The AutoZone Liberty Bowl/Cincinnati Preview

I love the Liberty Bowl. I never missed it as a kid. While it didn’t always fall on New Year’s Eve, I especially liked it when it did. You keep your Dick Clark and Times Square. Give me Illinois and ECU in Memphis.

Of course, I’m a fan of bowl season in general, so you won’t find a bowl game I don’t like. But even among the numerous contests that make up college football’s postseason, the Liberty Bowl has always stood out to me because of its history. The game was an innovator; among other things, it was the first bowl game in a cold-weather city (Philadelphia) and, in 1964, the first to be played indoors (in Atlantic City).

More importantly, as the seventh-oldest bowl game, the Liberty Bowl is a throwback. Most modern bowl games are made-for-TV enterprises, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But the Liberty Bowl, with its first game in 1959, is from an era when bowl games were about local promoters teaming up with local businesses to generate tourism at an otherwise slow time of year. When you talk to the game’s organizers, it’s clear how they see it as a showcase for Memphis. In fact, that’s still front and center in the game’s mission statement. The game takes itself seriously as something more than just TV inventory or a corporate billboard, and that attitude translates to a different kind of feeling on the field and in the week leading up to it.

I knew of Navy’s 1981 appearance in the Liberty Bowl (and actually have a partial recording of it), but given how college football was reshaping itself, I never thought it would happen again. So when I walked into the press box at what is now called Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium back in 2019, and I looked out onto the field to see N-A-V-Y spelled out in those iconic red, white, and blue end zones, I was elated. Seeing the Mids hold the Liberty Bell trophy afterward was icing on the cake. We’ve seen a lot of “not since” Navy football moments over the last 25 years, but the “not since 1981” of the Liberty Bowl was one of my favorites.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait 38 years for another appearance. The 22nd-ranked Mids are headed back to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl to take on another Big 12 opponent. This time, it’s the 7-5 Cincinnati Bearcats.

Traditionally, one of the draws of bowl season is getting matchups that you would rarely see otherwise. That isn’t the case here, with Navy and Cincinnati sharing the same conference from 2015-2022. The two schools met four times as members of the American, with Navy’s lone win in that span coming in 2017. As the Mids were hitting their down years in the conference, Cincinnati was hitting its stride. The Bearcats won back-to-back league titles in 2020 and 2021, rising as high as #2 in the polls and getting selected to the four-team Playoff in ’21. After losing Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC, the Big 12 needed a credibility boost, making Cincinnati an obvious choice. The Bearcats joined their new conference in 2023.

With the change in league, though, came a change of fortune. At the end of their run in the American, Cincinnati was a top-25 regular and fringe national contender. In their first two years in the Big 12, they were a combined 8-17.

The head coach during the glory years, Luke Fickell, left for Wisconsin in 2022 after having been rumored for Big Ten coaching jobs for years. New head coach Scott Satterfield is very well respected, having first guided Appalachian State from FCS to FBS with three 10-win seasons, then leading Louisville to three bowl games in four years (including one over Cincinnati). However, he faces a challenge that his predecessor did not. His arrival in Cincinnati coincided with the NIL and portal becoming more dominant, and the Bearcats have struggled to match the NIL heft of other Big 12 programs. That makes retaining talent and growing a program more difficult.

To Satterfield’s credit, though, he has his team moving in the right direction. After improving from 3-9 in year one to 5-7 in year two, Cincinnati continued to make steady progress, breaking through for a winning season and a bowl berth in 2025. The Bearcats had the season that many thought Navy was destined for, racing to a 7-1 start and peaking at #17 in the AP poll before losing four straight against a brutal November schedule. Still, even with the slide at the end, Cincinnati has taken a step forward this season, and at their best, they present a difficult test for the Mids.

Offensively, Cincinnati is one of the fastest-paced teams in the country. They average 24.2 seconds per play, which isn’t USF-speed, but still in the top 25 in that category. As with any high-tempo offense, the pace forces defenses to simplify, since complex calls and on-field adjustments after the call become more challenging. In Cincinnati’s case, that has led to explosive plays. They are last in FBS in time of possession by a large margin, at only 23:53 per game. Yet they are still in the top 30 in total offense, averaging 421.3 yards per game. In the Big 12, the Bearcats are second only to Texas Tech in plays of 20+ yards.

But what sets the Bearcats apart is their balance. On the ground, they’re tied with Oregon for second in the country at 5.9 yards per carry. They’re just as effective through the air, too. With 8.4 yards per passing attempt, Cincinnati is tied for the best in the Big 12, and their 29-5 TD-INT ratio stands alone at the top of the conference. Their 7.13 yards of total offense per play is sixth nationally.

But that’s Cincinnati at its best. The question is how close to their best they will be without quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who has entered the transfer portal and won’t be playing against the Mids. Not only has Sorsby thrown for 2800 yards and 27 touchdowns, but he’s also the team’s second-leading rusher, with 580 yards. His nine rushing touchdowns also lead the team. Running back Tawee Walker has 709 rushing yards, but he also isn’t listed on the depth chart for the Liberty Bowl. Top backup Evan Pryor, with 522 yards, also won’t play. How effective can Cincinnati be without its leading passer and top three rushers?

Maybe better than people expect, with the rest of the offense reportedly suiting up for the game. Walker and Pryor combined for 196 carries, leaving Manny Covey and Zion Johnson to pick up the slack. They saw limited action this season, combining for only 31 carries. However, their combined average of 6.54 yards per carry is a testament to how good Cincinnati’s offensive line is. Anchored by four-year starter Gavin Gerhardt and All-American guard Evan Tengesdahl, the Bearcats’ line has allowed only 7.0 sacks and 39.0 TFLs this season, both among the country’s best. They can provide enough time for the Bearcats’ dangerous targets to get open downfield. Tight end Joe Royer is a 6-5, 250-pound NFL prospect, while wide receiver Cyrus Allen leads the Big 12 with 12 TD receptions, only one short of the school record. Fellow receiver Caleb Goodie is sixth in the Big 12 with 16.7 yards per catch.

The pieces are still in place for all the same explosiveness Cincinnati has delivered all season. That just leaves a question at quarterback, and it is indeed a mystery. Both redshirt senior Brady Lichtenberg and redshirt freshman Samaj Jones are expected to play, and they both have compelling stories to tell. Lichtenberg is the loyal stalwart getting a chance to shine in his final game. Jones, on the other hand, would be the first-game-of-next-season choice, giving him an opportunity to show that he can compete with whatever transfer is brought in for 2026. Either way, they both have reasons to be motivated in this game.

What they don’t have is experience, with the two of them combining for only eight passing attempts all season. And I think that lack of game reps needs to be a focus of the Navy defense. One reason Cincinnati’s offensive line has allowed only seven sacks is Sorsby’s instincts and ability to run. Not only can he escape situations that would result in sacks for other quarterbacks, but when you have a quarterback with that kind of running ability, it changes how defenses rush the passer. It often limits aggression, since the goal of the pass rush becomes about containment as much as outright pressure. Do Lichtenberg or Jones have the same X-factor for eluding the pass rush? Navy should try to find out.

The same idea goes for mixing coverages and simulated pressures. The biggest difference for Cincinnati in their November slide has been turnovers. Through October, they were +3 in turnover margin. In the four November games, they were -6. Having less experience at quarterback can’t make that situation better. Giving untested quarterbacks unexpected looks can generate more turnovers, or at least a few drive-ending mistakes. And that’s something the Mids will need. Cincinnati is 23rd in the country with 2.86 points per drive —which is very good — but they’re second in the country in points per drive that start inside their own 20-yard line. The more field they have to work with, the more they stretch defenses, and the better they are.

Even without Sorsby, Navy’s defense will have its hands full. But the same might be said about the Cincinnati defense.

On paper, this is a unit that looks like it’s struggling. The Bearcats have allowed 403 yards per game, which is 100th in the country. They’ve allowed 173 yards per game on the ground, which is 99th nationally. Those figures, though, are a little misleading. When you consider how much this group is on the field —again, Cincinnati is dead last in time of possession — the numbers are pretty decent. On a per-play basis, the Bearcats are middle of the pack, both against the run and overall. A statistically average defense paired with a high-powered offense can be a winning formula.

And for most of the season, it was. The team’s 7-1 start put them in the driver’s seat of the Big 12. But most of those wins came against teams with offenses that just didn’t have the firepower to hang with the Bearcats. Cincinnati is 5-0 against FBS teams with a losing record and 1-5 against teams with a .500 or better record. In their first six FBS games, the average national ranking in total offense of Cincinnati’s opponents was 89.8. Over their last four games, it was 33.5. The defense gave up nearly 473 yards per game in November. The formula no longer worked.

I think there is a reason for that. Many teams with high-tempo offenses prioritize “havoc” elements on defense (TFLs, sacks, forced turnovers), because negative plays are a great way to survive the extra snaps tempo creates. Cincinnati does not. They are 108th nationally in TFLs per game (4.83), 85th in sacks (23), and 121st in turnovers gained (9). Indeed, one of their best wins of the season was their most out-of-character performance. Baylor has a top-20 offense, but Cincinnati handled them, 41-20. In that game, the Bearcats dominated TOP by over 10 minutes, recorded two sacks, and recovered two fumbles, both of which turned into touchdowns the other way.

But I don’t think a sudden change of character toward aggression is likely in this game, mostly because the players they would’ve asked to be aggressive are all opting out. While the Cincinnati offense is mostly intact other than at quarterback, the defense has been decimated. Four of the five secondary starters and two key reserves in the Bearcats’ 3-3-5 scheme are sitting this one out. All-conference defensive tackle Dontay Corleone has also opted out after declaring for the NFL Draft, as has fellow starting lineman Mikah Coleman, who is in the transfer portal. If you want to be aggressive, you have to trust that the players on the back end will do their jobs. With all the unknowns in this game, it’s hard to believe that’s the case with the Cincinnati staff.

One area that isn’t an unknown is at linebacker. Six different players have started at the three linebacker spots for the Bearcats this year, and all six will be on the sideline on Friday. The leader of the group is Jake Golday, listed as the SAM linebacker against Navy but also used at MIKE on occasion. A 6-4, 240-pound redshirt senior, Golday is arguably the best linebacker Navy will face this season. He has 105 tackles and 3.5 sacks this year, along with three PBUs, making plays all over the field. He has five games with at least 10 tackles this season and was named to the All-Big 12 first team. He will undoubtedly be the focal point of the Cincinnati game plan against the Mids.

Of course, that game plan is hard to figure out, since coordinator Tyson Veidt has not had much experience against the option. One coach on the staff who does, though, is linebackers coach Cortney Braswell, who had the same job at Army from 2021-2022. In his press conference at practice two weeks ago, Satterfield mentioned leaning on Braswell’s experience as well as “giving those guys a call up there at Army” to “see if we can find anything out about [Navy] that we don’t already know.” It will be interesting to see how much that Army connection factors into the Cincinnati plan. Braswell never faced Navy with Drew Cronic as offensive coordinator, and we’ve seen how past Navy game plans haven’t worked well against this offense. Army did much better this year, but that’s a plan they’ve been working on for months. Could Cincinnati run it as well after only two weeks of practice? We’ll see if they try.

One clue to the game plan can be found on the depth chart. While Veidt’s base defense is a base 3-3-5 with a hybrid LB/DB position he calls “STAR,” against Navy, they’ll have more of a 3-4 look, with a hybrid LB/DL position he calls “DOG.” The DOG linebacker is Brian Simms III, who is also the backup at MIKE and has one start at that position this year. That may indicate more of an Army-style game plan, but it may also be necessary due to the losses in the secondary. Of the two players who have started at the STAR position, one, Jiquan Sanks, is in the portal, while the other, Antwan Peek Jr., is now at safety.

No matter how Cincinnati lines up, Navy’s offense will be looking to reverse a trend. While the Mids came away with hard-fought wins over Army and Memphis, the offense struggled in both. You could really say that about four out of the last five games, with USF being the one exception. Even a shorthanded Cincinnati offense has the talent to put up points, making it vital for Navy’s offense to find its stride again.

A Liberty Bowl trip to Memphis is a fitting finale for this senior class as they wrap up one career and prepare for the next. With back-to-back 10-win seasons and CIC Trophies to match, this is already one of the best teams, and classes, in Navy’s history. Friday’s game is just to determine how close they get to the head of the table. And for all of us watching, it’s one more chance to appreciate a special season.