2. Cincinnati Bearcats
At Indiana, at Notre Dame.
If you think Cincinnati can win both of those games – or at least split – then go ahead and think a second straight trip to the New Year’s Six is likely.
But it’s more than just those two big non-conference showdowns in Indiana. The Bearcats have to … uhhhhh … ummmmm …
At Tulane? At Navy? Tulsa?
The SMU game will be an issue, but it’s going to take a massive upset for Cincinnati to lose in American Athletic Conference play outside of the date against UCF.
And it’ll probably have to happen twice. The two will probably play for the league title.
Remember, realistically, the American Athletic Conference winner likely isn’t going to the New Year’s Six game with two losses, and that means Cincinnati probably has to beat a far, far better-than-2020 UCF team now coached by Gus Malzahn, so …