5 observations on UC Bearcats football ending with a blowout loss to Kansas

While the Kansas Jayhawks joyously await their bowl bid, University of Cincinnati Bearcat football fans can turn their attention to basketball or the holidays.

UC was drubbed Saturday night by Kansas 49-16. The Jayhawks dominated in total offense 562 yards to 342, out-passing UC 250-111 and out-rushing them 312-231. UC finishes 3-9 after a 2-0 start with just one Big 12 victory, over fellow league newcomer Houston.

The last three-win season was in 1999 when Rick Minter's crew went 3-8.

The last nine-loss season came the year before in 1998 when the Bearcats won their last two games of the season to finish 2-9.

The season of 2023 was a new league with new coaches and 23 college transfers. Unfortunately, the only home win Bearcat fans could witness was the season-opener against Eastern Kentucky. In between, there were some near-misses and reputable performances, but mainly frustration.

"I know it's frustrating to the fans," UC coach Scott Satterfield said. "I'm the most frustrated there is. I'm the one that's the coach of the team. I hear you out there. We're going to work on getting this stuff fixed."

Satterfield promised the players there would be hard work ahead when they returned from their holiday break.

"They want that," he said. "Obviously they need it. This winter's going to be extremely difficult. The reason we lost a lot of games this year was undisciplined play. It happened tonight and those are the things we're going to clean up."

Five reasons why UC went out with another loss:

1. Bean was on the scene

The 6-3, 205-pound redshirt senior didn't play in the Kansas rivalry game with Kansas State Nov. 18 but was more than ready Saturday night. Bean was 13-for-17 passing for 250 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 90 yards, helping KU pull away in the fourth quarter.

2. Kiner got 1,000 but running game wasn't the issue

Just before the half, Corey Kiner surpassed 1,000 yards rushing, becoming the 20th Bearcat to reach the hallowed mark. He finished with 106 yards, eclipsing the century mark for the sixth time this season.

"Nippert is not a place for losers," Kiner said. "I feel like it's my job being from Cincinnati to help change that. I have to come to work every single day and lead by example."

UC's 231 rushing yards were above the 215.8-yard average they had coming into the game. But, when the opponent runs for 81 more yards, there's a problem.

3. Passing efficiency remains an issue

While Bean had a passer rating of 238.8 and completed 76% of his throws, UC's Emory Jones was held to 56% and a passer rating of 100.1. From October through the end of the season, Jones threw for more than 200 yards just once and only had two touchdown passes twice in the last seven games. His only 300-plus yard game was the opener against EKU where he threw for 345 yards and five touchdowns.

4. Gaining, keeping momentum remains difficult

UC scored with 26 seconds left in the first half on a Jones to Ryan Montgomery pass. That cut the Kansas lead to 14-10. However, Bean drove the Jayhawks to a score in just 17 seconds to go into halftime up 21-10.

Likewise, in the fourth quarter, Ryan Montgomery threw an option pass for a score to Dee Wiggins. A made Emory Jones two-point conversion would have cut the lead to 28-18 with over 13 minutes to play, but a review took the two-point play away. Again, in just 1:37, Bean had Kansas back on the board with a 43-yard touchdown run. Less than two minutes later, he had a 50-yard run and it was game, set, match.

"It just sucks for our team how this year went for us," guard Luke Kandra said. "For all the seniors, we couldn't do it for them. They put everything into this program and they helped lead us. It sucks that we couldn't get it done this year."

5. Sacks anyone?

UC's defense was much hyped and still has promise should several key members return. However, Bean was not sacked on the night and Devin Neal ran for 106 yards for two touchdowns.

"It's going to be a hell of an offseason here," linebacker Jack Dingle said. "We're going to earn it and we're going to fix this."

Silver linings?

While a fan base accustomed to winning might not be ready to hear it, the coaching staff is ready to turn the page. They will be talking to their own players, evaluating players in state finals, getting their high school signing class together and searching for potential transfers.

The infamous portal opens soon and should be as congested as Interstate 75 anywhere near the Brent Spence Bridge during rush hour.

"Sometimes people don't see what I can see," Satterfield said. "They don't see the future. They don't see the vision. They don't see what's going to happen. If you're going through something extremely tough, if you don't have hope, then what do you have? You've got nothing. You might as well quit. We're trying to teach our guys the exact opposite of that. We're in a world full of despair, full of hate, full of negativity everywhere we look. There's a lot of great things going on in this building. I can see what's about to happen. You keep getting kicked down, but we're going to keep getting up. That's what we're trying to teach our kids."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 5 thoughts on Saturday's Cincinnati Bearcat defeat against Kansas