Coach Luke Fickell began his press conference Tuesday with a remark that he didn't want to rehash anything from Cincinnati's marquee win Saturday at Notre Dame.
The only thing Fickell would comment on was the turnout from Bearcats fans. Plenty of red colored the north end zone of Notre Dame Stadium during the game. And Fickell heard of it from coaches and officials.
"The fan base and what we had there, for the first time since I've been here, an away stadium was something very unique,” he said. “One of the officials said at the end of the game, not to me, but one of the coaches, they had never seen that stadium like that, with a visiting fan base that was chanting and making such a difference.”
To anyone who’s closely followed Cincinnati football over the past few seasons, this was hardly a surprise. The Bearcats are 35-6 since the start of the 2018 season. They finally gained some respectability and attention following a close loss to SEC-power Georgia in January at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Many finally saw what others have seen on that day in January: a well-coached, disciplined team that consists of high-level, talented players who execute in all phases of the game. Fickell and his staff have recruited well to get to that point, too. Cincinnati has signed at least one Rivals.com four-star recruit in each recruiting class since Fickell’s arrival in the Queen City on Dec. 10, 2016.
On Saturday, the Bearcats again jumped into the national spotlight, against the Irish. Though Cincinnati struggled early offensively, Desmond Ridder quarterbacked the Bearcats to 17 second quarter points and the big plays they needed in the second half. Cincinnati jumped up to No. 5 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll, signifying they’ve arrived and are in prime position to compete for a national championship.
Not quite yet.
Through little to no fault of their own, the Bearcats’ schedule over their remaining eight games doesn’t look like one of a national title contender. No matter how good this Cincinnati team is (and wow, is it an impressive program top to bottom), it won’t get help from a less than thrilling American Athletic Conference slate.
The Bearcats’ opponents from here out are a combined 17-21. Of the AP’s top 10 teams, only Oregon faces a worse strength of schedule, as its remaining opponents are a combined 15-19. The Ducks also have a marquee win, at Ohio State, but they also have the perception of being in a power-five conference.
Cincinnati can’t join the Big 12 Conference soon enough. While that will happen as early as 2023, that won’t help the Bearcats much this season. Yes, it will help the perception that Cincinnati is good enough, but then, the AAC tag still remains tethered, even as the Bearcats sprint towards a better conference.
Cincinnati could absolutely land in one of the final four positions of the College Football Playoff, but it will need help. Ridder has to continue to play at a level that keeps him in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy. Teams like Oklahoma, Michigan, Oregon, even BYU will likely have to stumble to open the door for the Bearcats.
This is the closest the Bearcats or any other non-power-five team have come. And the traveling party for Cincinnati showed the support is there, to create the type of atmosphere it did at Notre Dame.
It’s just a bit too premature to say the Bearcats are a national lock. It’s coming, though.
