The 2019 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bearcats played their home games at Nippert Stadium, and competed as members of the East Division in the American Athletic Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Luke Fickell.
Recruits
The Bearcats signed a total of 16 recruits, including three transfers.
Incoming transfers Cincinnati added six transfers to the 2019 roster.
Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Prev. School James Hudson OT 6' 5" 255 Freshman (Redshirt) Toledo, OH Michigan Darrian Beavers LB 6' 3" 218 Sophomore Cincinnati, OH UConn Bryan Cook S 6' 1" 180 Sophomore Cincinnati, OH Howard Kyriq McDonald DB 5' 11" 197 Sophomore (Redshirt) Madison County, AL Alabama Garyn Prater WR 6' 5" 200 Sophomore Cincinnati, OH Ohio State L'Christian Smith WR 6' 6" 205 Sophomore (Redshirt) Dayton, OH Ohio State
Preseason
Award watch lists Davey O'Brien AwardDesmond RidderQBSo.Doak Walker AwardMichael Warren IIRBJr.Mackey AwardJosiah DeguaraTESr.Maxwell AwardMichael Warren IIRBJr.Nagurski AwardJames WigginsSJr.Ray Guy AwardJames SmithPJr.Rimington AwardJakari RobinsonCSo.Thorpe AwardJames WigginsSJr.
AAC media poll The AAC media poll was released on July 16, 2019, with the Bearcats predicted to finish second in the AAC East Division.
Schedule The Bearcats' 2019 schedule consisted of six home games and six away games. Cincinnati hosted two of its four non-conference games; against UCLA from the Pac-12 Conference, and Miami (OH) from the Mid-American Conference for their annual Victory Bell game. They travelled to instate rival Ohio State for their first meeting with the Buckeyes since 2014, and to Marshall.
The Bearcats played eight conference games; hosting Temple, Tulsa, UCF, and UConn. They travelled to South Florida, East Carolina, Houston, and Memphis.
Game summaries
UCLA
The Bearcats kicked off the 2019 season before a raucous near capacity crowd at Nippert Stadium and a national TV audience, and like their previous meeting against the visitors from the Pac-12 dominated the game after a slow start. Sophomore QB Desmond Ridder was an efficient 18–26 from 242 yards while Junior RB Michael Warren II had 92 yards on 26 carries as the Bearcats defeated the Bruins 24–14. Both teams showed opening day rust and jitters combining for 19 penalties. The Bruins nearly flipped the game momentum when Ridder threw an interception near the goal line late in the first half, CB Jay Shaw raced 60 yards with the pass before Josiah Deguara heroically shed several blockers to make the tackle. The Bruins were flagged for a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and did not score off the turnover as the half ended. Warren scored a pair of touchdowns one on a run the other on a pass to keep the Bearcats comfortably in the lead. The win was the 2nd in the series and completed a 2-year sweep of the Bruins in football and basketball. The Bearcats men's basketball team logged wins over the Bruins in Dec 2017 in Los Angeles and in 2018 in the newly renovated Fifth Third Arena.
At Ohio State
Unlike their 2014 meeting, the Bearcats were never in their meeting with the 5th ranked Ohio State. Ohio State QB Justin Fields threw for 2 scores, ran for an additional 2 scores and Ohio State blew out the Bearcats 42–0, their first shutout loss since 2005. The Bearcats had pitched 6 shutouts in the span of being blanked themselves
Miami (OH)
The Bearcats shook off a slow start and after spotting Miami 10 1st quarter points, scored 35 points in the 2nd and 3rd quarter to roar back to a 35–13 win. The Bearcats scored on four of five possessions in a span of the 2nd and 3rd quarters to rally then break the game open. Michael Warren rushed for 113 yards and 3 scores including a breathtaking 73-yard run as he made a number of nifty cutbacks and jukes before sprinting untouched the last 40 yards. Desmond Ridder threw for 186 yards and a pair of touchdowns both of which came on beautiful lead throws to his receivers. The win ensured the Victory Bell stays in Cincinnati for the 14th straight year, the longest run in the series which dates back to 1888 and is the oldest collegiate football rivalry west of the Alleghenies.
At Marshall
Shaking off their reputation for slow starts the Bearcats scored the game's first 45 points en route to a 52–14 blasting of Marshall in front of a sullen crowd in Huntington, W Va. The Bearcats were rude guests, scoring on each of their first four drives. Desmond Ridder threw for four scores. Marshall was limited to 256 yards of offense, with half of that coming in the fourth.
UCF
In front of a frenzied, black-clad crowd of 40,121 (which included a record 7,825 UC students), the Bearcats upset the 18th ranked Knights and avenged a pair of lopsided defeats from the previous two seasons. The Bearcats forced 4 turnovers, limited UCF to 3.0 yards per carry, and held the high-powered Knights offense under 30 points for the first time in 31 games (which was an FBS record). The win also snapped the Knights' 19-game conference win streak. The Bearcats and Knights traded scores in the 1st half and the Knights held a 16–10 lead at halftime. The Bearcats closed the gap to 16–13 on a Sam Crosa field goal. Sauce Gardner picked off a Dillon Gabriel pass and raced 16 yards with the stolen loaf to give the Bearcats a lead they would never relinquish. After extending their lead to 11 with Desmond Ridder's scoring strike to Alec Pierce, the Knights fought back to close the game to 3 with a 45-yard pass from Gabriel to Nixon. The Knights would not get the ball back as the Bearcats would recover the Knights' onside kick attempt and then converted a 4th and inches to ice the game. The Bearcats earned their first home win over a ranked opponent since 2009 (West Virginia) and their first win over a ranked team since 2012 (Virginia Tech), having lost their last 6 attempts. The win moved the Bearcats into 1st place in the AAC East and earned the Bearcats a Top 25 ranking at 25.
At Houston
On the road now as a ranked team (#25), the Bearcats traveled to Houston to face the Cougars. Taking advantage of five turnovers that led to 21 points, The Bearcats led all the way to a 38–23 win and improved to 2–0 in conference play. Big plays were the watchword of the day played under a sunny sky in Houston. Desmond Ridder scrambled 13 yards for the opening score, then found Rashad Medaris streaking downfield for a 75-yard score. After the Cougars cut the Bearcat lead to four with a long touchdown pass of their own, Ridder found Josiah Deguara with a short pass that the senior tight end took into the end zone to give the Bearcats a 21–10 halftime lead. The Cougars again cut the lead to 4 with a 3rd quarter scoring strike, a 69-yard pass from the second of four different quarterbacks the Cougars employed on the day. Michael Warren II took a screen pass from Ridder and pinballed his way to the end zone on an 11-yard TD to open the 4th quarter scoring and give the Bearcats a 28–17 lead. The Cougars answered with their own score but failed on the two-point conversion to close back to 5. After a Sam Crosa field goal increased the Bearcat lead to 8, the Cougars got the ball back needing a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the score. The Cougars started their drive inside their own 20 and Clayton Tune's 3rd down pass was batted by Malik Vann with Perry Young corralling the ricochet and waltzing into the end zone from 2 yards out for the clinching touchdown. A final Cougar drive was also snuffed out with an end zone interception by Coby Bryant.
Tulsa
Returning home with #21 ranking, the Bearcats hosted the Golden Hurricane. Gerrid Doaks scored three times as he filled in for Michael Warren II who was hampered by nagging injuries and held to 35 yards rushing. Despite being outgained 377–317 in total yardage, the Bearcats led all the way in a 24–13 win. Doaks, who had not seen the end zone since 2017, scored his first touchdown in the 1st quarter on a 4-yard run after the Bearcats opened the scoring with a 50-yard field goal. Trailing 10–0 in the 2nd quarter, the Golden Hurricane got on the board after a bizarre series of events: the Bearcats had forced the Golden Hurricane to punt and partially blocked it, but the ball ricocheted off a Bearcat player 10 yards downfield which Tulsa recovered and went on to score 5 plays later. The Bearcats led 10–7 at the half. The Bearcats increased their lead back to 10 on Doaks' second score of the day, a short pass from Desmond Ridder in which Doaks broke several tackles on his way to diving for the pylon. The Golden Hurricane got as close as 4 on a pair of field goals, the latter early in the 4th quarter. After forcing a turnover deep in their own territory, the Bearcats drove 80 yards but turned the ball over on downs at the Tulsa 10. With a chance to take the lead, Darrick Forrest intercepted Zach Smith and returned the ball to the Tulsa 27. The interception was the 5th forced by the Bearcats defense on the afternoon. Doaks then delivered the back breaker with a nearly untouched 27 yard sprint to the end zone for his third touchdown of the day to put the Bearcats back up by 11. Doaks finished with 91 yards on 17 carries and 2 TDs. The win was the Bearcats' 11th consecutive win at Nippert, with only a 17-game home win streak by the 2008–2012 teams being longer. The win also made the Bearcats bowl eligible for the 2nd straight year.
At East Carolina
After a bye week, the #17 ranked Bearcats headed on the road to face East Carolina, a team that they beat 56–6 in their previous meeting to end the 2018 regular season. Entering the game as heavy favorites, the Bearcats found themselves in a serious fight to remain unbeaten in conference play. The Bearcats opening the scoring with a short TD run by Michael Warren II, only to have the Pirates answer with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Holton Ahlers to CJ Johnson. The Bearcats answered that score with a long pass from Desmond Ridder to Josiah Deguara that covered 73 yards and Gerrid Doaks scoring from 2 yards out. The back and forth scoring continued with the Bearcats and Pirates trading scores and UC leading 21–14 after one quarter. ECU then scored 17 unanswered points to take a 31–21 lead into the half. The Bearcats responded with a solid drive to open the 2nd half, with Warren scoring his third TD of the game. The Pirates added another touchdown late in the 3rd to build their biggest lead at 40–28. The Bearcats battled back, cutting the lead to 5 with a touchdown pass from Ridder to Deguara. The biggest play of the game came from the much-maligned defense—with the Pirates pushing into Bearcats territory for a potential backbreaking score, Sauce Gardner intercepted a short out route pass and raced 62 yards with the stolen loaf for a momentum turning touchdown. The pick-6 gave the Bearcats a 43–40 lead after a Ridder to Deguara 2-point conversion. The Pirates did not go quietly, grinding a 9-play 65-yard drive ending in a Jake Verity 27-yard field goal. With good field position due to a poor kickoff by Verity, UC's Ridder raced 30 yards on the first play, and a trio of short passes to Malick Mbodj got the Bearcats to the ECU 16-yard line. Sam Crosa nailed a 32-yard field goal with no time left to win the game. The Bearcats got the win despite being outgained (638–462), giving up 35 first downs, and having a nearly 10 min deficit in time of possession. The win kept the Bearcats unbeaten in conference play.
UConn