BCS Standings Give Bearcats Fans Hope
With the release of the first BCS Standings on Sunday, the Cincinnati Bearcats and their fans can now legitimately say they have a shot at playing for a National Championship.
The number five ranking was not a complete surprise but it is great encouragement for a team many prognosticators felt had no chance to play in the BCS Title Game. There is still a long way to go if Cincinnati wants to play for a national championship, but here are some reasons why the Bearcats will be taking on the SEC Champion in Pasadena.
Out of the remaining six games only West Virginia and Pittsburgh pose a real threat to the Bearcats. But even those teams will be decided underdogs against Cincinnati. The status of quarterback Tony Pike is nothing to be concerned about as the next two games for the Bearcats are against Louisville and Syracuse, the bottom dwellers of the Big East. Pike will have the chance to rest for three weeks if necessary with no worries about losing either of those two games.
Cincinnati could not ask for a better spot to be placed in the standings. Boise State who is immediately in front of Cincinnati has zero chance of playing for the National Title and either Alabama or Florida will lose by season's end. That would place the Bearcats in third assuming they win their remaining six games. That would mean a loss by Texas in the final month and a half of the season would put Cincinnati in the BCS National Championship game.
Some people may contend that Iowa out of the Big Ten could jump Cincinnati. That is 100% true, if Iowa runs the table. The chances of Iowa running the table are next to nil and a road game at Ohio State should put them to rest for good in a few weeks.
There are many ways the last seven weeks of the season could play out, but with how shaky Texas has looked in the past few weeks, a loss is a strong possibility. While Cincinnati playing for a National Title may not seem to be a likely scenario, upon further review, it is the most likely scenario of them all.