Cincinnati, which finished the year 4-7 and 2-6 in the Big East, regularly started five freshmen on defense and had 30 players on the roster who were playing their first season of college football, including promising redshirt freshman quarterback Dustin Grutza.

The Bearcats ended the 2005 season on a sour note, losing their last three games to conference champion West Virginia, South Florida and Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights whipped Cincinnati 44-9 to sew up their first bowl bid since 1978.

The loss left Dantonio fuming.

"This program has to get better," he said. "I thought we were better. But it's one step forward, two steps back."

Dantonio's frustration with the young Bearcats should be tempered by the fact that he returns nearly his entire team for the 2006 season. Grutza, who steadily improved all season, will be joined on offense by promising freshman receiver Dominick Goodman and sophomore running back Bradley Glatthaar, the team's leading rusher. Almost everyone returns on defense, including play-making linebacker Haruki Nakamura, freshman defensive tackle Terrill Byrd and freshman cornerback Mike Mickens.

There's plenty of work left for this team to do if it wants to compete with West Virginia and Louisville, but there's also a lot to look forward to in Cincinnati's second Big East season.

"There's never been a problem in terms of preparing for a football game," Dantonio said. "Our guys' attitude has been good. They work hard. They come into the game prepared."

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: QB Dustin Grutza emerged as one of the Big East's top young quarterbacks this fall, throwing for 11 touchdowns and 1,799 yards, the fourth-best total in the conference. Grutza tossed 11 interceptions, but five of those came in a single game, a poor performance at Miami (Ohio).

RAPID REVIEW: After an encouraging 3-3 start that put the Bearcats in bowl contention, Cincinnati slipped down the stretch, losing four of its last five. The young Bearcats showed they can compete with second-tier Big East teams like Connecticut and Syracuse. But they clearly need more experience and depth to play with conference stalwarts like West Virginia and Louisville.

FAST FORWARD: Cincinnati has plenty of talent on both sides of the ball. But with freshmen starting at key positions all over the field, the Bearcats need more experience. Recruiting another stud running back, some beefy offensive linemen and a couple of hard-nosed linebackers would help make coach Mark Dantonio's offseason a happy one.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Coaching is a seasonal job. Come Monday you've got to turn off your coaching end of things and you've got to become a salesperson in recruiting. After this game, we need to get moving." -- Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio on the importance of bringing in another strong recruiting class.

DT Terrill Byrd -- One of the stars of Cincinnati's 2005 recruiting class lived up to the hype as a true freshman. The Cincinnati native has a chance to develop into a special player.

CANDIDATE FOR NEXT LEVEL

DT Adam Roberts -- The Bearcats' lone senior starter on defense, Roberts has been a highly productive player for Cincinnati. He made 30 tackles playing end as a junior and 50 this fall at tackle with a team-high six sacks. The 6-foot-3, 257-pound Roberts is undersized for an NFL lineman, but his ability to consistently make plays should get him some attention from scouts.

ROSTER REPORT: Cincinnati managed to avoid injuries to key players throughout much of the season. But promising freshman TE Kazeem Ali, who was expected to compete for the starting job, missed the season with a hand injury. He is expected to be ready to go in spring practice and, after gaining 15 pounds of muscle this fall, should be a force when he returns to the lineup next year.