Does Cincinnati football officially have a 2021 playoff path?

It’s common knowledge that Cincinnati football has been more than just a Group of Five hopeful in recent memory. Rather, the Bearcats have been one of the nation’s top teams, held back by their level of league competition.

However, 2021 could see a different outcome for the Bearcats: a playoff berth with the big boys, like all of the promising “little brother” programs before them had dreamed of but were never granted.

This surely seems like wishful thinking by face value — as I just said, a school of Cincy’s size has never been invited to the dance before. Instead, several have been given somewhat patronizing attention just to keep their fans quiet over the years. With that in mind, it is certainly fair to question if the Bearcats are actually being glanced at for a playoff spot this time around.

What makes this time different than all the others, though, is the combination of both Cincinnati’s concrete resume so far this season, and where they find themselves in the latest installment of the AP Top 25 Poll.

Not even halfway through their regular-season slate, the Bearcats have downed a Big Ten power (Indiana) and a ranked Notre Dame, both on the road, and both by double-digits. There are multiple teams, both ranked and in the Power Five, that fail to match a resume of Cincy’s quality right now.

The Associated Press has seemed to notice the grit that the Bearcats had to possess to do what they have done in their past couple of games, considering that the AAC powerhouse has now officially broken the top-five threshold, sitting only behind some of the biggest names in college football today (Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, and Penn State, respectively).

Speaking of how unorthodox the rankings look, that just might be the reason as to why Cincy has actually been given the praise that they deserve — there’s no one that deserves it more than they do.

Looking at some typically notorious teams in the modern college football world, it is evident that 2021 has not treated them the best. Clemson already has two losses, while Notre Dame and Ohio State each have one to what should have been an inferior adversary.

Lastly, there’s Oklahoma who, while remaining unbeaten, has done absolutely nothing to even remotely indicate that they deserve a top-tier placement (and that is why they have fallen four spots in the rankings since this season began).

With all of these names seemingly down for the count, the destiny that Cincinnati controls seems exponentially more realistic.

But regardless of what all has played into the Bearcats’ serious run, the sole fact that matters is that it’s seemingly happening. Group of Five powers have never expected a national championship to just be handed to them; all they have wanted is a chance to play for one.

Thanks to Cincinnati, that is now a chance that they just might get.