are also my 221st best team overall since 1983.
1. 2009 (12-1 overall, 7-0 Big East)
Did you know that Cincinnati was once 1 second away from playing for a national title? I remember it vividly, my first season as a college football fan being 2009. #2 Texas was down 10-12 to Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game with just a few seconds left. As Colt McCoy threw the ball away on the final play, time expired for a Nebraska win. Except, there was actually 1 second left. Kicker Hunter Lawrence hit a 46 yard FG, Texas went to the national title game, and #3 Cincinnati went to the Sugar Bowl. What if.
Cincinnati started the year unranked, until voters realized this team might be pretty good after beating Rutgers 47-15. The non-conference slate featured a few tough matches, beating #24 Oregon State on the road 28-18, and Fresno State 28-20. In the conference opener, #8 Cincinnati vs #21 USF, starting QB Tony Pike went down with an injury. Backup Zach Collaros came in up just 17-10 in a hostile environment, but on his second play, ran 75 yards for a TD to silence the crowd en route to a 34-17 win. Collaros tended to the offense over the next 3 games while Pike was out, throwing for 480 yards and rushing for 75 in a 47-45 win over UConn. Pike played sparingly in #5 Cincy vs #23 West Virginia, but threw 2 TDs on 4 passes for the big 24-21 win. Again, not the worst non-conference slate ever, beating Illinois to set up a huge River City Relay game vs #15 Pitt. Sure Cincinnati was unbeaten, but Pitt was no slouch, and if they beat the Bearcats, Cincy would finish 2nd. Everything Cincinnati had worked for seemed to be slipping away, going down 10-31 early. Thanks to 118 receiving yards and 256 kick return yards from WR Mardy Gilyard, Cincy clawed their way back, Pike throwing a last minute TD to Armon Binns to win it 45-44. In 2019, ESPN voted the game as one of the 150 best games of all time. Like I described above, if Texas had either run out of time or missed their FG against Nebraska, Cincinnati would’ve likely been playing in the national title against Alabama. Instead, Brian Kelly bolted for Notre Dame, left the coaching staff in disarray, and an unprepared Cincy team lost 24-51 to #5 Florida in the Sugar Bowl.
Pike was 1st Team All-Big East, throwing for 2500 yards and 29 TD to just 6 INT. Collaros was one of the best backups in the country, completing 75% of passes for 1434 yards 10 TD 2 INT on 11.6 YPA. Also ran for 344 yards and 4 TD on 6.0 YPC. Future NFL 2nd round pick RB Isaiah Pead ran for 806 yards and 9 TD on 6.7 YPC. Mardy Gilyard was a pure playmaker, finishing 9th in Heisman voting with 87 catches for 1191 yards and 11 TD, along with winning Big East Special Teams POTY with 2 kick return TD and 1 punt return TD.
2009 Cincinnati is my 126th best team since 1983.
5th Quarter
All right, I KNOW I’m going to get flack for ranking 2021 Cincinnati as just the 13th best Group of 5 team. Even I disagree with that, the algorithm isn’t perfect for every case. But who was better, the 2009 or 2021 team? Was that sneaky good 2007 team actually better than both of them? Does the 2021 team have a case as the best Group of 5 team of all time in your opinion, or are they still behind some of the Boise, TCU, and Utah teams? Which win was bigger, 2021 over Notre Dame, or 2009 over Pitt? DOES ANYONE REMEMBER MUNCHIE LEGAUX?!
Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years - Main Hub
