Cincinnati became the first team from a Group of 5 conference to make the College Football Playoff after being named to the sport's final four on Sunday.
Undefeated at 13–0, the No. 4 Bearcats will face No. 1 Alabama in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.
"There's a lot of teams that have a very small percent chance of getting in to the four team playoff and we're happy to be one of them," coach Luke Fickell said.
"Nonetheless, it's us. And we're not carrying the flag for anybody but the UC Bearcats, our community, our campus, our university.