College Football Playoff 2020: Projected top 4 after Week 9

4. Cincinnati Bearcats (5-0, 3-0 AAC)

The huge upset of No. 6 Oklahoma State by Texas means that the Big 12 is almost surely out of playoff race. It also opens the door for a potential Group of Five team to advance further in the race. No. 6 Cincinnati has been one of the teams that’s been a huge contender for the playoff after a huge 42-13 victory at No. 22 SMU two weeks ago.

The Bearcats needed to show that consistency along with passing the eye test with huge wins.

This past weekend, they were able to continue their dominance with a 49-10 thrashing at home against Memphis. The Bearcats out-gained the Tigers 513-321 as well as first downs 28-15.

Dual-threat quarterback Desmond Ridder threw for 271 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and had a 93.9 QBR on 21-of-26 passing. He also rushed for two touchdowns. Former Alabama running back Jerome Ford rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.

The Bearcats’ defense was efficient as they shut down the high-powered run game of the Tigers. Cincinnati held Memphis to only five yards on the ground on 29 carries. Overall, the defense had six sacks, 10 tackles for loss and four pass deflections. Defensive end Myjai Sanders led the team in total tackles (6), solos (5), tackles for loss (2.5), sacks (1.5) and quarterback hurries (1).

With the introduction of the Pac-12 in Week 10, teams like Cincinnati and No. 9 BYU (7-0) will need to win in huge fashion as they will play against Power Five teams this season. The Bearcats are currently a more consistent team than No. 5 Georgia (4-1) or No. 8 Florida (3-1).