FRISCO, TX – The Cincinnati Bearcats football schedule in the Big 12 begins Sept. 26 at Nippert Stadium vs. Kansas State with UC not leaving the state throughout September.
October brings road games at Arizona and West Virginia before the Bearcats host Texas Tech and Utah at the end of the month.
November is challenging with three Big 12 road games. UC’s at Houston Nov. 7, at Iowa State the following weekend, then home with Colorado Nov. 21 before ending the regular season Nov. 28 in Provo, Utah vs. BYU.
The Enquirer spoke to the nine conference foes July 9-10 at Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star in Frisco, Texas, which is the headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys.
Sept. 20, Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Kansas State
The Wildcats hired Collin Klein in December, who returns to his alma mater after two seasons as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Texas A&M. Before that, he spent 10 seasons as a Kansas State assistant.
“I respect the heck out of Coach Satterfield and the job that he does on both sides of the ball,” Klein said. “It’s going to be a huge challenge for us.”
In 2011 and 2012, Klein had a 21-5 record as Kansas State’s quarterback. He now supervises Avery Johnson at that position.
Oct. 3, Cincinnati Bearcats at Arizona
The first road game will come at Casino Del Sol Stadium in Tucson. Coach Brent Brennan’s Wildcats dealt UC a harsh blow last Nov. 15, beating them in Nippert Stadium 30-24. Arizona won nine games last season, with five of those coming in November.
Noah Fifita led the Wildcats to the win over UC at Nippert and is the nation’s active career leader in touchdown passes.
July 8, Arizona officials were passing out “Fifita for Heisman” flyers.
“If it happens it happens,” Fifita said. “To be able to make that happen, you’ve got to have a great team. We expect the atmosphere to be electric this year (at Casino Del Sol Stadium). At the end of the day, the University of Arizona wants a good football team. We’ve been labeled as a basketball school for as long as I remember. We want to give them something to cheer about.”
Said Arizona coach Brent Brennan, “He doesn’t only kick ass on Saturdays, he kicks ass every single day of the week. He’s as special as it gets.”
Oct. 17, Cincinnati Bearcats at West Virginia
UC reunites with “Rich Rod”, WVU coach Rich Rodriguez. The Mountaineers were 4-8 last season, but did not play the Bearcats. In his previous run at his alma mater, Rodriguez was 60-26 between 2001 and 2007.
Rodriguez has since coached at Michigan, Arizona and Jacksonville State. His last WVU team beat Brian Kelly’s Bearcats 28-23 Nov. 17, 2007 at Nippert Stadium. Rodriguez hasn’t lost to UC since the Bearcats came to Morgantown and beat the Mountaineers 15-13 on Sept. 13, 2003 in Rick Minter’s final year as UC coach.
“We had a great rivalry with them,” Rodriguez said of UC. “Both at their place and our place it was always a great crowd. We had some really good teams. That was the time we were in the heyday of our program.”
Oct. 24, Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Texas Tech
It’s UC’s 100th Homecoming and the game might have had some extra firepower had former UC quarterback Brendan Sorsby been under center for the Red Raiders.
“To get to where you want to be, those are the games you want to win,” Texas Tech Joey McGuire said. “When we play Houston at our place, when we go to Baylor, when we go to Cincinnati, to play in the Big 12 Championship, those are the games you’ve got to win.”
Sorsby’s gambling issues have kept him away from the game until the 2007 NFL Draft, but McGuire has actually coached at Nippert before, back in Texas high school days. McGuire’s Cedar Hill team played La Salle and he actually scouted them as Ohio had started their season before Texas.
“I also saw Colerain and St. X (Xavier) play,” he said. “That was the first time I was in the stadium. I’m excited. I think it’s cool the way it’s built and the way the campus is built around it. I think it’s a really cool environment.”
Though McGuire says Will Hammond, last year’s backup, may be ready for Texas Tech’s first game, he still is in contact with Sorsby.
“We talk about three of four times a week,” McGuire said. “He’s training here in Dallas and taking care of himself. We’re here to support him any way we can.”
Ditto for receiver Coy Eakin, who caught two touchdown passes against the Bearcats in 2024 in Lubbock with Sorsby on the wrong side of a 44-41 defeat. Eakin also caught one of Sorsby’s four touchdown passes in Texas Tech’s April 17 spring game.
“Brendan’s a friend, he’s a teammate,” Eakin said. “It sucks what happened to him. He’s doing good. I’m more of his friend than anything. We had a great relationship when he was at Tech. He’s good dude.”
McGuire’s team was 12-2 last year and 8-1 in-conference, only losing to Arizona State.
Oct. 31, Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Utah
On Halloween, the Utes come to Nippert with first-year coach Morgan Scalley, a former all-conference safety who has been on the Utah staff since 2006. He replaces Kyle Whittingham who left for the Michigan job in December.
Utah was 11-2 last season with both losses coming in the Big 12 to Texas Tech and BYU. Devon Dampier returns as their quarterback.
Utah handed UC their worst defeat of 2025 when they won 45-14 in Salt Lake City last Nov. 1. Scalley was the defensive coordinator.
“From talking to other coaches, it’s an incredible environment,” Scalley said of Nippert Stadium. “I’ve got respect for Scott (Satterfield) and his staff and what they’ve been able to do. My guess is it will be a blackout event or something like that.”
Nov. 7, Cincinnati Bearcats at Houston
Willie Fritz is in his second year as Cougars head coach and was 10-3 last season, only losing in the Big 12 to Texas Tech, West Virginia and TCU. Houston improved from a 4-8 record the year before, which included their last meeting with UC, a 34-0 loss at Nippert Stadium.
In a league full of talented quarterbacks, Houston has Conner Weigman who threw for 2,705 yards and 25 touchdowns, while running for 700 yards and 11 more last season.
“I’m biased, but he’s really, really smart and has good football IQ,” Fritz said. “He’s a dual-threat guy that can make every throw. He’s very accurate with great touch. He really showed everybody.”
Fritz says Houston’s home field advantage has been helped by the recent winning, but admits it’s tough to scout opponents given the yearly roster changes via the transfer portal.
“It takes you a few games to see what you have,’ he said. “In the old days, you kind of knew what you were going to have.”
Fritz has won at Nippert when he was Tulane’s head coach. The Green Wave won the American Athletic Conference in 2022 over Luke Fickell’s Bearcats 27-24 to host the AAC title game.
Nov. 14, Cincinnati Bearcats at Iowa State
Matt Campbell is now at Penn State and Jimmy Rogers leads the Cyclones. Rogers coached last season at Washington State, where they had a 6-6 record and made the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Before that, he was at South Dakota State where he won a 2023 FCS national title with the Jackrabbits.
Many preseason polls have Iowa State rated low, something that peeves the new coach.
“Do I think it matters? Absolutely not,” Rogers said. “To find this as a source of motivation? It’s kind of who I am and how I’ve built my life, trying to prove people wrong. Will it be discussed by us? Yes.”
Nov. 21, Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Colorado
It’s the return of Deion Sanders to Cincinnati as “Coach Prime” brings the Buffaloes to Nippert. Sanders has NFL experience playing against the Bengals and was close with former defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.
Sanders was with the Cincinnati Reds three separate times. He came from the Braves to the Reds in 1994. Then he was with the Reds in 1995 before being traded to the Giants. He took a year off from baseball, but came back for the 1997 Reds for 115 games. In 2001, he returned one last time for 33 games.
The Buffaloes slumped to 3-9 last season, only beating Iowa State in the Big 12. The previous year, UC lost at Colorado, 34-23 in their only appearance against a Sanders-coached team.
Sanders was his usual, jovial self, taking jabs at some media and extra time with others, although he did not attend a breakout session that was listed on the day’s schedule. Sanders was battling cancer a year ago, but appeared healthy.
“We’re full strength, full energy, I’ve got that bang back, I’ve got that swagger back, I’ve got that dog back, I’ve got that charisma back,” Sanders said. “I can’t wait to get back to camp. We’re right where we want to be and we’re even going to get better.”
Nov. 28, Cincinnati Bearcats at BYU
Kalani Sitake was contacted by many last season, but signed a long-term contract to remain with his alma mater in December.
The Cougars beat the Bearcats 26-14 last November and won the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando over Georgia Tech. They were 12-2 with both losses coming to Texas Tech.
“It’ll be fun, no different than what we had to deal with in Cincinnati,” Sitake said of the atmosphere expected Nov. 28 at Lavell Edwards Stadium. “That was a loud and difficult place to play. Every team in this conference is difficult. Nothing is easy.”
Sitake mentioned physical play and pain in his podium remarks. Toughness is part of the Cougars’ game that has served them well.
“There’s different kinds of toughness,” he said. “It’s tough being on time, doing things the right way when no one’s watching. The goal is to get the guys focused on things like that. It’ll transfer onto the field.”
UC last played in Provo in 2023, losing 35-27 to the Cougars. Bear Bachmeier returns as BYU’s quarterback. LJ Martin also returns after rushing for 222 yards and two scores in Nippert last season against the Bearcats.
Martin is the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in the league. He sat next to offensive lineman Bruce Mitchell during his interviews and talked about returning to the Cougars and spurning the NFL.
“I just try to follow him,” Martin said. “The decision to come back was tough. Ultimately, my goal is to play in the NFL, but the best opportunity was to come back for another year and help my draft stock.”
Bachmeier talked of playing UC again in Provo.
“There’s a lot of hostile environments in the Big 12 and competitive teams,” he said. “I don’t envy opponents’ teams coming into LES (Lavell Edwards Stadium) and trying to command an offense. It gets loud. It gets really loud.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What Big 12 opponents think of Cincinnati Bearcats football in 2026
Reporting by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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By Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
