There are alot of Bearcats football fans and maybe college football fans in general, who were rooting for a non Power 5 Conference to be selected in this year’s College Football Playoff. After all what better year for that to take place than this 2020 pandemic riddled season, during which very few teams were able to play a full schedule. The issue with that being feasible is the College Football Playoff as currently structured, was not really made with the intent of a clear pathway for a non Power 5 school to be selected. I believe the route UC needs to take to receive more credibility/recognition is to once again apply for membership into a Power 5 Conference. However there are several other options non power 5 schools such as UC, could consider if conference realignment is not a realistic option.
There has been some talk around college football being the money making giant it is, of schools decertifying from the NCAA and coming up with their own system/governing body going forward for Division I Power 5 Conferences at least. By Power 5, I’m of course referring to the Pac 12, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and ACC conferences. Unlike other sports such as college basketball which the NCAA is both the governing body for regular season play and postseason championships. College Football’s championships in Division I FBS is decided separate from the NCAA by the CFP or College Football Playoff Committee.
One option for non Power 5 schools is to follow the model which currently exists for Division I-AA or (FCS) Football Championship Subdivision schools. Having their own expanded playoff to decide their national championship, which since 2013 FCS schools play a 24 team single game elimination playoff at the conclusion of their regular season. Those who still prefer the current bowl game set up would definitely be opposed to this model, as it would totally re-shift the landscape of college football doing away with most existing bowl games outside of the New Year’s Six (Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Peach Bowl).
UC’s great achievement this season finishing 9-0 and winning the American Athletic Conference Championship was no small feat, especially combined with the added challenges posed by the covid-19 pandemic. However realistically speaking if there are Power 5 Conferences such as the Pac 12 and Big 12, who have trouble consistently getting one of its team selected into the College Football Playoff. Then I’m not sure how/why Bearcats fans were expecting UC to have a chance of being selected from the AAC. Since its inception in 2014, no non Power 5 school has ever been selected into the College Football Playoff. That glass ceiling was never more apparent than after this season, when schools such as two loss Oklahoma and three loss Florida still ranked ahead of the undefeated Bearcats in the CFP’s final rankings.
The best solution in my opinion is for UC to join a Power 5 Conference, such as when they joined the old Big East Conference prior to the 2005-2006 calendar sports year. Once in the Big East, UC even won a couple of conference titles and played in two New Year’s Six then BCS (Bowl Championship Series) bowl games (Orange Bowl 2008 and Sugar Bowl 2009). Although Bearcat Nation is riding high on the accomplishments and foundation current football head coach Luke Fickell is building, I believe UC’s ability to attract serious consideration from a Power 5 Conference still rests with the status of the athletic department’s flagship program.
