All season long, Cincinnati has fought not just against the competition in the American Athletic Conference, but against a sport that's been constructed to prevent Group of Five teams from competing for the national championship.
With a dominant performance on Saturday, the Bearcats appear to be on the doorstep of making history.
Cincinnati used a 21–0 third quarter run to pull away from Houston and notch a 35–20 win in the AAC title game, completing a 13–0 regular season and positioning itself to receive a bid to the College Football Playoff on Sunday's final rankings reveal.
The win was Cincinnati's 23rd in its last 24 games, clinching the program's second consecutive conference title. The Bearcats did not get ranked in the top four until Week 13, when the team was 11–0.
Cincinnati trailed, 10–7, late in the first quarter but took the lead for good on a 79-yard touchdown run by Jerome Ford. Ford paced the Cincinnati offense, rushing for 187 yards on 18 carries with two scores.
A Houston field goal made the score 14–13 at halftime, but Cincinnati erupted for three consecutive touchdown drives to start the third quarter. Houston had minus-11 yards of offense in the third, punting three times and throwing an interception.
Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder completed 11 of 17 pass attempts for 190 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers.
The reveal of the final CFP rankings will be aired on ESPN on Sunday at noon ET.
