Unbeaten Bearcats pushing CFP ceiling with blue-collar ethic

The bubble CINCINNATI — that covers Cincinnati’s practice field to create an “indoor facility” when the temperatures begin to drop is patched with duct tape and casts a musty scent over the proceedings.

The space isn’t big enough to accommodate the whole team, so groups of players periodically file in and out through revolving doors to work on the adjacent outdoor field on this cool, sunny day.

The Bearcats embrace the grit and low-frills aspects of their program. “Clifton Style,” they call it, a shoutout to the trendy if rougharound-the-edges neighbor- hood that abuts their urban campus.

“Yeah, it’s not the pret- tiest place and it’s not for everybody,” linebacker Joel Dublanko said. “Cincinnati is a blue-collar city and so that’s what we pride ourselves on. And that’s what we try to put on film every Saturday.”

The Bearcats do not have all the creature comforts typically found at college football powerhouses such as Alabama, Ohio State and Oklahoma. Maybe those will come when the program joins the Big 12, but it is not holding them back.

Heading into the second half of the season, No. 2 Cincinnati (7-0) is ranked ahead of all three of those blue bloods and aiming to break college football’s glass ceiling.

The Bearcats head into today’s game against American Athletic Conference rival Tulane positioned to be the first team from outside the Power Five conferences to have a realistic shot to make the College Football Playoff. The first CFP rankings come out Tuesday night.

“We know we belong,” All-America cornerback Ahmad Gardner said.

The Luke Fickell era at Cincinnati began Jan. 8, 2017, with a team meeting where the new coach talked about blind faith.

The Ohio native and former Ohio State player and assistant coach under both Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer had replaced Tommy Tuberville, whose laidback style and propensity for recruiting outside the state had allowed a consistently winning program to slip.