One of the oldest bowl games in college football, the Liberty Bowl, is returning to the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The Navy Midshipmen take on the Cincinnati Bearcats for this one, as two teams aim to end their 2025 campaign strong with a bowl game win.
The Midshipmen have had a strong season at 10-2, but were deemed not good enough to be included in the College Football Playoff. The Bearcats, meanwhile, had an okay season with seven wins and five losses. Both teams are expected to miss some players coming into the Liberty Bowl, be it due to injury or them opting out due to declaring for the NFL draft or entering the transfer portal.
Liberty Bowl: Navy vs. Cincinnati Opt-Outs And Injury Report
Cincinnati Bearcats
- QB Brendan Sorsby: Opting out, entered transfer portal
- S Christian Harrison: Opting out, entered transfer portal
- S Trevon Gola-Callard: Opting out, entered transfer portal
- S Jiquan Sanks: Opting out, entered transfer portal
- CB Logan Wilson: Opting out, entered transfer portal
- DE Mikah Coleman: Opting out, entered transfer portal
- CB Ormaine Arnold: Opting out, entered transfer portal
- S Tayden Barnes: Opting out, entered transfer portal
- CB Kye Stokes: Opting out, entered transfer portal
- S Willie Goodwyn: Opting out, entered transfer portal
- DT Kamari Burns: Opting out, entered transfer portal
- RT Ethan Green: Opting out, entered transfer portal
Not one, not two, but seven Bearcats starters have declared for the transfer portal, including QB Brendan Sorsby, which means that they will be coming in with a very thin roster into the Liberty Bowl. A lot of the defensive team’s biggest names are also leaving, with this being tied to losing CB coach Eddie Hicks to Arkansas. That being said, Cincinnati does not have any notable injuries, but losing a lot of starters would sting.
Navy Midshipmen
- LB Job Grant: injured, questionable
- CB Irabonoise Oniha: injured, questionable
- TE Cody Howard: injured, questionable
Unlike Cincinnati, which is plagued by a lot of players opting out, there are only three injured players for the Navy, and they all have a possibility of playing. DT Landon Robinson is a potential opt-out, though he has not yet announced that he will not be playing so far.
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