The Athletic Ranks Cincinnati Football Outside Top 90 FBS Schools

The climb up starts in less than two weeks.

Cincinnati Bearcats running back Manny Covey (29) takes a knee during football practice, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. / Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

CINCINNATI — The Bearcats have a long way to climb in The Athletic's 1-134 ranking of every FBS team. Cincinnati finished last season 3-9 overall and 100th on the list from Chris Vannini.

They checked in at No. 94 on the site's preseason ranking dropped this week.

It marks the lowest ranking for any Big 12 team and the second-lowest power conference ranking (Vanderbilt last at No. 95). This should be the final time in 2024 that Cincinnati is in the 90s on this list. The program is favored to win three of its first four games on ESPN's Matchup Predictor.

They could definitely start 4-0 if they pull off a slight home upset over Pitt (47.2% chance to win on ESPN). The Panthers were ranked 83rd on this list.

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