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At SBNation, there was a recent initiative by blogs and followers of the “power five” conference schools to complete a top 25 ballot, ahead of the start of the 2019 season.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Cincinnati Bearcats were left off.
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Not only were the Bearcats left off, but they weren’t on any of the ballots. The only Group of Five schools included in the top 25 was UCF, ranked #16. And the only other two schools even listed on any of the 66 ballotts were Army and Boise State in the “others receiving votes” category.
The American Athletic Conference continues to simply not exist in the eyes of the big boys of college football.
SBNation joins ESPN, CBS, Fox, Stadium, Bleacher Report, and literally anyone and everyone with a blog in leaving out a team that won 11 games in 2018, with the third youngest roster.
The good news for Cincinnati is weeks 1 and 2 are against big name PAC-12 and Big Ten opponents. The only way to change this perception is to win - beat UCLA on August 29, on ESPN. And play as competitively as possible against the Buckeyes in a nationally televised ABC game on September 7. Bearcats need to prove they belong. I am confident they will do that.