On Wednesday it was announced that the Big Ten will play an eight game schedule starting October 24th. They will have the Big Ten Championship game on December 19th. I start the story off with that information to let everyone know where I’m going with this!
We all know with the absence of the Big Ten it left the window open for the AAC as a whole and we know the Bearcats were one of the favorites to bust through the glass. With the Big Ten folding like a lawn chair it has given them no room for error in this current pandemic a loss by one its top teams or a big outbreak will leave them between a rock and a hard place trying to make the College Football Playoff this season.
That brings me to the AAC, we know a few experts picked the Cincinnati Bearcats to be the fourth team in the College Football Playoff. With a 10 game schedule starting this Saturday, the Bearcats have a chance to bust through, but will need impressive showings in a majority of all their games. The Bearcats were picked to finish second in the conference behind UCF, but most around the program feel they can shock a lot of people. For the AAC as a whole if they have a team that can go undefeated will likely have a shot to make the College Football Playoff.
With the Big Ten reemerging it will make it harder for the AAC and mainly the Bearcats to break through, but in trying times the Big Ten will need everything to go perfect for them to reclaim their spot. I’m not for sure if a one loss team gets in over an undefeated AAC team this year or if a team misses one or two games do they get in? I don’t even know for an SEC, ACC or Big 12 team it may be the same, but they have more time to combat an outbreak, where the Big Ten doesn’t have that flexibility.
I know this season will be one for the ages just because of the impact of covid. With the Big Ten being back it makes it harder for the AAC to doing something never done before, but it doesn’t make it impossible. Now we have to see how this plays out!
The B10 is so full of themselves that they assumed everyone would follow suit with cancelling the 2020 season. No love for B10 or any of their members here. GO CATS! Win them all and let the chips fall!
They definitely thought they would follow suit but I think the commissioner got strong armed to come back by the programs and other parties .. that being said .. win em all and at the end of the season let the chips fall
The only ones I felt empathy for were the student-athletes themselves. I am happy for them to have their opportunity. I guess my contempt should be directed at the system itself. I just wish for our Cats to have a chance to compete on a level playing field in regard to resources ($$) with the self righteous privileged5. Frustrating. If we can hold on to our coaching staff until the next round of realignment, I think we’ll be sitting in a good spot.