College Football Rankings 2020: Projected AP Top 25 for Week 12
By Zach Bigalke
830. won 55-17 vs. East Carolina. 7-0. Cincinnati Bearcats. 6. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis
Cincinnati improved to 7-0 on the year with a Friday-night beatdown of East Carolina at Nippert Stadium. Securing an easy 55-17 victory over the Pirates, the Bearcats kept themselves at the top of the American Athletic Conference standings and at the top of the list of Group of Five contenders for a New Year’s Six berth. They could climb up a spot in this week’s AP Top 25 after Texas A&M dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak.
Desmond Ridder made life miserable for the ECU defense with both his arm and his legs. Ridder finished 24-of-31 for 324 yards and three touchdowns through the air and added 75 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. Cameron Young busted off a 75-yard touchdown run of his own, and the Cincinnati defense forced three Holton Ahlers interceptions and held the normally prolific Pirates quarterback to only 87 passing yards.
At this point one can legitimately wonder how such a perpetually dominant Bearcats team would look in an even stronger conference. At the very least, they have thrown a wrench into College Football Playoff committee deliberations when they meet to sort out the first set of rankings ahead of Thanksgiving week play. Cincinnati will try to make another statement ahead of those deliberations when they face a Week 12 challenge against UCF in Orlando.