Williams: 'Positivity' and 'vibe' aren't cutting it with Cincinnati Bearcats football

Things apparently are all good with the University of Cincinnati football program.

Nothing to see here, folks. The Bearcats “live in positivity," and being hardcore competitive is the “vibe of our building.”

That's what UC athletic director John Cunningham offered up this week in the wake of the Bearcats’ embarrassing, 28-27 meltdown loss to Pittsburgh last Saturday at Nippert Stadium.

It was Cunningham’s way of giving second-year coach Scott Satterfield and his program a vote of confidence as the losses mount and fans continue to grumble that the athletic director made a bad hire.

Let's get this straight: Satterfield needs and deserves more time. But the deadline to determine whether it's going to work may need to be moved up after last weekend's debacle.

Ideally, Satterfield should get the rest of this year and the 2025 season. But this season isn't heading in the right direction, and you have to wonder what'll happen if the Bearcats only win three games again. Because "positivity" and "vibe" aren't cutting it with the fanbase.

All the momentum UC had going into the Big 12 Conference last season is long gone. UC football, one of the hottest brands in the sport just a few years ago, has become uninteresting. Irrelevancy could be right around the corner in the NIL and transfer-portal era, and college football is no longer a sport built on process and patience.

The Bearcats have been terrible at Nippert Stadium under Satterfield. They're hardly getting any high school players from talent-rich Greater Cincinnati. And their coach blamed the officiating after UC blew a 21-point lead in the second half against Pittsburgh.

Never mind the officials throwing flags.

Satterfield should be concerned about all the red flags popping up around his program.

Cincinnati Bearcats' record at Nippert Stadium under Scott Satterfield

The Bearcats are 0-7 vs. big-time opponents at Nippert Stadium since Satterfield arrived from Louisville. Besides UC's inaugural Big 12 game against then-No. 16 Oklahoma a year ago, it’s not exactly been a murderers’ row of bluebloods to come through The Nipp. Miami University, Iowa State, Baylor, Central Florida, Kansas, Pittsburgh.

The Miami loss last season was inexcusable. The Bearcats squandered a fourth-quarter lead against a rival program UC had previously beaten 16 straight times. UC goes to Miami this Saturday, and no one should be surprised if the Victory Bell remains in Oxford for another year.

Nonetheless, Satterfield deserves a break for last season. UC was moving up to a big-boy league after Luke Fickell had taken the program to heights it’d never reached before and probably never will again. UC was bound to take a step back, though it shouldn't have backslid as far as 3-9.

Cincinnati Bearcats aren't landing local high school football recruits

It should be alarming that UC is no longer getting any of the top high school recruits from talent-rich Greater Cincinnati. UC football has signed just one area high school player under Satterfield, according to Rivals.com. It has 17 verbal commitments for the 2025 recruiting class. None of them are from Greater Cincinnati high schools.

You can say high school recruits don't matter as much in the transfer portal era. But when UC has been at its best in the past 20 years – particularly under Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly, Butch Jones and Fickell – it was getting a decent number of players from Greater Cincinnati. UC fans have always cared about the Bearcats getting hometown guys, and in fairness, Satterfield has gotten some to come home via the transfer portal.

Satterfield's complaints about the officiating shouldn't be dismissed, either. Blaming the officials is a lame excuse, especially after blowing a 27-6 lead. It’s a sign the head coach could be starting to feel the heat and looking to deflect blame.

UC fans deserve better. They're doing their part. They're supporting the name, image, likeness fund. They're still filling up Nippert Stadium.

If things don't change, though, gotta wonder how much longer they're going to show up.

Contact columnist Jason Williams at jwilliams@enquirer.com

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats football fans deserve more from Scott Satterfield