Cincinnati Bearcats Football: 8 Opponents We'd Love to See on Future Schedules

The Cincinnati Bearcats are coming off their worst season since 2005.

After a near-perfect 12-1 campaign in 2009, the 'Cats sputtered a 4-8 record in '10. Although they had the No. 1 offense in the Big East, their defense allowed 28 points per game and ranked last in every major statistical category in the conference.

Head coach Butch Jones is on the hot seat now.

Cincinnati will make trips to play the Tennessee Volunteers and its usual matchup against the crosstown rival Miami RedHawks. It also has home games against the Akron Zips, Austin Peay Governors and the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

The Bearcats will play seven conference games.

Cincinnati is 45-20 in its last five seasons. It is 20-6 against non-conference opponents in that time—the Bearcats have played their fair share of power football teams, including Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Fresno State, Oklahoma and Oregon State.

They've already begun to think about the future—UC will play teams such as Ohio State, Virginia Tech, San Diego State, Purdue, Illinois, Air Force and Miami (FL) throughout the 2012-15 seasons.

There's no doubt that the University of Cincinnati isn't afraid to put great opponents on its schedule.

It's had success too—the 'Cats have made an appearance in a BCS bowl in two of their last three seasons.

There's still plenty of time to find schools to build future strength of schedule with plenty of voids to fill. Here are eight teams the Bearcats would love to play down the road.

Nothing comes close to the Golden Coast.

And the San Jose State Spartans rarely come close to winning football games.

The Spartans are 9-28 in their last three seasons and are currently on a 10-game losing streak. They were last (0-8) in the WAC last year, right behind the dreadful New Mexico State Aggies.

San Jose State seems to be the latest trend for powerhouse teams to warm up on early in the regular season. The Spartans have been pummeled by opponents such as Alabama, Wisconsin, Southern California, Stanford and Nebraska since 2008—SJSU is 0-6 in those games and has been outscored 231-59.

Why not take a trip to the West Coast, enjoy some nice weather and pick up an easy W in the process?

Everyone else seems to be doing it.

Talk about your perfect matchup.

East Carolina is coming off a 6-7 season in which it lost to Maryland in the Military Bowl. The Pirates were top-10 in the nation with the passing attack (318.7 yards per game) and scored an average of over 36 points.

However, they ranked No. 119 out of 120 FBS schools on the defensive side of the ball, allowing a whopping 44 points per contest. ECU was downright awful against the pass and allowed over 49 points six times, including a 76-35 loss against Navy.

Do these problems sound familiar? Well, they should.

East Carolina vs. Cincinnati would be a fun game to watch. Of course, I would expect the Bearcats to come out on top by at least 10 points. This is due to the fact that ECU ranked No. 99 with the rushing attack. UC has tended to struggle against the ground game in years past, and this would easily be the deciding factor.

Cincinnati seems to have a special infatuation with the Big Ten.

The Bearcats have played five Big Ten teams since 2002 and currently have six upcoming games against Ohio State, Purdue and Illinois within the 2012-15 seasons.

So what's one more?

Football has been on the rise ever since Pat Fitzgerald took the helm for Northwestern. The program has greatly improved since 2006, and hype surrounds the team for what may be a great 2011 season.

The Kentucky Wildcats have beaten the Bearcats 24 times out of 35 attempts, winning by an average score of 44-36. Kentucky has won the last 15 games dating back to their last loss in 1939.

Oh wait, that's basketball?

Well, hey, it's never too late to start up a new football rivalry.

Kentucky went 6-7 in 2010 and finished fifth in the SEC East. The offense didn't have too many problems putting points on the board, but the defense struggled, allowing 28.4 points per game.

The Wildcats are 1-8 against ranked opponents during the past three seasons and have lost by an average score of 34-22.

This would be a great time to begin a rivalry series.

Who doesn't love a shootout?

Texas Tech has scored an average of 37.5 points per game dating back to 2004. It has scored over 50 points 19 times in that span.

The Red Raiders have not been shut out since their 29-0 loss in 1997.

The Bearcats offense has been excellent as of late as well—UC has scored just over 30 points per contest in its last three seasons and has outscored opponents 1,189 to 878 during this time.

I would pay good money to see this matchup. Two high-scoring offenses with two subpar defenses battling it out on the scoreboard.

A fight for the last possession.

All right, so maybe this is one that the Chippewas would love to have on their schedule.

It seems like any time Central Michigan begins to find success, Cincinnati swoops its coach away for its own taking.

Brian Kelly went from last to first in three years as CMU's head coach, combining for 19 wins and 16 losses.

Butch Jones did much of the same, building off Kelly's recruits and compiling a 27-13 record before departing for Cincinnati.

The Chippewas went 3-9 last season. It may be safe to say Cincinnati will look elsewhere if filling a coaching spot is needed after 2011.

I'm sure the 'Cats wouldn't mind adding CMU to their future schedule. They've taken anything good that's come from it, so why not take a W and add it to the win column?

The Buckeyes are on Cincinnati's future schedules, but I'm sure the Bearcats are just itchin' to get to that point.

Turmoil has surrounded Columbus, and questions linger with whether or not scholarships will be taken away from Luke Fickell's Buckeyes. Cincinnati is quietly awaiting the chance to become Ohio's No. 1 team.

Who knows what will happen within the next year? But come September 8, 2012, everyone will find out.

You could ask any Bearcats fan who is No. 1 on their hit list, and they'll all tell you the same thing:

Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Kelly was appointed at Cincinnati in 2006, where he immediately began a winning tradition by getting a victory in the first game he coached—the International Bowl.

He completely turned around what was an average program (at best) in just three years. During his reign as the Bearcats' head coach, Kelly won 34 games against just six losses.

Cincinnati came up with a 12-0 record in 2009 and was invited to play in the Sugar Bowl versus Urban Meyer's Florida Gators.

This is when rumors of Kelly's interest of Notre Dame began.

He repeatedly stated that he would not leave his Bearcats team and loved his job in Cincinnati.

However, on December 11—just two weeks before the Sugar Bowl—Kelly blindsided UC to become Charlie Weis' replacement at Notre Dame.

The Bearcats ended up losing to Florida 51-24. Although the final score was pretty decisive, many blamed the loss on Kelly's abrupt "abandonment" of the University of Cincinnati.

Kelly seemingly has resurrected the Fighting Irish in just one season. In 2010 Notre Dame won eight games for the first time since 2006. It's looking to improve on that this year—Kelly signed seven ESPN Top 150 athletes for the class of 2011, and the Irish are No. 9 overall in recruiting rankings.

There's no doubt Cincinnati would love a shot to sucker-punch Brian Kelly in the mouth and beat his Notre Dame Fighting Irish.