Group of Five Power Rankings, Week 14: Last chance for contenders
By Zach Bigalke
3. Cincinnati Bearcats (10-1/AAC)
- LAST WEEK: won 15-13 vs. Temple
- NEXT WEEK: Nov. 29 at Memphis
For Cincinnati, it doesn’t truly matter what happens on the last day of November in Memphis. They can earn home-field advantage for the American Athletic Conference championship game, but win or lose Cincinnati knows that they will be playing on the first weekend of December. That said, getting to play at Nippert against Navy would be preferable to a return trip for an instant rematch against the Tigers at the Liberty Bowl.
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Cincinnati is in this enviable position thanks to their survival against Temple in Week 13. The Owls made a spirited charge to force overtime in the fourth quarter, but the Bearcats blocked the kick on the point-after-touchdown attempt after Temple broke the shutout. Coby Bryant returned the ball the other way for two Cincinnati points, and that proved the winning margin in the end.
Though they have not played particularly impressive football in the past few weeks, with the two-point win over the Owls coming on the heels of three-point survivals at East Carolina and South Florida, Cincinnati keeps winning. Nothing is more important at this point of the season — at least until the division crown is locked down.
Even if they lose on Black Friday in Memphis, the Bearcats will remain ranked in the College Football Playoff rankings heading into the AAC championship. That is the game they must win, so perhaps Luke Fickell holds something back this week to deal the Tigers some new wrinkles in a title rematch.