Northwestern State Demons defensive end Jeremiah Bodwin (7) tackles Cincinnati Bearcats linebacker Simeon Coleman (31) in the first quarter of a NCAA men’s college football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Northwestern State Demons, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Bearcats are up 56-0 by halftime. Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cincinnati Bearcats Football Among Top 50 Teams Nationally in Analytic Metrics Entering Big 12 Action

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bearcats on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 7:54 AM ET

The Cincinnati Bearcats football team returns to the field this week ranked a little lower in the national analytic metrics following a bye week. They shot up after the 70-0 win over Northwestern State, but dropped back to earth and remain firmly in the top 50.

UC checks in at No. 48 in the FBS on Bill Connelly's SP+ metric, which is a four-spot drop from last week. Among others, Cincinnati is at No. 46 on ESPN's Football Power Index and 43rd on Brian Fremeau's BCF rating metric. It moves Cincinnati to an average ranking of 45.6 nationally.

Cincinnati takes on the Kansas Jayhawks this week, who are ranked 27th in SP+ (18th in offense). Getting as close to full health as possible on the defensive side of the ball is imperative.

“He had a good week this week. He'll certainly have next week to see how quickly he can continue to progress, and then the game week," Scott Satterfield said last week about the injured Dontay Corleone. "So he's making progress, and we'll see where we're at with it. Everybody else is pretty healthy. Logan [Wilson] came back. Was good this week. Jack [Dingle] was out today. I really believe he needed another week, quite honestly, to be 100% so he'll be ready to go for Kansas for sure.”

The game kicks off at noon ET on Saturday, and fans can watch on TNT and HBO Max.