Bohls: This ain't your grandfather's Cincinnati, a Big 12 newcomer with the least to lose

This isn’t your grandfather’s Cincinnati and isn’t even your predecessor’s UC Bearcats.

Cincinnati's post-Luke Fickell era begins with a new head coach, a new league, practically an entirely new offense built around a new quarterback and a new linebacker to replace All-American Ivan Pace. But it probably won’t return to its old winning ways. Not anytime soon, anyway.

Of the four new clubs in the Big 12, only UCF gets much consideration to make an immediate impact, picked to finish eighth. BYU and Houston came in 11th and 12th.

So will the Bearcats be competitive?

“According to the media, not,” new head coach Scott Satterfield said at Big 12 media days in July, cringing over his team’s No. 13 spot in the preseason conference poll, ahead of only West Virginia. “Not going to be competitive. Most of us (newcomers) were voted pretty low.”

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Remember this newcomer to the Big 12 shows up on a high, but no one knows if Satterfield can pick up where Fickell took off when he accepted the Wisconsin job last November.

Satterfield can coach. He did just fine at Louisville and Appalachian State, fashioning a 76-48 record over 10 years.

He and Fickell have some things in common although Satterfield was a top quarterback at Appalachian State and Fickell was a rugged nose tackle at Ohio State who had 50 consecutive college starts.  They’re similar in age, as Satterfield, 49, is a year younger. They’re high-energy guys. Fickell has three bowl wins to Satterfield’s four. And Fickell had a rough first year, going 4-8 before back-to-back 11-win seasons.

Of the four teams that are entering the Big 12 this season, Cincinnati probably is the least familiar to its new brethren. It didn’t really register on the national scene until Fickell arrived and transformed the Bearcats with a dominant run that included five consecutive bowls and a College Football Playoff appearance, which is something only TCU and Oklahoma can say in the Big 12.

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UC has largely been a college outpost with a history of great coaches, including Sid Gillman and Brian Kelly, along with Mr. Wanderlust Tom Tuberville, but this is its big chance.

“We can’t wait for this thing to get started,” Satterfield said.

Maybe UC has lost some of its identity.

The program should benefit by being able to recruit more in the hotbed that is the Southwest. It gains a next-door neighbor in West Virginia. It’ll cash in with greater revenue and resources by leaving the American Athletic Conference, one of eight conferences in which UC has been a member.

Satterfield has either three returning offensive starters or one, depending on the depth chart. Defensively, six starters are back but only two of the back seven. Quarterback Emory Jones has been limited in practice since switching to UC from Arizona State, where he accumulated more than 4,800 yards passing and 1,300 rushing and will be a mobile signal-caller when he returns.

Satterfield should have a stout defense, led by preseason All-Big 12 defensive tackle Dontay Corleone, a 325-pound sophomore who naturally goes by “Godfather.”

“He has an infectious personality,” his coach said. “He is as strong a player as I’ve ever been around. He’s extremely wide, a big body, and he can run with some of our linebackers at that size, which is remarkable.”

Two of the 21 transfer additions should bolster the defense. Outside linebacker Daniel Grzesiak (Utah State) and cornerback Jordan Young (Florida) bring a lot of talent. But Satterfield still needs an infusion of talent, especially at wide receiver.

The schedule gives UC a break because it’s one of the easiest in the FBS. The Bearcats will bypass Texas, CFP finalist TCU and Big 12 champion Kansas State. They will open league play by hosting Oklahoma after three winnable games against Eastern Kentucky and its 101st scoring defense, Pitt and Miami of Ohio.

“I think it will take time,” said Satterfield, who took over a Louisville team that was 2-10 and turned it around quickly with an 8-5 first year. “There’s no question about it. But we’re also in a world, the football world, where you don’t have a lot of time. You’ve got to be good now.”

We’ll see.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Newcomer Cincinnati enters the Big 12 with lots to prove to others