January 1st, 2021, the Cincinnati Bearcats got their hearts broken by Georgia in Atlanta by a 54 yard field goal. They outplayed the SEC powerhouse for more than 55 minutes of the game, but it wasn’t enough because of mistakes. Losing that game didn’t change the narrative that the masses had for Cincinnati, yeah they are good, but could they beat the big boys, no matter how good they played if you weren’t a person that follows this program on a consistent basis you thought last year was a fluke or they caught lighting in a bottle.
Getting good news that quarterback Desmond Ridder and defensive end Myjai Sanders were coming back for their senior seasons, people in Clifton knew with the talent on this team and the schedule that was set for 2021 something big could really be brewing. Covid baller blocked the majority of non conference games in 2020, but Cincinnati still schedule a Top 25 Army last season to come to Nippert Stadium, while it is a solid program it didn’t move the meter for the College Football Playoff Committee last season. Last season they would move back in rankings if they didn’t play or even in wins. Last season showed the cards were stacked against the Top G5 school in the country, but with 2021 having Indiana and Notre Dame on the schedule #BearcatNation had huge hope they could shake up the world. If you beat a solid Big Ten team and a Top 5 program in Notre Dame on the road how could they deny you if you go undefeated?
Now, fast forward to last Saturday, Cincinnati handles No. 9 Notre Dame 24-13 at Notre Dame Stadium after already going to work on Indiana two weeks prior. They are for real led by Ridder, but they can’t slip and they must run through their conference because the teams that were expected to be good aren’t filling their end of the bargain. UCF isn’t the Top 35 team it started the season at is currently 2-2, Tulane is struggling despite pushing Oklahoma to the brink, Memphis even though not on the schedule is struggling some. So, Cincinnati’s only hope to have a Top 25 or higher game in the regular season is SMU who is currently ranked No. 24 and maybe can be a Top 15 team when they play in the Bearcats last home game of the season unless they host the AAC Championship game in early December.
Right now, we are Notre Dame and SMU fans we need them to win and Cincinnati has to run it up on all their AAC opponents so they can show the masses this program deserves to be one of the final four. How amazing would it be if Cincinnati makes the College Football Playoff? It is possible, but now they just have to control what they can control.
