Just over two weeks ago, Cincinnati's hopes of playing in a New Year's Six bowl took a hit with a loss at Central Florida. After two straight wins, however, those hopes are back in focus.

The Bearcats will find out just how realistic their chances are, tonight, when the College Football Playoff reveals its latest rankings. But Cincinnati is back in the two other major polls, at No. 22 in the AP Top 25 and No. 21 in the Coaches poll.

In both of the polls already released, the Bearcats are within reach. In the AP poll, they're the third-best non-power five team, behind No. 17 UCF and No. 21 Tulane. In the coaches' poll, they trail only UCF at No. 18.

Should Cincinnati win its remaining two regular season games, starting this weekend against Temple, it will secure a spot in the AAC Championship game, which could be a rematch with the Golden Knights. The Bearcats will host Tulane on Black Friday, but first, they have their sights set on playing Saturday at Temple. The Owls are 3-7 but their last two losses were narrow defeats, at Houston and at Navy.

"We have always wanted to play for championships and I think that now you are in a position where it is all or nothing, and I am not saying that every game isn't like that, but you are trying to put in a little bit more of an emphasis on what you need to do and you want to make sure these guys understand that," coach Luke Fickell said. "So that's what we really say, it's not like we're putting a sign up here and saying ‘Now the playoffs begin’ but it's just an understanding now that we have trained and we have done all these things to get to November, and to be in a position where November really matters and don't forget that November really matters.”

Check out the above video for the full press conference video from Fickell, Tre Tucker and Wilson Huber.