#17 Cincinnati keeps taking care of business, but more work remains
BY Keegan Nickoson | Bearcat Journal
Media members and cameras waited by the Cincinnati locker room. Players walked by, high-fiving coaches and supporters. Then Brendan Sorsby finally showed up after completing a postgame interview with ESPN, greeting students and talking with Baylor players.
Fans and kids asked for autographs and photos, and the Texas native reassured them he would return after coach Scott Satterfield addressed the team.
Sorsby has a grip on this fan base that so few players have ever had, similar to Desmond Ridder, Sauce Gardner, Mardy Gilyard, Tony Pike, Travis Kelce and a few others. He’s led the Bearcats to a somewhat surprising 7-1 record this season, throwing 20 touchdowns and just one interception while running for seven scores. Over the span of his Cincinnati career, Sorsby has accounted for 54 total touchdowns.
The frequent high-stepper and sidearm thrower has the Bearcats one step closer to their goal of a Big 12 title game appearance, and the Heisman discourse around the Bearcats’ quarterback is starting to heat up.
“I think he just needs to continue to take care of his business, which is taking what the defense gives us. At the end of the season, when we get to it, they’re gonna look and they’re gonna find who the best teams are. The Heisman always goes to the best teams. Then who’s playing the best on that team? If we’re continuing to do the things that we’re doing right now, then his name will be mentioned.”
“But we don’t worry about it now. There’s a month left of football, so we gotta continue to do the things that have gotten us to this point so far.”
Sorsby echoed Satterfield, saying he isn’t worried about any individual stat or award, as evidenced by his satisfaction with Saturday’s win despite only throwing for 111 yards on 21 attempts. Not exactly a flashy stat line.
“If we keep taking care of business, who knows?” Sorsby said. “But that’s priority number one right now is winning ballgames. We’ll see what happens at the end of the year.”
That attitude isn’t just present with Sorsby, but it’s trickled down to just about every player on the roster. Team success has become paramount over individual success. Walking off the field after the win over Baylor, Satterfield grabbed punter Max Fletcher and asked him what he did in the win. Fletcher said he only punted once, but then he pointed at the scoreboard, which read Cincinnati 41, Baylor 20, quelling any idea that Fletcher might be upset with his light-usage day.
Satterfield said he saw that mindset for the first time in the winter when accountability and commitment ran wild.
“It was a sense in the building,” Satterfield said. “Everybody’s holding everybody accountable. It’s a tight team. It’s a team that cares about each other.
“Our guys don’t really care about the stats. If you’re not making a tackle or if I’m not getting a catch or carry, you’re upset ‘cause you wanna get that. But ultimately, our guys care about winning. When you have a team full of guys that care about winning, you’re gonna win more than you’re not.”
It was a complete team win, and UC’s defense had a major bounce-back game after struggling at times against Oklahoma State. Baylor came in with one of the most high-powered passing offenses in the country, and as the final seconds ticked off the clock, Sawyer Robertson had only thrown for 137 yards and two scores.
“What they did tonight was incredible,” Satterfield said. “Holding them to 137 yards passing. I can’t say enough about what those guys did and how they executed the plan. All week long in practice. I thought [Coach Veidt] did an outstanding job with that.”
The only thing you could point to that Cincinnati did wrong on defense was the multiple pass interference calls that, at times, looked like they would keep Baylor in the game.
However, the Bearcats’ defensive backs balanced those errors with forced fumbles and fumble recoveries, leading to 14 points for the offense, both passing touchdowns by Sorsby. For the second week in a row, a turnover has resulted in points for Cincinnati, something that hadn’t happened in the prior six games.
The complementary football the Bearcats are playing is giving a glimpse of the ceiling they could reach.
“Yeah, it’s big time,” Sorsby said. “Our defense held one of the best offenses, not only in the Big 12, but in the country, to 20 points and not a lot of yards. Props to them for getting us the ball back and props to us for putting it in the end zone and capitalizing on the turnovers.”
Even still, much of the story of this Cincinnati team will be told over the next four games, starting with a difficult road matchup against a talented Utah team. While the Bearcats’ wins have shown how much better they are compared to the last two seasons, beating teams like the Utes and BYU will leave no doubt and prove they are contenders in the Big 12 and for a College Football Playoff bid.
The talent and chemistry have come together for Cincinnati. How good can they be?