There has been a talk around the college football world and it surfaces one thing. Does Cincinnati belong in the college football playoff? The reason why this is a question everyone is asking is because they have an easier schedule than all teams in the top 10 and their toughest opponent they have faced and will face this season is Notre Dame, who is said to be ¨overrated.¨ They ended up beating Notre Dame 24-13 on the road. Notre Dame is now ranked 7th in the AP poll. They sit at 8-1 and their best win coming against Wisconsin who was ranked 18th at the time, now they sit at 20th. Some critics are saying that Cincinnati’s win against Notre Dame wasn’t that impressive. Also, Cincinnati barely beat a 3-5 Tulsa team last Saturday.

The latest College Football Playoff rankings have Cincinnati at 5th, just outside of the final 4. In my opinion, Cincinnati does not have a case for being ranked ahead of Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, or Oklahoma. While they are ranked behind Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, and Ohio State. They rank in front of Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma. All the top 10 ranked teams come from power 5 conferences except Cincinnati and Notre Dame (Independent). Power 5 conferences tend to have better teams in them so that means more competition for each team. The power 5 conferences consist of the SEC, Big-10, Big-12, Pac-12, and ACC. Cincinnati is in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Now, teams in that conference can have good records, but they are playing teams that play less competition than power 5 teams.

So, in my opinion, Cincinnati does not belong in the college football playoff, even if they win out. There are just too many good teams who have better cases for making it.