Cincinnati Opens 2026 Season at Home vs. Boston College

CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati football team begins its 139^th season of competition on Saturday, hosting Boston College at 3:30 p.m.

The action inside Historic Nippert Stadium will be televised nationally on FOX.

Cincinnati will begin its season against a Power Four opponent for the second straight year after last year’s battle vs. Nebraska at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. When it comes to the battle between the Bearcats and Eagles, this Saturday’s game will be the ninth matchup all-time. The series is tied at 4-4 with UC taking the last one, a 38-6 win in the 2019 Birmingham Bowl.

The Bearcats are entering their fourth season under head coach Scott Satterfield, who has increased the program’s win total by two each of the last two seasons. He will lead a squad that features 51 newcomers, 26 via the transfer portal and 25 freshmen. Cincinnati’s initial two-deep features 20 portal additions, including starting quarterback JC French IV (Georgia Southern), All-MAC safety MJ Cannon (Bowling Green), HBCU All-American edge rusher Thomas Johnson (NC Central), and running back and Cincinnati native Gi’Bran Payne (Notre Dame).

Boston College is entering the third year of the Bill O’Brien era and is coming off a 2-10 campaign in 2025. After boasting a passing attack that ranked in the Top 20 nationally a year ago, the Eagles will put Saginaw Valley State transfer Mason McKenzie under center this year. McKenzie was named the GLIAC Player of the Year last year and accounted for nearly 6,000 total yards in 25 career games.

The Bearcats will not leave the city of Cincinnati at all in the month of September. In addition to home games against BC, Western Carolina (Sept. 12), and Kansas State (Sept. 26), the Bearcats will face the rival Miami RedHawks at TQL Stadium on Sept. 19.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

The game will be broadcast on FOX with Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Devin Gardner (analyst) on the call and Josh Sims reporting from the sidelines. The game will be broadcast on radio via 700 WLW and SiriusXM Channel 176 or 237 with Dan Hoard (pxp) and Tony Pike (analyst) on the call.

SINGLE-GAME TICKET AND SEASON TICKET INFORMATION
University of Cincinnati football season and single-game tickets for the 2026 season are now on sale.

All UC fans are encouraged to purchase single game tickets through Account Manager. Visit this link to sign in/sign up to Bearcats Account Manager, which will help avoid any additional fees when purchasing tickets. Read our FAQs HERE on how to sign in/sign up for Bearcats Account Manager. Please contact the Bearcats Ticket Office at 877-CATS-TIX for more information.

DOWN THE DRIVE: C-PAW FIRST & 10

1. The Bearcats enter its home opener second nationally with a 24-year home opener win streak that began in 2002, the only program with a longer active streak is Oklahoma State with 30. Note, last year the Bearcats opened the season with a loss to Nebraska at Arrowhead Stadium before winning their home opener at Nippert vs. Bowling Green.
2. UC has also won 18 of its last 21 season openers with the only losses last year to Nebraska, a loss to No. 22 Arkansas in 2022, and a loss at Fresno State in 2010.
3. Dating back to 2015, Cincinnati is 8-5 against power-conference teams in non-conference play. Included in those victories are Miami, Purdue, UCLA (twice), Indiana (twice), No. 9 Notre Dame and Pittsburgh.
4. Cincinnati has won its last three season opening games played at home vs. power conference opponents (UCLA, 2019; Purdue, 2013; and Pittsburgh, 2012).
5. Since 2020, Cincinnati has enjoyed a 28-12 home record at Nippert Stadium, good for 30th best in the nation.
6. Led by preseason All-America left guard Evan Tengesdahl, a senior from Dayton, Cincinnati’s offensive line will be among the nation’s best. Tengesdahl was PFF’s highest-rated guard in the Big 12, a Third Team AP All-American and a First Team All-Big 12 selection in 2025. He was ranked No. 26 overall on the PFF College 50, entering 2026 as the No. 1-rated returning guard in the country (85.4 grade).
7. All-Big 12 left tackle Joe Cotton and center Taran Tyo return as well, giving UC its top linemen back from a unit that allowed the fewest sacks (8) and tackles for loss (43) among Power Four teams in 2025. Tyo started at right guard a season ago and will kick in to center this season.
8. Quarterback JC French IV arrives bringing 26 career starts and 45 total touchdowns over the last two seasons at Georgia Southern, where he became the program’s all-time leading passer.
9. Fifth-year seniors Jonathan Thompson and Antwan Peek Jr. anchor the defensive returners. Thompson led UC with 8.5 TFLs and 74 tackles a season ago. Peek Jr., an All-Big 12 honorable mention selection and Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist, is tied for second in school history with six forced fumbles.
10. The Bearcats held its preseason camp on campus at Nippert Stadium and at the 134-million Sheakley Indoor Performance Center which opened in summer of 2025, ending a 27-year run of traveling to Higher Ground Retreat Center in West Harrison, Indiana.

SATTERFIELD, BEARCATS CONTINUE UPWARD TRAJECTORY

• Cincinnati has improved by two wins each season under Satterfield, climbing from 3-9 in its first Big 12 season to 5-7 in Year 2 and 7-6 in 2025, including the first bowl appearance as a Power Four school.
• The Bearcats opened 2025 at 7-1 and climbed as high as No. 17 in the AP Poll, showing clear progress for the second straight year despite a late-season slide. The season featured a 38-30 win over No. 14 Iowa State, UC’s highest-ranked home victory since 2006, and also featured the Bearcats playing November games where ESPN College Gameday and FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff were on site.

BEARCATS MATCHUP HISTORY VS. BOSTON COLLEGE & THE ACC

• UC and BC enter with the all-time series tied, 4-4, having last played in 2020 (a 38-6 Cincinnati win in the Birmingham Bowl).
• This marks the schools' first regular-season matchup since 1997.
• BC enters 2026 coming off a 2-10 overall record and a 1-7 ACC mark in 2025.
• Cincinnati holds a 63–68–1 (.481) all-time record across 132 meetings against current ACC programs.
• Cincinnati's last win over an ACC opponent was a 27-21 win over Pittsburgh in 2023.
• Cincinnati is 3–2 against ACC opponents since 2018 (or 8–2 against current ACC members, including a 5–0 mark vs. SMU when both schools were in the American Conference).

VETERAN COORDINATOR NATE WOODY TO RESHAPE DEFENSE

• Defensive coordinator Nate Woody joins Cincinnati following the departure of Tyson Veidt. The Bearcats will return to a more aggressive 3-4 defense.
• Woody served as Satterfield’s coordinator during Appalachian State’s rise and spent the last six seasons at Army, where his defenses led the nation in total defense in 2020, finished in the top 15 nationally three times and paced the American Conference the last two years

WELCOME 51 NEW FACES, INCLUDING 26 TRANSFERS

• Cincinnati adds 26 transfers and 25 scholarship freshmen in 2026.
• UC has a strong record of identifying undervalued portal talent, including QB Brendan Sorsby (Indiana), LB Jake Golday (Central Arkansas), TE Joe Royer (Ohio State) and WR Cyrus Allen (Texas A&M).
• Key transfers for 2026 include QB JC French (All-Sun Belt, Georgia Southern), RB Cole Tabb (Stanford), Edge Thomas Johnson (12 sacks, HBCU All-American), S MJ Cannon (All-MAC, Bowling Green) and LB Filip Maciorowski (87 tackles at NIU).
• The portal class ranked No. 7 in the Big 12 and 41st nationally according to 247 Sports.

NIPPERT STADIUM, OUR HISTORIC HOME

• 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 led the construction of the field.
• Since the start of 2015, Cincinnati is 50-21 at Nippert Stadium and 115-39 since 2000. Cincinnati's 115 wins since 2000 at home rank 28th most in the country over than span.