Cincinnati debuted at No. 6 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night, while SEC powers Georgia and Alabama top the rundown at No. 1 and No. 2, followed by No. 3 Michigan State and No. 4 Oregon.
The Bearcats landed the highest-ever ranking for a Group of 5 team, one spot ahead of the No. 7 designation they held during an undefeated regular season in 2020. But Cincinnati (8-0), which ranks No. 2 in both the AP and Coaches polls, had aimed to become the first Group of 5 team to ever appear in the CFP selection committee’s top four. Cincinnati’s profile is boosted by an Oct. 2 road win over No. 10 Notre Dame, which ended the Fighting Irish’s 26-game home win streak. But Cincinnati also is the only American Athletic Conference team ranked by the selection committee, as neither SMU (7-1) nor Houston (7-1) appear.
“The committee has great respect for Cincinnati. The win at Notre Dame was a really impressive win,” committee chairman Gary Barta said on the ESPN rankings show. “But who else did they beat? Looking at the big picture, we feel six is the right spot for Cincinnati.”
A Group of 5 team has never appeared in the CFP, which launched during the 2014 season.
“We don’t talk about a ceiling (for teams). We look at what’s happened so far,” Barta said. “And we see Cincinnati as undefeated now, with a big win at Notre Dame. I’m not sure there’s a ceiling there.”
Ohio State is No. 5, one spot behind an Oregon team it lost to Sept. 11 at Ohio Stadium. Oregon is the Pac-12’s lone representative in the initial CFP…
Source : espn
