Cincinnati football has a good shot of crashing playoff in 2021

After a great 2020 season and a near Peach Bowl win over the Georgia Bulldogs, can Cincinnati Football be the group of five team that finally makes the playoff?

Cincinnati football is entering the 2020 season with a bad taste in its mouth from losing a close game to Georgia. Cincinnati also feels that it did not get the respect it deserved last season, especially from the College Football Playoff Committee.

In 2021, Head coach Luke Fickell and quarterback Desmond Ridder are both back and the Bearcats have their eyes set on a huge prize: being the first group of five team to crash the College Football Playoff.

It has been nearly impossible for a team in the group of five to make a serious case for the playoff and that has rested on the fact that group of five teams play a weaker schedule.

No matter how dominant a team might be, the playoff committee has frowned upon group of five teams and there seems to be no way for a team to make the playoff. If Cincinnati goes undefeated, the Bearcats are going to make it very hard for the playoff committee to ignore them.

Cincinnati has two road trips that could shape its national image. First, the Bearcats have a road game in Bloomington to face the Indiana Hoosiers, who is a top 20 team heading into the season.

Then, Cincinnati football will go on the road for one of the biggest games in program history when it travels to Notre Dame to face the Fighting Irish.

If the Bearcats can find a way to win both of those games and not slip up in conference play, they will give the committee something to think about in December.

Cincinnati football is going to be one of the most-watched teams this season and has a chance to make some noise. Fickell stayed for another season, Ridder opted to return and the defense returns elite talent. The Bearcats are primed for a run in 2021.