Luke Fickell: Win over No. 9 Notre Dame ‘Big’ for No. 7 Cincinnati’s CFP Hopes

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The No. 7 Cincinnati Bearcats jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead before defeating the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 24-13 on Saturday.

After the game, Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell noted how important the road victory was to his team’s College Football Playoff hopes, per ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.

“We’ve been pretty successful in the last few years, but we have not beat a top-10 program or a top-five program. For us to do that today on the road is a big step for us. It’ll bring some other things that we’ve got to be able to handle, some maybe notoriety of some things that our kids will be able to handle. But everything that’s been thrown at them so far, they’ve done a really, really good job of [handling], and I would expect nothing less.”

As Rittenberg noted, Fickell was alluding to more talk about the Bearcats’ postseason resume, adding that was for “[the media] to go ahead and get the ball going.”

Cincinnati appears set for a top-six ranking at worst in the next Associated Press poll. The No. 3 Oregon Ducks lost 31-24 in overtime to unranked Stanford, and the Bearcats seem destined to overtake them at the very least.

Of course, the official College Football Playoff rankings are what matter the most. The first set is slated for release on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

A win on the road over Notre Dame should be a big positive on Cincinnati’s resume if they’re in the playoff discussion in December.

On one hand, the Bearcats could very well win out. Cincinnati doesn’t have a Top 25 team remaining on its schedule as the Bearcats gear up for eight American Athletic Conference games. A home showdown with the 5-0 SMU Mustangs on Nov. 20 stands as the toughest remaining test on paper.

On the flip side, the CFP committee could look at the team’s weaker strength of schedule and use it as a mark against them when choosing the four eventual playoff teams.

Regardless, the Bearcats came to play Saturday and look fantastic doing so against a Top 10 team. That should certainly leave an imprint in the committee’s minds as the season moves along.