1983 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

1983 Cincinnati Bearcats football
Conference	Independent
Record	4–6–1
Head coach	Watson Brown (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Dick Hopkins (1st season)
Captain	Gene Beck, Bill Booze, Don Goodman, George Jamison, Linwood Marshall
Home stadium	Riverfront Stadium, Nippert Stadium

1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Miami (FL)		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Boston College		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 16 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 20 East Carolina		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Pittsburgh		–		–				8	–	3	–	1
Florida State		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Penn State		–		–				8	–	4	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Notre Dame		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	6	–	1
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				4	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Army		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

1983 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Holy Cross ^			–					9	–	1	–	1
No. 17 Tennessee State			–					8	–	2	–	1
No. 7 Colgate ^			–					8	–	3	–	0
Lehigh			–					8	–	3	–	0
Lafayette			–					6	–	4	–	0
Northeastern			–					6	–	4	–	1
Southeastern Louisiana			–					6	–	5	–	0
William & Mary			–					6	–	5	–	0
Nicholls State			–					5	–	6	–	0
Bucknell			–					4	–	5	–	1
Delaware			–					4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern State			–					4	–	7	–	0
James Madison			–					3	–	8	–	0
Richmond			–					3	–	8	–	0
Western Kentucky			–					2	–	8	–	1
^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1983 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season (de facto) and 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season (de jure). The Bearcats, led by first-year head coach Watson Brown, participated as independent and played their home games at Riverfront Stadium. On-campus Nippert Stadium was used as a supplement.

Cincinnati was relegated to NCAA Division I-AA for the 1983 season as outlined in this link:

• 1/26/1983 Cincinnati Enquirer Editorial

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	at No. 20 Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	W 14–3	83,683
September 17	Oklahoma State	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	L 17–27
September 24	at Louisville	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY (The Keg of Nails)	L 23–31	23,992
October 1	Cornell	Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati, OH	W 48–20	13,840
October 8	Temple	Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati, OH	W 31–16
October 15	at Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	L 17–43	55,102
October 22	No. 8 Miami (FL)	Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati, OH	L 7–17	14,163
October 29	at Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	T 13–13	57,789
November 5	Rutgers	Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati, OH	W 18–7
November 12	Memphis State	Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati, OH (rivalry)	L 10–43
November 22	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH (Victory Bell)	L 10–14
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game