They are the barbarians at the Power Five gate. The University of Cincinnati Bearcats football team is climbing the transoms and threatening to burn down the blue-blood castle. They’re exposing the cushy existences of football no-accounts like Rutgers, who rake in Big Ten dollars while playing like Top-10 moochers. The Bearcats are the latest team to make us question the system of greed that binds the so-called Power Five while denying opportunities to everyone else.
The 7th-ranked Bearcats are the direct descendants of Boise State and Central Florida, whose ambitions and resumes are counted less than their perceived pedigrees.