With the college football season coming to a close last night, the final rankings were relelased today. The Cincinnati Bearcats moved up to 17th in the AP poll and 20th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. This would mark the highest the Bearcats have ever finished in the polls in their 120 years of existence. It was a great season for the Cats as they finished with a 10-3 record, marking only the second time in school history that they would finish with 10 wins in a season. They finished with a perfect record of 6-0 against teams outside the Big East. Their three losses were to Pittsburgh, Louisville and West Virginia. They came within a win over West Virginia of winning the Big East and playing in a BCS bowl game.

This season for the Cats was one that put them in the national spotlight on many occassions and will have them receiving national recognition going into next season as well. They will lose some key players on the defense going into next season. Gone will be the emotional leader and fan favorite, DB Haruki Nakamura. The Cats will also miss DE Anthony Hoke next season. He finished the season with 13 sacks which established a new school record and made him sixth in the country.

What's still up in the air is whether or not QB Ben Mauk will return next season. There is a chance that he could receive another year of eligibility due to medical reasons. If he gets that extra year of eligibility the Cats will have their emotional leader on offense coming back. Mauk finished the season with 31 TD passes, a school record. With his 3,121 passing yards, he became only the third QB in UC history to finish with over 3,000 yards. Should he not be allowed to return next season the team could go back to Dustin Grutza as their signal caller, but that's not a definite either.

UC will return 16 starters next season. Included in that 16 are All-Americans Mike Mickens, Terrill Byrd, and the nation's leading punter, Kevin Huber. Mickens and Byrd will return as leaders of one of the Big East's best defensive squads, and one of the best in the nation. They finished the season tied in the country in takeaways with 42 and they ranked 13th in scoring defense (18.8 ppg). The Bearcats also finished 16th in scoring offense.

A sensational season in UC football ended with a PapaJohns.com bowl win against Southern Mississippi. As a fan of the program as well as an alum of the university, I am pleased and proud of what Brian Kelly was able to accomplish in just his first season as the head coach. He has helped to bring the team national recognition. He got them in the top 25 after just six games and kept them there for most of the rest of the season. A lot will be expected of Kelly and the football team next season. Their road schedule will be a tough one as they have to play at West Virginia, Louisville and UCONN in Big East action. The biggest road test for the Bearcats will come outside of conference play when they play Oklahoma in Norman, OK. I, for one, am looking forward to that game. The home schedule will see out of conference games against Miami (OH) and Eastern Kentucky and Big East action against Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida and Syracuse. Spring practices start in just a couple months...I can't wait!