Cincinnati Football: Can Bearcats take next step toward AAC title in 2020?

Cincinnati offense hopes new recruits can plug right in this season

In many ways, the offense was what stood in the way of a truly transcendent 2019 season for Cincinnati. The Bearcats scored 24 or fewer points in seven contests, going 4-3 in those games. They also only scored 27 points in the three-point takedown of UCF that allowed Luke Fickell’s squad to win the AAC East. They barely eked out a 20-17 victory over South Florida and a 15-13 win over Temple before back-to-back losses at Memphis to end the regular season.

That tells the story better than the overall stats, which themselves were hardly impressive. Cincinnati finished 2019 ranked 60th in the FBS in scoring at 29.6 points per game and 80th in total offense as they gained only 390 yards per game. What offense the Bearcats did have was largely dependent on running back Michael Warren II, who finished with 16 touchdowns and more than 1400 yards from scrimmage.

Warren is gone, leaving a gaping hole in the offensive attack. Redshirt senior Gerrid Doaks looks to take over lead duties in the backfield, running behind a line that should be stronger than last season. Alabama transfer Jerome Ford will also have the opportunity to get plenty of carries this year for the Bearcats. They will need between them to at least replace Warren’s productivity, which accounted for 26 percent of the team’s yards and 23 percent of their total points.

Focusing on Bearcats quarterback Desmond Ridder

For Cincinnati to really get its offense in order, though, Desmond Ridder finally needs to take the next step at quarterback. After completing more than 62 percent of his passes as a freshman starter, Ridder regressed in a sophomore slump as his completion rate fell more than seven percent and his pass efficiency rating dropped nearly 23 points.

Ridder did become more effective when he kept the football and ran, finishing the year averaging 4.5 yards per carry. The Cincinnati offense isn’t going triple-option any time soon, though, so it isn’t as though Ridder is going to make a huge difference with his legs.

Instead, with Warren gone, the offense becomes even more dependent on Ridder figuring out how to more effectively get the ball to his receivers. Only two of the top six receivers are back from 2019, so Ridder will also have to do so while building a rapport with a new cast of characters as quickly as possible.