Cotton Bowl 2021: 3 reasons to watch Alabama vs. Cincinnati

The Cotton Bowl is hosting one of the College Football Playoff games this season. Here are three reasons to watch Alabama versus Cincinnati.

Being it is the fifth oldest bowl game in the FBS, the Cotton Bowl has a long and storied history. This year’s edition is one of the most anticipated games ever with Cincinnati set to take on Alabama in the first of two College Football Playoff semifinals.

The two teams took different paths to get to this point. Alabama has its long tradition and history. In the CFP era, they have been a participant in all but one semifinal. Of those six playoff appearances, they have advanced to the national title game five times and won three of them.

Even non-college football fans know who Alabama is. Coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide have national recognition even outside of the sport itself.

Cincinnati is the ultimate underdog. Coach Luke Fickell is 48-14 overall in his fifth season leading the Bearcats and in the last two has finished the regular season undefeated. Outside of a few double-digit seasons when the Bearcats were a member of the Big East, the last four seasons under Fickell have been the best run in Cincinnati’s history.

Being a playoff game alone should be reason enough to watch this game. However in case you want more intrigue, here are three additional storylines and reasons to watch this tremendous matchup.