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Cincinnati Set for AutoZone Liberty Bowl Matchup vs. No. 22 Navy

The Bearcats and Midshipmen will face off on Jan. 2 in Memphis at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. UC is making its 23rd bowl appearance in school history.

Watch on ESPN Game Notes (PDF)
Cincinnati Set for AutoZone Liberty Bowl Matchup vs. No. 22 NavyCincinnati Set for AutoZone Liberty Bowl Matchup vs. No. 22 Navy
Daionwalker

CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati football team will wrap up its 2025 season in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis on Friday, Jan. 2 vs. No. 22 Navy.

The 23rd bowl game in program history will be the final game of a season that saw the Bearcats return to the national Top 25 rankings, capture the biggest home win in several seasons, and add two wins to its total from a season ago.

The Liberty Bowl will also be the last time many players wear the C-Paw, including three-time team captain Gavin Gerhardt. The Xenia, Ohio native and longtime Bearcat has anchored the offensive line for the last several seasons, but Friday’s game will be his last one in a Cincinnati uniform.

“I’m not going to take it for granted, that’s for sure,” Gerhardt said. “Who knows how many opportunities I have left in my football career, but this will be my last opportunity here. This place is really special to me and I’m going to try and make sure we go out the right way.”

Cincinnati’s offensive line has been one of the team’s strengths this season, and all five starters will be suiting up to face the Midshipmen in Memphis.

Led by Gerhardt and All-American guard Evan Tengesdahl, the offensive line has allowed just seven sacks and 39 tackles for loss this year, figures that rank second and third nationally, respectively. The offensive line has paved the way for Cincinnati’s high-powered offense that ranks second in the country in yards per carry (5.90) and sixth nationally in yards per play (7.13).

Earlier this month, Tengesdahl, left tackle Joe Cotton, and right guard Taran Tyo jointly announced their intentions to return for the 2026 season.

The O-Line will have the tough task of dealing with Navy’s All-American nose guard Landon Robinson, who has recorded 58 tackles, 8.5 TFL, and 6.5 sacks this season. Behind the play of Robinson and their triple option offense, the Midshipmen have had a terrific season are looking to tie a program record with their 11th win.

Cincinnati and Navy were American Athletic Conference foes from 2015-23, and Gerhardt was with the program during the previous two meetings. The Bearcats may have won those two games, but he knows all too well the challenge that Navy can present on the gridiron.

“That’s one thing we have to do, is keep them off the field,” Gerhardt said. “They’re a very physical, hard-nosed football team, like a lot of the teams we’ve played this year. If we go out there and focus on the details we can get a win.”

BROADCAST INFORMATION

The game will be broadcast on ESPN with Mike Monaco (play-by-play) and Kirk Morrison (analyst) on the call and Dawn Davenport reporting from the sidelines. The game will be broadcast on radio via 700 WLW and SiriusXM Channel 83 with Dan Hoard (pxp) and Tony Pike (analyst) on the call.

CINCINNATI FACES #22 NAVY AT AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL IN MEMPHIS, TENN.

  • The Cincinnati football team will play in its 23rd bowl game in school history when it faces No. 22-ranked Navy in the 67th annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Friday, Jan. 2, at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
  • The Bearcats hold a 10-12 record in bowl games and will be making their first bowl appearance since the 2022 Fenway Bowl. UC also recently appeared in the 2021 College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Cotton Bowl Classic and the 2020 Peach Bowl.
  • Cincinnati was ranked as high as No. 17 in the nation this season after winning seven straight games following a season-opening loss to Nebraska. The Bearcats lost four straight to end the regular season, however. Navy marks the fourth ranked opponent in the last five games for UC.
  • Led by Second Team All-Big 12 QB Brendan Sorsby (36 total touchdowns) and First Team All-Big 12 LB Jake Golday (105 tackles), the Bearcats continued their upward trajectory under third-year head coach Scott Satterfield in their third year in the Big 12. Cincinnati has improved from three wins in 2023 to five wins in 2024 to seven victories so far in 2025.
  • Season highlights included a 38-30 victory over No. 14/12 Iowa State on Oct. 4 — the highest-ranked win at Nippert Stadium in 19 years — and a 37-34 comeback victory at Kansas, which included a game-winning drive in the final minutes. UC also picked up a 41-20 win over Baylor in which the defense held the nation’s top passing attack to just 137 yards through the air.
  • UC is second in the nation in fourth-down conversion percentage (76.19%; 16 of 21).
  • ESPN rates Cincinnati as the nation’s 10th-most efficient offense.

OFFENSIVE LINE LEADS THE WAY

  • Cincinnati’s offensive line has been among the best in the nation and the Big 12 this season, and all five starters will play in the Liberty Bowl. Led by four-year starter and three-time team captain Gavin Gerhardt, the offensive line was named a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award this fall as UC led the Big 12 and finished fifth in the nation in yards per play (7.13) and No. 2 nationally in yards per rush (5.90). The Bearcats have allowed only 7.0 sacks and 39.0 TFLs this season - both No. 2 in the nation.
  • Gerhardt will make his 49th career start in the Liberty Bowl, which will be the third-most starts in UC history and the most starts at center ever. The Xenia, Ohio, native got engaged this fall. He collected All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors in 2025 and 2023.
  • Redshirt sophomore left guard Evan Tengesdahl, redshirt junior left tackle Joe Cotton and redshirt junior right guard Taran Tyo all announced on Dec. 18 that they will return to Cincinnati next season, giving the Bearcats one of the nation’s best offensive lines. All three have earned all-conference honors in their careers.
  • Tengesdahl collected AP Third Team All-America honors this fall giving offensive line coach Nic Cardwell and the Bearcats three straight seasons of All-American offensive linemen. Tengesdahl joined Luke Kandra (2023-2024) as All-Americans. Tengesdahl, a Dayton, Ohio, native, ranked as the nation’s No. 4 guard per PFF (85.0) in his first year as a starter, earning All-Big 12 First Team honors from the AP and Second Team accolades from the league’s coaches. He had the highest run block grade (89.5) of any guard in the country per PFF.
  • Cotton snagged All-Big 12 Second Team honors from the coaches after transferring from South Dakota, where he was an all-league and FCS All-American. Tyo emerged as a standout this fall after transferring from Ball State, where he was All-MAC.

ALLEN CHASING HISTORY

  • Senior wide receiver Cyrus Allen may be the most underrated wide receiver in the country. A transfer from Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech, Allen leads the Big 12 and is tied for first among P4 players with 12 TD receptions this season.
  • He is one TD catch away from tying the school record of 13 set by Marcus “Bones” Barnett in 2007.
  • The charismatic Allen is wearing “13” in practice to motivate himself leading up to the game, but will remain in “4” for the bowl.
  • Allen has 49 receptions for 665 yards and 12 TDs this season. His best game was a 3-TD performance at Oklahoma State.

LAST TIME AT LIBERTY BOWL

  • Cincinnati defeated Vanderbilt, 31-24, in the 2011 Liberty Bowl behind a 149-yard rushing performance from running back Isaiah Pead, who was named the game’s MVP, and quarterback Zach Collaros, who returned to start after surgery on his broken ankle 47 days before. Ralph David Abernathy IV’s 90-yard kickoff return gave the Bearcats the lead in the fourth quarter. Future NFL stars Travis Kelce and Derek Wolfe also played in the game.

NAVY MATCHUP

  • UC and Navy are tied at 3-3 in the all-time series, with the Bearcats taking the last three (2018, 2021, 2022).
  • The Midshipmen (10-2, 8-1 AAC) are ranked No. 22 in the AP poll and No. 25 in the Coaches Poll. Navy lost only to North Texas and top-10 Notre Dame, and closed out the regular season with a 17-16 victory over Army.
  • Navy leads the nation in rushing, tallying 289.3 yards per game at a 5.85 yards per carry clip with a nation’s best 39 rushing TDs.
  • The Midshipmen are tied for second nationally with the Bearcats in TFLs allowed (39.0) and rank third in sacks allowed (9.0).
  • QB Blake Horvath (Hilliard, Ohio native) has rushed for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. He has rushed for 1,147 yards and 15 TDs in 2025. Navy senior nose guard Landon Robinson (Fairlawn, Ohio) collected First Team All-America honors this fall.
  • In the last matchup between the programs, UC held Navy to just 176 rushing yards on 53 carries in a 20-10 win at Nippert Stadium on Nov. 5, 2022. QB Ben Bryant threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns to WR Tyler Scott. LB Ivan Pace Jr. totaled 15 tackles, three TFLs, two sacks and one forced fumble in one of the best games of his career.

BEARCATS BY THE NUMBERS

  • Cincinnati, which started playing football in 1885, is in its 138th season and owns an all-time record of 674-620-50 (.520).
  • The Bearcats hold a record of 121-68 (64%) over the last 15 years (since 2011), which is the second-best winning percentage among current Big 12 programs during the span.
  • Over the last 15 years, UC has tallied five 10-win seasons, five conference championships and appeared in 11 bowl games, including two NY6 bowls and the 2021 College Football Playoff.
  • Cincinnati has seen a player drafted to the NFL for 10 straight years, and current NFL stars include Indianapolis Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner and wide receiver Alec Pierce, as well as future Hall of Famer and Kansas City Chiefs legend tight end Travis Kelce and Seattle Seahawks defensive back Coby Bryant.