CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bearcats are hoping to set the tone for a better season when they open against FCS program Towson on Saturday.
It’s the Bearcats’ second season in the Big 12, which added four new teams for this season for a total of 16. The game Saturday is the first of three straight nonconference games before they get into the meat of the conference schedule.
Hosting Towson should give Cincinnati a chance to start working out the wrinkles.
The first season after moving from the American Athletic Conference didn’t go so well for the Bearcats, who finished 3-9 and just 1-8 in the conference.
“We worked our butts off this offseason to try to put a better product out there on the field,” Cincinnati coach Scott Satterfield said. “We sit here, and we don’t know how these teams are going to be. You have no idea, particularly in this day and age with all this turnover that we had, like we don’t know.”
New QB in Cincy
Satterfield named third-year quarterback Brendan Sorsby, a transfer from Indiana, the starting quarterback last week.
“I was fired up,” Sorsby said. “It was a great camp, great spring. You know, really just fired up to lead these guys and go win some games.”
Sorsby started seven games for the Hoosiers in 2023 after a redshirt season in 2022. The highlight was a five-touchdown passing performance at Illinois.
“There’s a time and a place to be aggressive,” Sorsby said. “I think that if you’re aggressive you have a chance to make more mistakes, but you can also make some great plays that wouldn’t happen if you were being conservative. Really just trust the preparation, see it, rip it, and just go out there and have fun.”
Fourth-year running back Corey Kiner, a 1,000-yard rusher last season, will provide a solid anchor for the ground game.
‘The Godfather’ sidelined
Third-year defensive tackle Dontay Corleone will not play Saturday as he continues to recover from blood clots in his lungs.
“We’ll take Dontay day-by-day,” Satterfield said. “He’s been here all summer working out with the team.”
Corleone, an AP preseason All-American, is one of the best defensive linemen in the country.
Tigers seeking improvement
Towson is coming off a 5-6 season, its fourth in a row outside of the FCS playoffs.
“Really pleased with the level of conditioning and level of physicality we were able to have throughout camp,” coach Pete Shinnick said. “We got more guys who understand every aspect of the program. That level of growth and understanding has been really beneficial for us getting further along than where we were a year ago at this time.”
Towson is led by fourth-year quarterback Nathan Kent. As the starter in 2023, he threw for over 2,100 yards and 14 touchdowns.
“Nathan’s made great strides,” Shinnick said.
New-look defense
Cincinnati has switched to a 3-3-5 defense with the hope it can improve on the 30 points per game allowed last season.
(Towson) “will spread us out,” Satterfield said. “They’ll do some things to try to put pressure on us. Can we stay on top? That’s the big thing that I’m obviously looking for is not letting people get behind us.”
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