Cincinnati vaulted past more celebrated teams into a place where it could compete for a national championship, a feat previously believed impossible.
The University of Cincinnati had seven head football coaches between 1969 and 1993. One left for Harvard. Another left for Rice. The Bearcats also won one conference championship between 1964 and 2008 and if you’re not immediately sure which conference, don’t worry. There were several. Everyone can win in basketball. Gonzaga proved that. Not everyone can win in football, or at least turn winning into a championship. When Cincinnati was buzzed into the College Football Playoff on Sunday, it repudiated the last plausible criticism of the CFP. A “Group of Five,” or Triple-A, conference can indeed win it all. It takes a little extra, sure, but it’s not a closed shop. When Cincinnati went to 13-0 with its American Conference championship win over Houston, a Bearcats’ fan held a sign that said, “Power Five Is An Opinion.13-0 Is Fact.” This became possible with a 24-13 win over Notre Dame, which was undefeated otherwise. That’s all the selection committee demanded of the Group of Fives. Win all your games, schedule a giant and slay it. The 2015 UCF team that went unbeaten and knocked off Auburn in the Peach Bowl did not have that gleaming regular-season breakthrough. Plus, Cincinnati had gained credibility, right or wrong, by taking Georgia to the last three seconds of last year’s Sugar Bowl, a 24-21 loss. The Bearcats have won 23 of their past 24 games. Such New Year’s Six bowls as the Sugar last year, with all the money, is how the CFP bought off the Group of Five and recognized their viability.
