The Cincinnati Bearcats were brought right back down to earth this weekend in a 49-25 loss to the No. 6 Utah Utes .
Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback JC French IV (4) prepares to throw the ball in the second quarter of the Big 12 game between Cincinnati Bearcats and Utah Utes at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, October 31, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
No one is expecting every third down to be converted, even the best teams in the nation float around the 50% mark, but the Bearcats were anything but clinical. On offense Cincinnati notched a desolate 27.2% on offense going 3/11 overall. You are never going to get far doing that.
But it gets worse on the defense.
The Utes were cruising on the third down, compiling a stellar 63.6%, going 7/11 through the entire game.
Cincinnati Bearcats running back Cole Tabb (3) runs for a touchdown in the third quarter of the Big 12 game between Cincinnati Bearcats and Utah Utes at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, October 31, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Cole Tabb is establishing himself as one of college football's standout running backs this season, and Saturday was a continuation.
Tabb finished with 131 yards across just 14 carries putting up 9.4 yards per carry to go along with one touchdown. Gi'Bran Payne also notched 67 yards on the ground, however his costly fumble eradicated a lot of the goodwill he had built up.
Utah quarterback Devon Dampier (4) throws a pass in the second quarter of the Big 12 game between Cincinnati Bearcats and Utah Utes at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, October 31, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
When Cincinnati's offense is fully firing, it is an equal mix of a precise short-range passing attack combined with an electric rushing game, all being anchored by one of the country's best offensive lines.
The problem is, the second they face adversity against an above-average defense, things can quickly crumble, and two turnovers in the second period, paired with paltry defense from the Bearcats and you see a wild 28-point shellacking in the second quarter.
Oct 31, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Scott Satterfield works the sideline against the Utah Utes in the second half at Nippert Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
If on October 18th, one day after Cincinnati's 45-42 gut-wrenching loss to West Virginia , you had been told the Bearcats were going to split the next two games against No. 8 Texas Tech and No. 6 Utah, every UC fan would have been fine with that record.
So when you look at Saturday in relation to the entire season, a 45-29 loss is borderline excusable. The problem comes when you look at this game in isolation, and you see this is still a team that is still wildly inconsistent, like they have been for a majority of the 2026 season.
Cincinnati ends the season with No. 18 Houston, Iowa State, Colorado, and No. 8 BYU, so there is still time for the Bearcats to produce their best record under Scott Satterfield against what has been a challenging schedule. The question is, will they play complementary enough to do so?
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/cincinnati as 1 Loser and 2 Winners From The Bearcats' Loss to No. 6 Utah .
