Cincinnati·American Athletic

2021 — The Top-10 Year

Cincinnati finished 2021 inside the final AP top-10. The top-10 is the tier the program calibrates annual expectation against.

Record 13-1
Final result 13-win season Lost the Cotton Bowl Classic
AP final #4 post-bowls
SP+ +8.0 last-week
Era —
The shape of the season · week by week, cumulative W-L below
W vs Miam (OH 49-14 W vs Murr Sta 42-7 W @ Indiana 38-24 W @ ND 24-13 W vs Temple 52-3 W vs UCF 56-21 W @ Navy 27-20 W @ Tulane 31-12 W vs Tulsa 28-20 W @ Sout Flo 45-28 W vs SMU 48-14 W @ East Car 35-13 W vs Houston 35-20 L @ Alabama 6-27 Bowl

Who carried it

Season leaders, 2021.

Defining moments
The statement

The 2021 season's largest margin: Cincinnati 52, Temple 3. A 49-point win — the year's high-water mark.

The setback

The season's deepest loss: Cincinnati 6, Alabama 27. A 21-point margin the season is remembered by.

The postseason

The season's last act: Cincinnati fell to Alabama 6-27 in the postseason.

"Go Bearcats"
— Cincinnati fanbase voice · 2021· synthesized
What it meant

2021 is a middle chapter for Cincinnati — neither a crown year nor a crisis. It is the kind of season that fills the ledger between the named ones and gives the arc its shape.