Cincinnati football fans react to making College Football Playoff

Cincinnati out of the AAC became the first non-Power 5 team to make the College Football Playoff on Sunday afternoon.

The Bearcats have been consistent all season, with an unblemished resume that includes a 13-0 record, fourth-ranked strength of record, 87th-ranked strength of schedule and an undefeated record against the FPI top-40.

That SOS might get the best of them most years, but they lucked out with Oklahoma State losing the Big 12 Championship to Baylor on Saturday, making this a far easier conversation. The Bearcats win over Notre Dame, which also finished top-10 in the CFP rankings, was a signature victory on the campaign.

Led by quarterback Desmond Ridder, who is well on his way to the NFL, and head coach Luke Fickell, Cincinnati hopes to surprise the college football landscape by not just reaching the Playoff, but making some noise there as well.

College Football Playoff: Cincinnati fans react to reaching CFP

Cincinnati will face Alabama in the CFP.

Cincinnati had high expectations heading into the year, as this isn’t the first season they’ve been in the conversation for the College Football Playoff. By winning the AAC, often seen as the sixth-best conference in the country just outside the Power-5, they proved they belong in that discussion.

An undefeated record was their only chance at the top-4, and the Bearcats managed that plus a few style points in the AAC Championship Game against a previously-ranked Houston team.

Fickell has been discussed as a potential coaching candidate at far bigger jobs than Cincinnati. Eventually, he could move on. But for now his entire focus is on the Bearcats program, and you have to applaud him for doing so, rather than moving on in the middle of the night like Brian Kelly.

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