No. 25 | Cincinnati

By Nick Leach | 08.24.2010

Head Coach    2009 Record    Returning Starters

 Butch Jones      12-1 (7-0)       8 Offense, 5 Defense

Offensive Overview
The very impressive Bearcats offense of '09 returns nearly in full. QB Zach Collaros will now get a full season to show off with an arsenal of weapons that includes do it all RB Isaiah Pead who continues to not get the pub he justly deserves. Incumbents Armon Binns and D.J. Woods at WR with the addition of USC transfer Vidal Hazelton should offer plenty of talent to help off-set the loss of last years leader Mardy Gilyard. The OL returns 3 starters including a big time player in OG Jason Kelce who displays incredible strength as a run mauler. Losses at LT and OC will take some time to adjust to as well as adjusting to a new head coach and offensive coordinator but given the chemistry that this unit showed

in the previous year and how much they are returning, don't

expect this group to miss a beat and be able to put up some awfully prolific numbers. Depth is the one issue to keep an eye on though as

behind QB/RB there isn't much there, so they'll have to remain healthy if they want a repeat of last year.

Defensive Overview

Losing more than half of their starters on this unit will leave some major issues to be answered early in the season. The Bearcats will run a 3-4 and return only 1 starter on the DL, a DL that got gashed pretty badly in spots in the run game. If they take a step back from that they could be in some serious trouble. The LB group returns two starters, including ILB J.K. Schaffer. The secondary is young, not greatly experienced, but very athletic and fast. This should be able to help them to be more aggressive and try to

create turnovers because sitting back will get them cut up. JR CB Dominique Battle is

one player who has the potential to be a leader and star of the defense. The offense will

be able to perform just fine but the defense will likely be a whole other issue for the Bearcats in 2010.

Team Superlatives
Most likely to be a leader on offense: RB Isaiah Pead
Most likely to be a leader on defense: ILB J.K. Schaffer
Most likely to be a household name by December: QB Zach Collaros, WR D.J. Woods
Most likely to make an instant impact: DE Dan Giordano
Most likely to lead the team in tackles: Schaffer
Most likely to lead the team in sacks: OLB Walter Stewart
Most likely to lead the team in receiving yards: WR Armon Binns
Most likely to lead the team in rushing yards: Pead
Most likely to win a national award: OG Jason Kelce

Prediction

2010 Prediction: 8-4 (4-3)

Could very easily be 9-3 as well, but they've challenged themselves with an OOC schedule that includes Oklahoma. While the Big East may lack a true dominant team, what they do offer is a balanced schedule in which any team can beat any other on Saturday (or, er, Friday in the case of a lot of Cinci's games). Going to Morgantown, playing at UCONN, and finishing with Pittsburgh is a tough streak of games that also includes other very comparable teams in Rutgers and USF. The defense just has too many holes to make one believe they can hold up on a late drive not to mention the adjustment of a new coaching staff and how long it will take before they all settle in and understand each other. With so many questions surrounding them it's hard to predict a double digit win season again for Cinci.