The 2021 season's largest margin: Cincinnati 52, Temple 3. A 49-point win — the year's high-water mark.
2021 — The Top-10 Year
Cincinnati finished 2021 inside the final AP top-10. The top-10 is the tier the program calibrates annual expectation against.
The Shape — week-by-week · cumulative W–L below
Who carried it
- Desmond RidderQB3,334 passing yards
- Jerome FordRB1,319 rushing yards
- Ryan MontgomeryRB312 rushing yards
- Alec PierceWR884 receiving yards
- Tyler ScottWR520 receiving yards
- Tre TuckerWR426 receiving yards
- Joel DublankoLB113 tackles
- Darrian BeaversLB98 tackles
- Bryan CookS96 tackles
- Curtis BrooksDT7.5 sacks
- Malik VannDE3.5 sacks
- Jowon BriggsDE3 sacks
Season leaders, 2021.
The season's deepest loss: Cincinnati 6, Alabama 27. A 21-point margin the season is remembered by.
The season's last act: Cincinnati fell to Alabama 6-27 in the postseason.
"Go Bearcats"
2021 is a middle chapter for Cincinnati — neither a crown year nor a crisis. It is the kind of season that fills the ledger between the named ones and gives the arc its shape.