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

How will Cincinnati football fare in 2020?

Cincinnati lost its chance to take on Nebraska in Lincoln when the Big Ten first went to a conference-only schedule and then followed that decision by calling off all fall sports. They also lost their annual rivalry game against the Miami RedHawks, a series that was last interrupted in 1944 during the height of World War II, as well as a home game against Western Michigan when the MAC shut down their fall season.

Left is a game against FCS Austin Peay that remains the home opener despite moving two weeks back in the schedule. A late addition of Army gave the Bearcats a sixth home game and a second data point out of conference. It isn’t quite the normal four-game intersectional schedule, but it will help Cincinnati in the broader picture of bowl eligibility.

Critical to the schedule, though, is their conference schedule. A mid-October road swing to Tulsa and SMU could offer a trap, but the biggest tests will come at home on Halloween in an AAC championship game rematch against Memphis and a late-November test in Orlando against UCF. Those two contests will determine which two of the three teams plays for this year’s AAC title now that the conference is no longer split in two divisions.

What’s next for Cincinnati?

Luke Fickell’s squad prepares for an Austin Peay team that will enter their contest with the season kickoff game against Central Arkansas and a road test against Pittsburgh already under their belt. The Governors only play three games this season since the Ohio Valley Conference called off conference play, which will make this trip to Nippert Stadium their equivalent of a postseason.

Thus the Bearcats cannot take their FCS visitors for granted. An experienced defense should have little trouble shutting down Jeremiah Oatsvall and company, and it will provide the opportunity for Gerrid Doaks, Jerome Ford, and the rest of the Cincinnati backfield to warm up into the new year.

Prediction: 8-2 (7-2 AAC)

Cincinnati is going to kick off the season with a trio of home victories, including their AAC opener against South Florida. That will lead the Bearcats into their only bye week of the 2020 season, something that could prove a disadvantage later in the season. Tough tests against Tulsa and SMU after the break will take their toll, and Cincinnati will probably suffer their first defeat in a battle of unbeaten contenders when Memphis comes to Nippert Stadium on Halloween.

Staying at home for the first fortnight of November will allow the Bearcats to regain some momentum as they get back to winning ways against Houston and East Carolina. A road trip to face UCF will prove too much, though, as the Knights gain revenge for their 27-24 defeat at Nippert last season. The season ends in Philadelphia on Thanksgiving weekend, and Cincinnati should get to eight wins in a takedown of Temple.

Unfortunately for the Bearcats, it probably won’t be enough to return to the AAC championship game in 2020.