Cincinnati Bearcats vs. UCF Knights: A Decade of Gridiron Battles

The Cincinnati-UCF football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and University of Central Florida Knights. The schools have played in the same conference since 2013 when both joined the American Athletic Conference, and has continued after both schools began play in the Big 12 Conference in 2023. As the series hits a full decade this weekend, let's look back at the previous encounters between Cincinnati and UCF.

Series Overview

The Cincinnati Bearcats and UCF have a history of competing for American Conference championships for years. The all-time series between between the Bearcats and Knights is tied at 5-5. With this game on October 11th, would mark the 11th straight year the two teams play each other.

Game Information

Cincinnati vs UCF will be on FS1 at 12:00 on October 11th. The game is taking place at Nippert Stadium on the University of Cincinnati Campus in what is expected to be a sold-out environment. Cincinnati is currently a -11.5 point favorite at home over the Knights. A Cincinnati Bearcats moneyline bet would be at -425, while a Knights moneyline bet would be at +320. The over/under for the game is set at 53.5, something that seems a little low at the moment but could end up being correct by the time the game starts. ESPN analytics give the Bearcats a 69.8% chance at winning the game, their highest chance in a conference game this year.

Key Players and Team Performance

Cincinnati Bearcats

The Cincinnati Bearcats are coming off a 38-30 win vs. No. 14/12 Iowa State. “I really appreciate the crowd that we had today with the striping out of the red and black all across the whole stadium,” Satterfield said. The defense stood tall several times on Saturday, stopping the Cyclones on fourth down three separate times.

The offense, led by star quarterback Brendan Sorsby, once again was outstanding. Cincinnati rushed for a season-high 260 yards against ISU, its 17th game with 200-plus yards under Satterfield. Over the last four games, Sorsby has been red-hot, completing 74 of 107 passes (69%) for 1,188 yards and 12 TD with zero picks. Over nine games at Nippert Stadium in his career: Sorsby has completed 170 of 249 passes for 2,314 yards and 18 TDs with three INTs in 2024 and 2025.

While Cincinnati has been able to generate big plays this season, another thing it has been able to hang its hat on is its play in the red zone. The Bearcats are 21-for-21 in the red zone this year, scoring 17 touchdowns and converting four field goals. “I think we've been really good this year in the red zone,” Satterfield said. “We've been good as far as converting those opportunities into touchdowns. You want to score those seven points and to give yourself a chance to win. Our coaches come up with a good plan, and our kids have been executing.

LB Jake Golday has been playing at an All-America level this season. Led by four-year starter and three-year captain center Gavin Gerhardt, the Bearcats have allowed just one sack (T-1st nationally). Cincinnati ranks No. K Stephen Rusnak has made 18 straight FGs and is 7 for 7 in 2025 after making all 11 of his tries at Charlotte in 2024. He is the only kicker in the country to be perfect in 2024 and 2025. Sorsby, Corleone, Gerhardt and seventh-year CB Logan Wilson are Cincinnati’s captains this season. RB Evan Pryor ranks fourth in the country in yards per carry average (9.1). He is second in the Big 12 behind only UCF’s Jalen Dixon (12.1). He had two TDs versus Iowa State. S Antwan Peek Jr. (90.4) is the nation’s third-highest rated safety. The win marked the highest ranked opponent to lose inside Nippert Stadium since No. 7 Rutgers fell 30-11 on Nov.

UCF Knights

UCF is coming off a 27-20 loss to Kansas in which it held Jayhawks QB Jalon Daniels to zero touchdowns, but failed to score themselves in the second half. The Knights are allowing only 305 yards per game (No. 5 in Big 12) and former Bearcat Myles Montgomery leads UCF in rushing (75.6 ypg, fifth in Big 12). He is a two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and ranks fifth nationally and No.

Transitioning into the Big 12, however, has been tougher than expected for both the Knights and the Bearcats; they have a 15-20 record since the start of the 2023 season, and are 10 games under .500 in Big 12 play.

Memorable Games and Moments

2015: Cincinnati 52, UCF 7

Best remembered for: Shaq Washington breaking Cincinnati's all-time receptions record

Read also: Guide to UC Football Tickets

UCF lost the opener of this rivalry - along with every other game it played during a infamously disastrous 2015 season. The Knights went 0-12, and George O'Leary retired less than a week before the team's first trip to Nippert Stadium. Danny Barrett, a Cincinnati alumnus, manned the sidelines as UCF's interim head coach.

Gunner Kiel had a perfect passing day for the Bearcats, going 15 of 15 for 319 yards and five touchdowns. Johnny Holton and Chris Moore topped the 100-yard receiving mark, and Shaq Washington added two touchdowns and broke a three-way tie for the school's all-time receptions record. Washington finished his Cincinnati career with 240 catches, a mark that still stands today. C.J. Jones ended the Bearcats' shutout bid early in the fourth quarter with a touchdown run, and he finished with 123 rushing yards on 18 carries.

2016: UCF 24, Cincinnati 3

Best remembered for: Knights clinching bowl eligibility behind Errol Clarke's three sacks, punt block TD

Scott Frost eventually turned UCF into an offensive juggernaut, but the Knights claimed their first win over Cincinnati courtesy of defense and, more specifically, special teams. With the Knights ahead 10-3 in the third quarter, Tre Neal stormed through the shield and swatted a Bearcats punt. Justin McDonald pounced on the loose ball at the 23-yard line and ran it in. Errol Clarke hounded Cincinnati quarterback Hayden Moore for three sacks and forced a crucial interception that Seyvon Lowry took back to the end zone, though it was chalked off for a celebration penalty. Jawon Hamilton cashed in three plays later with a 25-yard touchdown run. That was UCF's final win of 2016. The Knights closed with losses to Tulsa, South Florida and Arkansas State in the hometown Cure Bowl.

2017: UCF 51, Cincinnati 23

Best remembered for: UCF scoring on all eight offensive drives in weather-shortened blowout

Read also: Affording CCM: A Tuition Breakdown

The only thing that could stop UCF's offense on Oct. 7, 2017 was the weather surrounding Nippert Stadium. In 2017, UCF was ranked No. 25th in the nation. McKenzie Milton blew up the Bearcats’ defense for 374 yards and five touchdowns through the first three quarters before torrential rain pounded Nippert Stadium, sending the teams to the locker room. The game was called after an hour and seven-minute delay and UCF was awarded the victory.

McKenzie Milton carved up the Cincinnati defense for 374 yards and five touchdowns, all of which covered at least 20 yards. Tre'Quan Smith caught three TDs, Dredrick Snelson opened the game with a 54-yard score and Michael Colubiale made his first trip to the end zone as a Knight. UCF averaged a ludicrous 12.9 yards per play before inclement weather rolled in. The American Athletic Conference canceled the game after a one-hour, seven-minute delay. For Cincinnati, Moore threw for 278 yards with one touchdown, and rushed for 75 yards and another pair of scores.

2018: UCF 38, Cincinnati 13

Best remembered for: UCF hosting College GameDay, pulling away after early Bearcats strip-sack TD

After reeling off 22 straight wins, UCF grabbed the national spotlight when ESPN's College GameDay rolled into Memory Mall for an ABC prime-time showdown between the 9-0 Knights and 9-1 Cincinnati. In 2018, the Knights remained undefeated. UCF was ranked No. 11th overall in the Nation. National spotlight was on the game as the No. 19 Bearcats headed to Orlando for a prime time match up as ESPN College GameDay broadcast from UCF’s campus. UCF played in front of a sold-out crowd in the Bounce House. UCF went on to win 38-13, vaulting them to No.

Maury Povich, bafflingly considering he had no ties to the school, served as guest picker and Orlando-area resident Lee Corso dressed in a suit of armor instead of merely wearing Knightro's headgear. As for the game itself, UCF rebounded from disaster on its first snap from scrimmage - a strip-sack of Milton in the end zone - to put 35 straight points on the scoreboard. Milton finished with three touchdown passes, two of which went to running back Adrian Killins Jr. Titus Davis anchored a stifling performance from UCF's defense with four tackles for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble. Richie Grant and Pat Jasinski topped double digits for tackles. Cincinnati held the ball for more than 37 minutes but coughed it up three times.

2019: Cincinnati 27, UCF 24

Best remembered for: Sauce Gardner emerging on national stage with go-ahead pick-six

Before fans knew him as Sauce, freshman Ahmad Gardner made a name for himself with a play that swung the balance of power in this rivalry back with the Bearcats. In 2019, the Bearcats hung on for a 27-24 home victory against No. 18 UCF. This helped Cincinnati to a No.

Gardner, now a star with the New York Jets, jumped a Dillon Gabriel pass and returned the pick 16 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. UCF committed four turnovers on the night, ending its 31-game streak of at least 30 points - the longest such scoring run in the FBS since 1936. Cincinnati, meanwhile, ended a string of 13 straight home defeats to ranked opponents. The Knights were No. 18 in the poll at the time. Michael Warren ran for a game-high 133 yards, and his 61-yard weave through the UCF secondary set up Desmond Ridder's 11-yard TD pass to Alec Pierce to give Cincinnati a two-score, fourth-quarter lead. Ridder iced the game with a fourth-and-one sneak in the final minute.

2020: Cincinnati 36, UCF 33

Best remembered for: Desmond Ridder accounting for four TDs, keeping Bearcats unbeaten

Ridder torched UCF's defense with his arms and his feet, leading the No. 7 Bearcats to their first - and, to date, only - win at the Bounce House. In 2020, Cincinnati was now undefeated since 2020 Birmingham Bowl, ranking them 7th in the country. He threw for 338 yards, rushed for 57 and accounted for four touchdowns. Cincinnati's tight-end duo of Leonard Taylor and Josh Whyle combined for 11 receptions and 157 yards, scoring once apiece. Darrick Forest's interception of Gabriel set up the Bearcats' go-ahead TD, a 1-yard Ridder dive, with 13:07 left. The Bearcats finished 2020 with a 9-0 regular-season record, falling to Georgia 24-21 in the Peach Bowl. UCF opened with a 14-3 lead in front of a COVID-restricted crowd of 10,668. Marlon Williams had eight receptions for 97 yards and snared two of Gabriel's three touchdown passes.

2021: Cincinnati 56, UCF 21

Best remembered for: Jerome Ford posting a career rushing day for Playoff-bound Bearcats

Cincinnati made history in 2021, becoming the first team outside the Power Five to earn a bid into the College Football Playoff. In 2021, Cincinnati came in the game against UCF ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll. In the end the Bearcats would defeat UCF 56-21. Cincinnati that season finished as the nation's only undefeated team in the regular season, and as the No. Along the way, the Bearcats hammered the Knights in Gus Malzahn's first season on the UCF sidelines. Jerome Ford romped for four touchdowns in the first half as the Bearcats scored 35 unanswered points. He finished with a career-high 189 yards on the ground, and Ridder added 140 passing yards with a TD toss to Pierce. Coby Bryant's pick-six and fourth-quarter runs by Ethan Wright and Evan Prater ensured Cincinnati's first instance of consecutive 50-point performances in program history.

2022: UCF 25, Cincinnati 21

Best remembered for: RJ Harvey's late TD run snapping Cincy's 19-game American win streak

A defensive slugfest between AAC title hopefuls burst into life in the final five minutes with three lead changes. Isaiah Bowser put the Knights in front with a 3-yard Wildcat keeper, but Ryan Montgomery canceled it out with a 39-yard sprint to stun the Bounce House crowd. Tyler Scott's one-handed, two-point conversion grab put the Bearcats up 21-18. Mikey Keene, who entered in place of the injured John Rhys Plumlee (concussion), engineered the winning drive with big completions to Kobe Hudson (18 yards), Ryan O'Keefe (26 yards) and Javon Baker (12 yards). RJ Harvey delivered the winner, spinning off a tackle and strolling backward into the end zone to cap a 17-yard run with 48 seconds left. Malzahn picked up his first top-25 win as UCF coach, and the Knights would add another two weeks later visiting eventual conference champ Tulane.

2023: UCF 28, Cincinnati 26

Best remembered for: Knights achieving first Big 12 win, ending five-game losing streak

The most recent rendition of the UCF-Cincinnati rivalry was a battle to avoid the Big 12 basement. In 2023, the first-ever Big 12 matchup, UCF defeated Cincinnati 28-26 through a game-winning onside kick. Both teams entered November 2023 with identical 0-5 records in their new league, though both also finished the season with top-10 FBS rushing offenses. Harvey again proved one of the day's difference-makers, setting a new career-high at the time with 164 yards and three touchdowns. Harvey helped the Knights stake a 28-20 lead by scoring from the 1 with 2:41 left in regulation, but the Bearcats responded with an easy five-play, 75-yard drive into the end zone. Emory Jones connected three times with Braden Smith, including a key 37-yard pass to set up Corey Kiner's 6-yard TD run.

Game Results



No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score
1	October 31, 2015	Cincinnati, OH	Cincinnati	52-7
2	November 12, 2016	Orlando, FL	UCF	24-3
3	October 7, 2017α	Cincinnati, OH	No. 25 UCF	51-23
4	November 17, 2018	Orlando, FL	No. 11 UCF	38-13
5	October 4, 2019	Cincinnati, OH	Cincinnati	27-24
6	November 21, 2020	Orlando, FL	No. 7 Cincinnati	36-33
7	October 16, 2021	Cincinnati, OH	No. 3 Cincinnati	56-21
8	October 29, 2022	Orlando, FL	UCF	25-21
9	November 4, 2023	Orlando, FL	UCF	28-26

Nippert Stadium: A Historic Ground

UC has played at the same site since 1901, making Carson Field the second-oldest playing site in the nation for college football - behind only Penn’s Franklin Field. Arch Carson, as team captain, helped start football at UC in 1885 and in 1901 as physical director at UC, he led the construction of the field. On Nov. The stadium was named in honor of team captain Jimmy Nippert who died a month after sustaining a spike wound injury during the season-ending clash with Miami (Ohio). His grandfather, James N. Today, Nippert Stadium holds just over 38,000 seats, features more than 1,000 club-level seats and over 50 suites, and sits as a bowl below the surface at the center of campus. The Bearcats boast an all-time record of 363-200-13 (.641) at Nippert Stadium since its dedication on Nov.

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