In the first College Football Playoff Top 25 of the year, the Selection Committee didn’t award Cincinnati a theoretical semifinal bid — it ranked the Bearcats sixth.

Selection Committee Chair Gary Barta blamed the team’s strength of schedule, even though its undefeated resume includes a top-10 win at Notre Dame — plus, the AP ranked them No. 2 this week.

The Bearcats’ disadvantage isn’t just their lack of Power 5 status; their financial resources don’t come close to the vast majority of those programs. Comparing them with the schools who made the CFP’s first cut reveals an even wider gap. 

• Cincinnati made $81.7 million in total revenue in 2019-20 — the top Group of 5 school, per the USA Today database. Alabama, Georgia, and Michigan State all made more than $130 million, and Oregon topped the list at $391.8 million.
• In 2019-20, the Bearcats only received about $6.2 million in conference distributions, according to tax filings. The Power 5 schools in the CFP received between about $33-55 million.
• The school paid football coach Luke Fickell about $3.4 million in 2019-20 — ranking 45th among coaches.

Joining the Big 12 in 2024 will solve these problems. They’ll gain access to not only the Power 5 badge, but also the $36-40 million the conference could distribute.

Cincinnati could move up in the polls over the next month. But the Bearcats can’t change their remaining schedule. Even if they win out, their best chance at the Playoff is losses by the Power 5 teams ahead of them.

The four-team CFP model replaced the BCS in order to crown a more definitive champion. But until the structure changes again, we may never see a Group of 5 school make a playoff. 

The current model is “clearly a Power 5 invitational,” AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco told ESPN after the rankings were revealed. 

Earlier this year, the CFP itself announced it’s exploring a 12-team model — though parity isn’t the only motivating factor, and several other issues are at stake.

• Some officials don’t want ESPN to have a monopoly on college football. They’re advocating for marketing media rights to multiple broadcasters, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby told reporters.
• Media rights could be worth $1.9 billion per year in a 12-team playoff, Navigate estimated.
• Officials criticized the search committee for not including enough voices, Bowlsby said.
• As a result of these issues — which caused a delay — expansion may not be possible until at least 2026, according to the AP.

Tonight and tomorrow, FBS officials are meeting to have these discussions, according to SI. 

This year, Cincinnati’s crowning achievement may not go beyond a New Year’s Six bowl appearance and going down with the 2017 UCF Knights as an infamous snub.