Cincinnati has flirted with a berth, or at least been in the conversation for a College Football Playoff berth since the first rankings were first released Nov. 24. After running the table in the American Athletic Conference, with a championship last night, the Bearcats were denied a playoff spot. But they received a good consolation prize.

On Sunday, Cincinnati was awarded with a spot in the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl. It will face Georgia, which finished 7-2 this season. The game will kickoff at noon ET on New Year's Day and will be televised by ESPN. The Bulldogs lost to Alabama and Florida, while their most notable wins were against Auburn and Missouri.

The Bearcats did move up one spot after their win yesterday in the CFP rankings, to No. 8. Alabama took the top spot, followed by Clemson, Ohio State and Notre Dame, to round out the playoff teams. Texas A&M remained at No. 5, followed by Oklahoma and Florida. Georgia is one spot behind Cincinnati, at No. 9, followed by Iowa State.

This will be the Bearcats' first appearance in the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl, or any New Year's Six Bowl. They did play in the 2009 Sugar Bowl, a 51-24 loss to Florida, and the 2008 Orange Bowl, a 20-7 loss to Virginia Tech. The New Year's Six current alignment did not exist at that point, however. Both were part of the former Bowl Championship Series.

There's always a chance Cincinnati could move up into the top five of the final rankings with a win. And though it's not a playoff spot, it's still something coach Luke Fickell said his team is not taking lightly.

"If you wanna claim you should have an opportunity, you should have a shot, this is an opportunity," Fickell said. "This is a shot."