CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bearcats have been picked to finish second in the East division of the American Athletic Conference in the preseason poll released Tuesday at the conference’s football summer kickoff. Cincinnati received 157 points and 11 first place votes, which is also second overall in the conference. The only team in front of them: the UCF Knights, who wer picked to finish first in the East division and overall in the conference with 169 points and 19 first place votes.
I thought going into this week’s media days that the Bearcats should have been picked to win the East division. The only reason why I thought that should have been the case was because of the uncertainty at quarterback down in Orlando. It’s not a matter of who will be manning that position for UCF, for that honor belongs to former Notre Dame quarterback Brandon Wimbush. It’s the fact that I am not sold on him statistically. Wimbush’s highest completion percentage in a season in which he had significant playing time is 52.9. In 2017, when Wimbush played in 12 games, he only managed to throw for 16 touchdowns and six interceptions.
In contrast, he is replacing a quarterback who has thrown for 62 touchdowns over the previous two seasons. McKenzie Milton, who, in addition to his 62 touchdown passes, has piloted the Knights to back-to-back division titles and conference championships, 18 straight AAC regular-season wins and a Peach Bowl victory over Auburn to cap off an undefeated season in 2017. Milton will be out all of this season after suffering a gruesome injury in UCF’s regular-season finale in 2018. The quarterback position is the most valuable in football and, in my opinion, all of sports, and it is a question mark so big with UCF that that’s why I thought the Bearcats should have been picked to win the East division.
Cincinnati’s biggest question marks going into the upcoming season are at wide receiver and the defensive line. While I understand that there are three players to replace on the latter unit that was instrumental to its astonishing resurgence plus Khalil Lewis at the former unit, my focus for the Bearcats is on who is returning. Offensively, last year’s AAC rookie of the year, quarterback Desmond Ridder, and “the truck,” running back Michael Warren II, are back to continue the ascension of their reliably consistent one-two punch. Play makers including Rashad Medaris, Josiah DeGuara, Thomas Geddis, Bruno LaBelle and Josh Whyle return to give Ridder a multitude of weapons to throw to. And don’t forget about the depth behind Warren in the running back room including Tavion Thomas, Charles McClelland and Gerrid Doaks, the third of which missed all of last year. Defensively, in the levels behind the line is the linebacker corps of Perry Young, Jarrell White and Bryan Wright and then the secondary manned by “the freak” in safety James Wiggins. Overall, the Bearcats return 14 starters and 85 percent of the roster from last year’s 11-2 team. I think the Bearcats seem poised for a special season, but it won’t be easy to achieve that.
The Bearcats schedule this season is tough. Very tough. It’s not just the week two contest at Ohio State; it’s the entire season. One of themes during the off season for the Bearcats was “embrace reality.” Well, the reality is, as it is every year for every team in college football, is that every game is important. The Bearcats can’t, and I don’t think they will, overlook anybody, and we shouldn’t either as fans. Playing at Ohio State then turning around for a home game against Miami (Ohio), hosting UCF on a Friday night then going to Houston the next week, closing the season on the road the day after Thanksgiving against Memphis. UCLA, Marshall, USF and Temple; those games also can’t be overlooked. Yeah, there’s a three-game stretch following the game at Houston where the Bearcats play Tulsa, ECU and UConn, but even those games shouldn’t be overlooked. The difficulty of the schedule will make it challenging for the Bearcats to reach double-digit wins for the second straight season.
Combine the Bearcats difficult schedule with the success that UCF has had over the last two seasons, and I totally see the views of those who voted the Knights to the top of the conference’s preseason poll. As I mentioned, the Bearcats outlook for the season is brighter than UCF mainly because of the question mark at quarterback surrounding the Knights. But there was a multitude of other factors to consider, such as the pedigree UCF has built up the last two seasons, and those who voted did just that.
One last thing. For those reading this, if you have any kind of calendar near you, whether it be on a phone, a paperback, whatever it may be, take that calendar out and circle, highlight, star, C-paw, etc. the night of October 4. That’s the night the Bearcats will host UCF in a game, I believe, will determine who wins the East division. UCF may have been picked to win it in the preseason, but the Bearcats have a chance to announce themselves as the real team to beat in the American Athletic Conference on that night in the Queen City.
Let me be Frank and Cut to the Chase 