The problem with Herbstreit’s line of thinking is that he’s taking an extreme and applying it to another extreme.
Are there some who previously took the extreme stance and declared that Cincinnati would “NEVER GET A CHANCE” like Herbstreit suggests? Some but that number is incredibly small. What there have always been a ton of though is people who knew it would take extreme circumstances for Cincinnati to get in, and that’s exactly what played out.
All it took for Cincinnati to get a seat at the table was a set of extreme circumstances:
- Going 12-0 (I understand why this is a required ask based off all 12 games of their schedule, not just games against Notre Dame, SMU or Houston)
- Have all but four (Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, Notre Dame) Power Five teams finish the season with more than one loss
- Getting and winning a game against one of above teams (Notre Dame) to make it virtually impossible for committee members to rank the Power Five team ahead of Cincinnati
Off the top of my head I can’t tell you how many Group of Five programs have gone unbeaten since 2014 and not gotten a chance the CFP but I know that list certainly includes Cincinnati and Coastal Carolina both in 2020 and UCF in 2017.
The College Football Playoff committee got this one right but before we give them too much credit can we admit how it would be nearly impossible it would have been not to pick these four teams? And does this simply erase the times an unbeaten Group of Five team didn’t get a shot at the playoff?
It took extreme circumstances to get Cincinnati in even after they won at No. 5 Notre Dame. Is anyone certain the Bearcats would have still gotten in had Oklahoma State been able to beat Baylor in the Big 12 Championship?
The committee got this one right because it simply didn’t have a choice in the matter and just because they did this time gives me no further belief that they’ll reward an unbeaten Group of Five team again, regardless of how Cincinnati fares in the Cotton Bowl versus Alabama.
Related:
What Marcus Freeman said upon being introduced as Notre Dame’s new head coach