Initial college football playoff rankings were announced Tuesday, Nov. 2, and the undefeated University of Cincinnati was ranked 6th. Fans and head coach Luke Fickell are not happy.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ranks the top 25 teams in college football once a week until the playoffs. The top four teams will be able to participate in the semi-finals on Dec. 31. The winners of those teams will then face off in Indianapolis at the National Championship game on Jan. 10.
As of right now, UC would not be entering the playoffs. Neither would Ohio State, which ranks ahead of UC at No. 5.
Many fans and officials were upset by this ranking as the Bearcats are currently 8-0 and teams ranked ahead of them —Ohio State, Oregon and Alabama— have 7-1 records.
Head coach Luke Fickell found out the ranking while on air with his weekly radio show on 700 WLW, UC Bearcats Talk. He also found out about a comment from playoff committee chairman Gary Barta, who claimed UC hasn't really beat anyone besides Notre Dame.
“Who’s the chairman? Did he play football?” Fickell sarcastically asked in response.
This Saturday, UC will be playing Tulsa at 3:30 p.m. at Nippert Stadium in Clifton. ESPN reports that the UC Bearcats are favored by 23 points against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. This game will also be the first time ESPN’s College GameDay is stopping by the Queen City. The popular show is set to be broadcast live from UC in the lead-up to the game.
The next playoff ranking will take place Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 9 p.m.
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