Locked On Bearcats - Daily Podcast on Cincinnati Bearcats Football & Basketball

The Cincinnati Bearcats have a big problem up front. Alex explains why this year's offensive line has not lived up to expectations. Sure Ben Bryant has struggled and the running game has had its share of subpar performances. But an offensive line returning all five starters from last year has not been as good as advertised coming into the season. Alex points out in this week's film review how UCF...

Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Ben Bryant struggled on Saturday, but Alex explains why he is not the reason for the loss at UCF. On a day where the Cincinnati Bearcats struggled to get the running game going, Bryant literally had to be perfect for the Cincinnati Bearcats to have any chance to win the game. While the Cincinnati Bearcats hopes of a third straight conference championship and New Yea...

The Cincinnati Bearcats lost a heartbreaker to UCF Saturday afternoon, putting their hopes of a third straight conference championship in serious jeopardy. Alex explains why the Cincinnati Bearcats lost this game because their identity is only one dimension. The Cincinnati Bearcats are now in a dogfight with several other teams in the American Athletic Conference in the race for a championship. Bu...

Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell's record-setting 54 wins as head coach can be attributed to a lot of things, but Alex explains why the Cincinnati Bearcats culture is the biggest reason why. Both the Cincinnati Bearcats and UCF are heading to the Big 12 this year, but Alex explains why the Cincinnati Bearcats culture is so much better than the UCF's and why that can be an asset in tomor...

The Cincinnati Bearcats have won six straight games, but are struggling offensively. So what's their identity? Alex is joined by AllBearcats and Sports Illustrated colleague Russ Heltman to discuss what this Cincinnati Bearcats team does well and how tight ends Josh Whyle and Leonard Taylor are being used within the offense. Penalties nearly cost the Cincinnati Bearcats in their previous game at S...

The Cincinnati Bearcats were mocked by the ESPN commentators during their uninspiring win over SMU. Alex explains why he is more discouraged after watching the film review and how this offense more resembles 2019 as opposed to 2021. Alex then explains why expectations may be starting to get to the Cincinnati Bearcats. They have a lot of talent, but a razor thin margin for error to get to a New Yea...

Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell traditionally has not used more than one quarterback in a game. But is the unique talent of Evan Prater getting wasted in certain situations? Alex explains why Prater needs to be used in certain situations, like the fourth down play early in the second quarter at SMU. It's one thing to run the ball in that situation, which the Cincinnati Bearcats did, bu...

The Cincinnati Bearcats barely scraped by SMU today, as head coach Luke Fickell becomes the all-time winningest head coach in Cincinnati Bearcats history. Alex explains why this performance today is not going to cut it against teams like UCF. This is the second straight game against an inferior conference opponent where the Cincinnati Bearcats didn't even manage to score 30 points, and Alex points...

The Cincinnati Bearcats head to Texas to take on SMU tomorrow afternoon in their first game out of the bye week. Alex previews the upcoming matchup and who starts at quarterback for the Cincinnati Bearcats. While the focus will be on the Cincinnati Bearcats defense being able to slow down SMU's prolific passing attack, running the ball is just as big of a key to the game. In addition, what saved t...

Cincinnati Bearcats Quarterback Ben Bryant is still dealing with a concussion he suffered in the win over USF two weeks ago. Could this mean a change to Evan Prater for Saturday's upcoming game is coming? Alex is joined by AllBearcats and Sports Illustrated colleague Russ Heltman for the latest surrounding Bryant's concussion and if he will be able to start Saturday at SMU. Alex and Russ then get...

The Cincinnati Bearcats are getting the best shot from every opponent on their schedule this season might give a lot of fans an irregular heartbeat and may cause them to have to take a stress test before and after games. But Alex says that getting those best shots is a good thing because that is exactly what will happen in the Big 12. Alex then gives listeners a first look at SMU and how the key t...

The Cincinnati Bearcats learned a hard lesson in their win against USF that will hopefully serve them well in the second half of the regular season. Alex explains what that lesson is as well as the other keys to the second half of the season as the Cincinnati Bearcats pursue a third straight conference championship. The player who saved the Cincinnati Bearcats in the win over USF is just as key of...

The Cincinnati Bearcats have one key issue they need to solve in the second half of the season: long stretches in games where they don't score. Alex dives into a viewer's comment that Evan Prater could be the antidote to those long scoring stretches. He cautions listeners to not let their infatuation with Prater cloud their judgement, and the real answer to the Bearcats long scoreless stretches is...

The Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team is just weeks away from tipping off its 2022-2023 season, their final season in the American Athletic Conference. Alex is, once again, joined by AllBearcats and Sports Illustrated colleague Russ Heltman to preview the upcoming season and what to expect from this team. This year's Cincinnati Bearcats team features three big men transfers, and Russ expla...

The Cincinnati Bearcats came out of their win over South Florida with questions over this defense's ability to stop the run and multiple players injured. Alex is joined by AllBearcats and Sports Illustrated colleague Russ Heltman for the latest updates surrounding those injured players including quarterback Ben Bryant. Russ also talks about how USF may have exposed ways to run on the Bearcats defe...

The Cincinnati Bearcats exceeded expectations in the first half, going 5-1 and climbing back into the top 25. Today, Alex gives his overall grade for the first half of the season as well as his grades for the offense, defense and special teams. Alex then hands out individual awards on offense and defense including MVP, Best Breakout Player and the players Alex wants to see more of in the second ha...

There were several turning points for the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first half of the season. Alex looks at the key moments that helped the Cincinnati Bearcats achieve a 5-1 record. The first key moment was leaving quarterback Ben Bryant in the game at Arkansas after a lackluster first half. While there is still intrigue about Evan Prater being this team's starting quarterback, putting him in the...

The Cincinnati Bearcats barely scraped by USF 28-24 for their 30th straight home win at Nippert Stadium and Luke Fickell's record-tying 53rd win as Bearcats head coach. Alex vents his frustrations of the Cincinnati Bearcats barely being able to pull this one out and points out why the Blackcats defense struggled. Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Ben Bryant left the game with what appeared to be a c...

The Cincinnati Bearcats host USF in their annual Homecoming game tomorrow afternoon at Nippert Stadium. Alex talks about how the Cincinnati Bearcats need to avoid letting this game become a trap game with the bye week and a two-game gauntlet on the other side. In years past, the Cincinnati Bearcats would play down to their level of competition against USF. This year, though, they can't do that. Th...

The Cincinnati Bearcats defense is off to a hot start over their first five games of the season, and there are thoughts this defense could be better this year than last year. Alex is joined by AllBearcats and Sports Illustrated colleague Russ Heltman for his thoughts on this year's defense and who the breakout player is in addition to Ivan Pace Jr. being the best player on defense. Alex and Russ t...

Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Ben Bryant is off to a solid start this season, but Alex is imploring fans to stop comparing him to Desmond Ridder or thinking he's the next Desmond Ridder 2.0. It is very difficult to replace a legend at any school, team, etc. They're 1/1, and their replacements shouldn't be compared to them. Alex then asks if we are expecting too much from this Cincinnati Bearcats...

The Cincinnati Bearcats continue to shine on the hardwood in recruiting, this time landing top 60 prospect Jizzle James for the class of 2023. Alex and AllBearcats colleague Russ Heltman break down how James chose Cincinnati and what it means for a men's basketball program quickly regaining momentum back to a national level. Alex and Russ then get into how James could impact the program as it make...

The Cincinnati Bearcats are back in the top 25 on the backs of a breakout performance by running back Corey Kiner. Alex explains why his performance at Tulsa is hopefully the beginning of him finding his role on this team and adding a huge piece of depth to the running back room. Throughout his tenure, Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell has been known for being aggressive, for taking chan...

The Cincinnati Bearcats smothered Tulsa 31-21 Saturday night in their final regular-season matchup as conference foes. Alex touches on how hard it was to watch the game and how he's thankful the television product of Big 12 games will be much better than that of the American Athletic Conference. Within the game, it was the Cincinnati Bearcats defense that took center stage. It's sparking questions...

The Cincinnati Bearcats are set to take on the Tulsa Bearcats Saturday to open play in the American Athletic Conference. Russ Heltman fills in for Alex Frank to preview Saturday's matchup against a pesky Tulsa team that has give the Cincinnati Bearcats problems over the years. Russ explains his keys to the game, and how the Cincinnati Bearcats need to run the ball in this game. Russ also gives his...