OFFENSE

With the most potent offense in the Big East last year, Cincinnati should be in good shape again with the return of seniors Zach Collaros at quarterback and Isaiah Pead at running back, as long as the offensive line can withstand the loss of center Jason Kelce. Collaros was everything that Cincinnati hoped he would be last year when he took over the offense from Tony Pike — except in one area. The senior led the Big East in passing yardage and touchdowns but was intercepted 14 times.

Kenbrell Thompkins makes his debut at wide receiver to compensate for the loss of Armon Binns, the league’s top receiver a year ago. DJ Woods, who finished third in the league in receiving yardage last year, is also back. He needs to do a better job of holding on to the ball after the catch. The Bearcats also have a potential star at tight
end in Travis Kelce.

But this unit must do a better job of taking care of the ball. Collaros in particular has to display more discretion and not try to force the ball into coverage as he did too frequently last year. If he does, he could be one of the best quarterbacks in the country.

DEFENSE

The defense returns virtually everyone from one of the league’s most porous units, and the coaching staff is hoping that a
second year under the same defensive coordinators and another year of experience will lead to enough improvement to take advantage of Cincinnati’s production on offense.

Walter Stewart, who will play defensive end full-time after spending some time at linebacker last year, and tackle Derek Wolfe, give the Bearcats two solid players up front, with coach Butch Jones proclaiming the defensive line as a strength. JK Schaffer is an all-league linebacker, but there’s little depth at that position.

The secondary is also suspect, although the Bearcats should benefit from the return of cornerback Dominique Battle, who played in only three games last year before suffering a knee injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season.

SPECIALISTS

Cincinnati entered summer camp with no heir apparent for the placekicking job that was held by Jake Rogers for the last four years. Punter Pat O’Donnell is solid, if not outstanding. The return game, which was a strength for this team until last year, is now average at best. Special teams were a valuable weapon for the Bearcats during their back-to-back Big East title years in 2008 and 2009, but they seem to have lost that edge.

FINAL ANALYSIS

There’s little doubt that Cincinnati will score a lot of points, but the Bearcats scored a lot last year and still finished 4–8.

If Cincinnati is to return to the top of the Big East, it will have to see major improvement on defense, where everyone returns from last year, and stop handing the ball to the opposition, which it did 29 times in 2010, the most in the league. The Bearcats were also one of the most penalized teams in the league. In short, they often beat themselves.

The talent on offense at the skill positions is still there. But this is a program that has experienced winning only occasionally in its long history and seems to have lost the swagger it displayed under Brian Kelly for three years. It will be important for the Bearcats to regain that confidence under Jones. A slow start could doom Cincinnati to another sub-par season, but if the Bearcats can gain some momentum, they could finish in the upper half of the league standings.