4 burning questions for College Football Playoff teams heading into 2022
By Dante Pryor
The Bearcats head to the Big 12 in 2024
1. How well have the Bearcats recruited?
This season, Cincinnati was an experienced team despite not being as good as the 2020 team. Cincinnati was a roster full of veterans, many of whom are off to the NFL. The Bearcats had nine offensive and ten defensive players who were four, five, or six-year players starting.
The Bearcats are likely to lose 16 of 22 starters this offseason. Offensive leaders Desmond Ridder and Jerome Ford are off to the NFL. Myjai Sanders and Coby Bryant are two of many defensive players who have gone to the draft.
This season will test how well they recruited with so many players not returning next season. Can the Bearcats avoid the Group of Five step-back season?
2. Can the offense improve?
An interesting question for a team that averaged nearly 40 points per game. However, the Bearcats were the beneficiary of one of the best defenses in the country last year. That defense gave their offense a short field quite often.
That will not be the case this season. The Bearcats stand to lose eight starters from the defense, including its best player, cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Garner declaring for the draft as a junior. The Cincinnati that gave Alabama fits in the semifinal game will not be the same defense next season.
The offense needs to be better with a step back from the defense looming. However, it might be difficult for the offense to take a step forward with so many new faces on that side of the ball.
Quarterback Desmond Ridder is gone to the NFL Draft, as is running back Jerome Ford and wide receiver Alec Pierce. The coaching staff is high on rising redshirt sophomore quarterback Evan Prater, and the running back room is deep.
It might be too big an ask for an inexperienced offense to be better than its more experienced predecessor.
3. Is Luke Fickell back next season?
The short answer is yes. Notre Dame decided to hire internally, promoting defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to head coach, and Fickell did not follow former AD Mike Bohn to USC. However, it has been silent in Ann Arbor.
Would Fickell leave Cincinnati if Jim Harbaugh went back to the NFL? Some thought that the Wolverines would promote either offensive coordinator Josh Gattis or running backs coach Mike Hart. Michigan would at least have to ask, right?
4. Is this sustainable for Cincinnati or another Group of Five?
The Bearcats have a built-in advantage; they are moving to the Big 12 in 2024 and will be one of the three best teams in that league. Returning to the playoff will not be easy for the Bearcats before then.
Both UCF and Houston will be good next season, and Cincy won’t have a team full of veterans next season. Neither the Knights nor the Cougars figure into the playoff race next season.
Cincinnati’s playoff future is bright down the road but not next season.