If the Cincinnati Bearcats were a cartoon character, they might be Charlie Brown: enthusiastically running up to kick the football only to have Lucy pull it away at the last minute and landing — once again — on his back with a thud.
The program that Luke Fickell, the former Ohio State assistant, has meticulously built seemed to have risen to meet a moment on Tuesday night when the College Football Playoff committee announced its initial rankings of teams vying for a spot in a four-team playoff that begins on Dec. 31 at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl.