2012 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2012 2012 Cincinnati Bearcats football Cincinnati University Bearcats textlogo.svg 250 Big East Conference Big East 22 10–3 5–2 Butch Jones 3rd regular season Steve Stripling interim, bowl game Mike Bajakian 3rd Multiple John Jancek 3rd 4–3 Nippert Stadium Big East co-championLambert-Meadowlands TrophyBelk Bowl champion Belk Bowl W 48–34 vs. Duke The 2012 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati as a member of the Big East Conference during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bearcats, led by third-year head coach Butch Jones, played their home games at Nippert Stadium. They finished the season 10–3 overall and 5–2 in Big East play to place in a four-way tie for the conference championship. Along with Rutgers, Louisville, and Syracuse, the Bearcats were the final football champions of the Big East Conference, as the league's original incarnation folded following the loss of the three former programs and others to different conferences. Cincinnati became a charter member of the American Athletic Conference the following season. The 2012 Cincinnati team was invited to the Belk Bowl where they defeated Duke. At the end of the regular season, Jones resigned to take the same head coaching position at Tennessee. Defensive line coach Steve Stripling was named the interim head coach for the Belk Bowl. Schedule 2012 AP Eastern September 6 8:00 pm w Pittsburgh Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH ESPN River City Rivalry 34–10 33,562 September 15 7:00 pm w y Delaware State Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH ESPN3 23–7 27,112 September 29 3:30 pm w y y Virginia Tech FedExField Landover, MD ESPNU 27–24 46,026 October 6 7:00 pm w y y Miami (OH) Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH Victory Bell FS Ohio 52–14 35,097 October 13 7:00 pm w y 21 Fordham Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH ESPN3 49–17 26,317 October 20 7:00 pm l y y 21 Toledo Glass Bowl Toledo, OH ESPN3 23−29 24,124 October 26 8:00 pm l y Louisville 16 Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY Keg of Nails ESPN 31–34 OT 53,271 November 3 12:00 pm w Syracuse Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH Big East Network 35–24 26,180 November 10 12:00 pm w y Temple Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA Big East Network 34–10 20,192 November 17 12:00 pm l Rutgers 22 Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH Big East Network 3–10 34,526 November 23 7:00 pm w South Florida Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH ESPN 27–10 21,171 December 1 3:30 pm w y Connecticut Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT ABC 34–17 33,112 December 27 6:30 pm w y y Duke Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC Belk Bowl ESPN 48–34 48,128 Game summaries Pittsburgh Panthers 0 0 3 7 Bearcats 14 3 7 10 2012 Pittsburgh Panthers football team Delaware State Hornets 0 0 0 7 Bearcats 13 7 0 3 2012 Delaware State Hornets football team Virginia Tech Hokies 0 7 0 17 Bearcats 3 3 7 14 2012 Virginia Tech Hokies football team Miami (OH) RedHawks 6 8 0 0 Bearcats 14 10 21 7 2012 Miami RedHawks football team Fordham Rams 3 3 8 3 Bearcats 14 0 21 14 2012 Fordham Rams football team @ Toledo #18 Bearcats 0 13 7 3 Rockets 10 6 10 3 2012 Toledo Rockets football team @ Louisville Bearcats 10 7 7 7 0 #14 Cardinals 7 7 3 14 3 2012 Louisville Cardinals football team Syracuse Orange 10 7 7 0 Bearcats 7 7 14 7 2012 Syracuse Orange football team @ Temple Bearcats 14 10 7 3 Owls 3 0 7 0 2012 Temple Owls football team Rutgers Scarlet Knights 0 7 0 3 Bearcats 0 0 0 3 2012 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team South Florida Bulls 0 0 3 7 Bearcats 7 6 7 7 2012 South Florida Bulls football team @ Connecticut Bearcats 7 7 7 13 Huskies 0 10 7 0 2012 Connecticut Huskies football team Duke–Belk Bowl Bearcats 3 14 10 21 Blue Devils 16 0 8 10 2012 Duke Blue Devils football team 2012 Belk Bowl The Bearcats made their first ever appearance in the Belk Bowl and their first ever meeting with Duke. The Blue Devils raced out to an early 16–0 lead in the first quarter after a punt was blocked and recovered for a touchdown. The Bearcats then scored 27 unanswered points capped off by a 46-yard touchdown run by George Winn. The Blue Devils then scored back to back touchdowns to take a 31–27 lead. The Bearcats retook the lead with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Brendan Kay to Chris Moore. The Blue Devils then tied the game with a 52-yard field goal and the game seemed headed to overtime. With under a minute to play TE Travis Kelce took a short pass from Kay and broke several would be tackles in racing 83 yards for the winning score. Insult was added to injury when Nick Temple stripped the ball from Duke QB Sean Renfree and dashed 55 yards with the stolen loaf for a score as time expired. The 48 points is the most points scored by the Bearcats in a bowl game, and would be their largest margin of victory in a bowl game since 1997. This also gave the Bearcats their first consecutive bowl wins since 1946–47. The win gave the Bearcats their 4th 10-win season in the past five years. Roster 2012 Cincinnati BearcatsRunning backs 1 Ralph David Abernathy IV – Sophomore 22 Jameel Poteat – Freshman 23 Tion Green – Freshman 25 Rob Rice – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 31 Deionte Buckley – Freshman 32 George Winn – 10px|Redshirt Senior 38 Adam Fearing – Senior 49 Anthony King – Junior Wide receivers 2 Dyjuan Lewis – 10px|Redshirt Sophomore 3 Braxton Lane – Freshman 6 Anthony McClung – Junior 7 Kenbrell Thompkins – Senior 15 Chris Moore – 10px|Redshirt Sophomore 16 Damon Julian – Senior 19 Shaq Washington – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 20 Leviticus Payne – Freshman 24 Chris Burrell – Sophomore 80 Alex Chisum – Sophomore 82 Max Morrison – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 83 Danny Milligan – 10px|Redshirt Senior 84 Nate Cole – Freshman 85 Bruce Horner – 10px|Redshirt Senior 87 Jacob Giltrow – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 87 Jeremy Graves – Freshman 88 Shakim Alonzo – Freshman Offensive linemen 59 Deyshawn Bond – Freshman 60 Sam Longo – Junior 62 Cory Keebler – 10px|Redshirt Sophomore 63 Dan Sprague – 10px|Redshirt Junior 66 Sean McClellan – 10px|Redshirt Junior 68 Daniel Murray – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 69 Dominic Mainello – Sophomore 71 Eric Lefeld – 10px|Redshirt Sophomore 73 Ryan Leahy – Freshman 74 Justin Murray – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 75 Kevin Schloemer – Sophomore 76 Austen Bujnoch – Junior 77 Sean Hooey – Senior 78 Parker Ehinger – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 79 Andre Cureton – 10px|Redshirt Junior Quarterbacks 4 Munchie Legaux – Junior 9 Patick Coyne – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 10 Bennie Coney – Freshman 11 Brendon Kay – 10px|Redshirt Senior 12 Trenton Norvell – Freshman Tight ends 18 Travis Kelce – 10px|Redshirt Senior 35 Josh Russ – Sophomore 46 Jared Golden – Freshman 48 Matt Staubachh – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 81 DJ Dowdy – Freshman 86 Blake Annen – 10px|Redshirt Junior 86 Demetrius Richardson – Senior Defensive linemen 46 Mitch Meador – 10px|Redshirt Junior 50 Alex Pace – Freshman 52 Elijah Shuler – Junior 54 Walter Stewart – Junior 55 Roney Lozano – 10px|Redshirt Sophomore 57 Carroll Phillips – Freshman 58 Brandon Mills – 10px|Redshirt Senior 65 Connor Donnini – Freshman 67 John Williams – Senior 70 Brandon Mitchell – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 90 Camaron Beard – 10px|Redshirt Sophomore 91 Adam Dempsey – Sophomore 92 Silverberry Mouhon – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 93 Brad Harrah – 10px|Redshirt Sophomore 94 Jordan Stepp – 10px|Redshirt Junior 95 Jonathan Burt – Freshman 96 Josh Posley – Freshman 97 Chad Hannah – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 98 Chad West – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 99 Dan Giordano – 10px|Redshirt Senior Defensive backs 2 Trenier Orr – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 8 Adrian Witty – 10px|Redshirt Sophomore 9 Dominique Battle – 10px|Reshirt Senior 11 Deven Drane – Junior 13 Pat Lambert – 10px|Redshirt Senior 17 Malcolm Murray – Senior 20 Chris Williams – Senior 21 Camerron Cheatham – 10px|Reshirt Senior 25 Arryn Chenault – Junior 26 Drew Frey – 10px|Reshirt Senior 27 Drake Bruns – Freshman 29 Andre Jones – Freshman 30 Aaron Roberson – Senior 35 Dylan Coombs – Freshman 36 Marcus Foster – Freshman 39 Demitri Beal – 10px|Reshirt Sophomore 40 Kevin Brown – Freshman 48 Breon Mapp – Junior Linebackers 4 Maalik Bomar – Senior 10 Jordan Luallen – 10px|Redshirt Junior 33 Solomon Tentman – 10px|Redshirt Sophomore 37 Joey Jones – Freshman 38 Mason Antoun – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 41 Kevin Hyland – 10px|Redshirt Freshman 42 Corey Griffin – Freshman 43 Nick Temple – Sophomore 44 Corey Mason – 10px|Redshirt Sophomore 45 Ey'Shawn McClain – Freshman 46 Devin Bruns – Freshman 47 Colin Lozier – Senior 48 Jeff Luc – Junior 50 Innocent Macha – Sophomore 51 Greg Blair – Senior 53 Franklin Bruscianelli – Freshman 57 Clemente Casseus – Freshman Special teams 14 Tony Miliano – 10px|Redshirt Sophomore (K) 61 Kirk Willis – 10px|Redshirt Freshman (LS) 24 John Lloyd – 10px|Sophomore Sophomore (P) 34 Pat O'Donnell – Junior (P) 35 Eric Ernst – 10px|Redshirt Freshman (P) Head coach Butch Jones Assistant coaches Steve Stripling – Asst HC/co-defensive Coord/DL Mike Bajakian – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mark Elder – Special teams coordinator/safeties John Jancek – Defensive coordinator/linebackers Don Mahoney – Offensive line Coach Shannon Morrison – Cornerbacks coach T. J. Weist – Wide receivers Coach/recruiting coordinator Dave Johnson – Tight ends coach Dave Lawson – Asst. AD/Sports Performance Roy Manning – Running backs coach Mike Szerszen – Director of Football Strength and Conditioning 2012 Cincinnati Bearcats football roster https://gobearcats.com/sports/football/roster/2012 gobearcats.com University of Cincinnati Athletics Depth chart Spread 4-3 Yes No Yes Brendon Kay Munchie Legaux Patrick Coyne George Winn Ralph David Abernathy IV Jameel Poteat Kenbrell Thompkins Chris Moore Jeremy Graves Anthony McClung Danny Milligan Shaq Washington Damon Julian Alex Chisum Nate Cole Travis Kelce Blake Annen Demetrius Richardson Eric Lefeld Cory Keebler Austen Bujnoch Andre Cureton Dan Sprague Dominic Mainello Sam Longo Parker Ehinger Parker Ehinger Sean Hooey Maalik Bomar Solomon Tentman Greg Blair Clemente Casseus Nick Temple Corey Mason Arryn Chenault Dominique Battle Drew Frey Malcolm Murray SS Camerron Cheatham Leviticus Payne Deven Drane Trenier Orr Brandon Mills Josh Posley Elijah Shuler Camaron Beard Adam Dempsey Jordan Stepp John Williams Mitch Meador Dan Giordano Silverberry Mouhon Tony Miliano Pat O’Donnell John Lloyd Ralph David Abernathy IV/Anthony McClung Danny Milligan Kirk Willis Pat O’Donnell 110 100 No Awards and milestones Big East Conference honors Big East Conference All-Conference First Team George Winn, RB Travis Kelce, TE Eric Lefeld, OL https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/5612 2012 Big East All-Conference Teams College Sports Madness December 22, 2018 Big East Conference All-Conference Second Team Austen Bujnoch, OL Dan Giordano, DL Greg Blair, LB Pat O'Donnell, P Big East Conference All-Conference Third Team Ralph David Abernathy IV, KR Walter Stewart, DL Maalik Bomar, LB Drew Frey, DB Anthony McClung, PR Rankings 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings 6 7 RV RV RV RV NR RV RV RV RV RV RV 23 21 20 20 21 18 18 21 RV RV RV NR RV RV RV NR NR NR NR NR NR RV RV NR RV RV RV NR RV RV RV NR RV RV RV NR RV 22 Players in the 2013 NFL draft 2013 NFL draft 2 Cincinnati Bearcats Player Position Round Pick NFL club Travis Kelce TE 3 63 Kansas City Chiefs References Cincinnati Category:Cincinnati Bearcats football seasons Category:Big East Conference football champion seasons Category:Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy seasons Category:Duke's Mayo Bowl champion seasons Cincinnati Bearcats football