The Davis Rankings

Just Win! Excuses and Polls are for Losers.

#23 Cincinnati

Big 12Follow Cincinnati@GoBearcatsFB@gobearcatsfbFollow the Big 12@Big12Conference

2-2 in Big 12 play, T-7th in the Big 12

Up 52 spots (#75 to #23) after a home win over #5 Texas Tech (37-24). An upset: Cincinnati entered with 52.2 TDR points to Texas Tech's 91.1. Now 5-2. TDR score +19.0: win/loss record +2.6, opponent record at game time +0.5.

Trophy case

1 award in 2026 · Every award winner
Moving In, week 8, 2026
Tap or hover a sticker for the award and week.
  • Moving In ×1
Award history, Cincinnati, 2026
AwardWeekWhy
Moving InWeek 8Biggest rank rise of the week

2026 season recap (through week 8)

Cincinnati (Big 12) is ranked 23rd in The Davis Rankings after week 8 of 2026, with a record of 5-2 and a score of 71.2 out of 100. That is up 52 from week 7. That puts it in the Winning tier (ranks 1-25). Its strongest factor is recent results (100.0 out of 100). Its weakest is opponent record at game time (65.0 out of 100).

The highest-ranked opponent beaten so far came in week 8, 37-24 over #39 Texas Tech at home. The loss that stings most in the formula is the week 7 loss, 45-42 to #42 West Virginia on the road.

On the road it is 0-2. The average margin is +9.0 points per game, with a biggest win of 52 points. 3 of 7 games were decided by a touchdown or less.

Cincinnati is not ranked in the AP, Coaches, or CFP polls this week, while the Davis Rankings has it 23rd.

Next up is #3 Utah in week 9, at home. The toughest game left on the schedule by current rank is week 9 against #3 Utah. 1 of the 5 games left are against teams currently in the top 25.

Schedule

WeekOpponentResult
1Boston College (home)W 34-15
2Western Carolina (home)W 62-10
3Miami (OH) (home)W 35-31
4Kansas State (home, conference game)W 31-26
5Arizona (away, conference game)L 7-34
7West Virginia (away, conference game)L 42-45
8Texas Tech (home, conference game)W 37-24

Upcoming games

WeekOpponentDate
9Utah (home, conference game) (ESPN)
10Houston (away, conference game)Sat Nov 7, time TBD
11Iowa State (away, conference game)Sat Nov 14, time TBD
12Colorado (home, conference game)Sat Nov 21, time TBD
13BYU (away, conference game)Sat Nov 28, time TBD

Ranking history 2026

Now #23, Winning (week 8). Best #12 (week 1). Lowest #75 (week 7). Higher on the chart is a better rank. The shaded bands are rank tiers, with each tier's sticker at its left.

Week 8 TDR #23 (71.2, 5-2) Winning

Winning (ranks 1-25)Feeling Good (ranks 26-50)Character Building (ranks 51-75)#25#50#7512345678WkWinning (ranks 1-25)#23
Week by week
WeekTDRScoreRecordTier
1#1291.51-0-
2#3590.02-0-
3#2690.03-0Feeling Good
4#1590.94-0Winning
5#5761.64-1Character Building
6#5161.54-1Character Building
7#7552.24-2Character Building
8#2371.25-2Winning

Score breakdown

Each factor is scored 0–100, then weighted into the composite score. Full methodology & weights

FactorScore (0-100)
win/loss record71.4
recent results100.0
road-win bonus66.7
opponent record at game time65.0
opponent record today67.6

Something look wrong on this page? Report a data problem. It opens an email with this team and week filled in; if it does not, write to justwin@thedavisrankings.fyi.