Can the Buckeyes and Bearcats Both Make CFB Playoff?

Can the Buckeyes and Bearcats Both Make CFB Playoff?

Ayden Fahlstrom
2 years ago
3 min read

The new college football rankings for the AP Top 25 came out after week six of the college football season, and both the Cincinnati Bearcats and Ohio State Buckeyes are ranked in the top 10. The Bearcats (5-0) are ranked No. 3 and the Buckeyes (5-1) are ranked No. 6. 

This is the highest-ranking ever for Cincinnati in the AP Top 25 college football poll. This jump in the rankings came after a complete 52-3 victory against the Temple Owls to extend their home unbeaten streak which is at 23. It is the second-longest active streak in the country.

The ranking for Ohio State didn’t move after week 6. Ohio State demolished Maryland 66-17 on homecoming weekend behind a packed Ohio Stadium. The committee still needs to see more from the Ohio State defense, but they have looked much more solid in the past couple of weeks.

Road to the Playoff

Cincinnati Bearcats

The Bearcats are putting together one of the best seasons so far in program history and look determined to be the first team out of the Group of 5 conferences to make the playoff. They have put together two solid wins against both Indiana and Notre Dame, and both were away.

Their other wins have not been remotely close. The AP Top 25 committee is rewarding Cincinnati with a ranking that would ensure that they make the college football playoff. This is largely due to the consistency that Cincinnati has shown on both sides of the ball.

Looking at the schedule for Cincinnati, it is not looking like they will be tested for the rest of the season besides 23rd ranked SMU on November 20th. There is still a lot of time left in the season for teams in the American to move into the rankings, but the road to perfection should be relatively easy for the Bearcats.

Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes are holding steady at No. 6 going into week seven despite losing to Oregon. Now, that is not a bad loss, but you don’t want the committee to have any reason to keep you from playing for the playoff. That is why Cincinnati is ranked higher and in a better spot to make the playoff.

The one big thing that the Buckeyes have going forward is that they have some big games coming up that will bring them potential legitimacy. They have three top ten matchups left against Penn State, Michigan State, and Michigan and potentially the Big Ten Championship against No. 2 Iowa.

The Buckeyes could seal their ticket to the playoff with a perfect end to their season, but I fear that another loss, even against a top ten team, would be enough to keep them out of the playoff conversation.

What Will Happen?

Both teams have a tough road to the College Football Playoff for different reasons. The Bearcats have a great opportunity to go perfect but don’t have great talent left on their schedule to get many more “good wins.”

The Buckeyes have plenty more games that will prove their worth, but with 1 loss already, it will be hard to make the playoff. Both teams will be hoping for the top teams to pick up some losses to make it harder for the committee to keep them both out of the playoff.

Both the Bearcats and the Buckeyes can make the playoff, which would be great for the state of Ohio, but this requires perfection and some shake-ups in the rankings.

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