Last week, Cincinnati took a step toward finally landing in the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings. Luke Fickell's team was ranked at No. 5 in last week's charts and just one spot out of the four-team field, if the playoff seeds were decided today.
lAfter some less impressive performances in wins over Navy, Tulane and Tulsa, the Bearcats beat USF 45–28. Wins by that margin would help Cincinnati’s case for one of four spots.
The problem for Cincinnati: one of the teams right behind it in last week's poll scored a major victory on Saturday.