Can Cincinnati or BYU make the final four?

If you’re looking for one more oddity as 2020 finally — mercifully — gets closer to its end, how about this: A non-Power Five team in the College Football Playoff.

Squint close enough at the first set of rankings released Tuesday night by the selection committee, and maybe, maybe there’s a path. Undefeated Cincinnati starts its playoff push seventh, the highest ever by a Group of Five team. With an upset or two in the SEC, ACC or Big Ten, the Bearcats could play themselves into the final four.

No. 14 BYU would need a lot of help to get in, but, like Cincinnati,

has legitimate credentials that warrant more consideration than UCF’s great teams have previously received.

The Cougars have one of the nation’s top offenses. They’re third in yards per play (7.9), fourth in scoring (47.6 points per game), and in the top five in advanced metrics from ESPN and Football Outsiders. Quarterback Zach Wilson is one of the game’s most entertaining players and has probably played his way into becoming a top-10 pick in the next NFL draft.

The Bearcats win the other way, relying on one of the nation’s top defenses. They’re tied for second in yards per play allowed (4.25), sixth in scoring (15 points per game) and in the top 10 in advanced metrics, too. Last week, Cincinnati held UCF’s high-powered offense to only 359 yards — the Knights’ fewest in 21 games.

Although both teams have one elite unit, they’re more balanced than some of the other recent Group of Five contenders. BYU’s defense allows only 13.9 points per game. Cincinnati’s offense is averaging more yards per play (6.94) than Oklahoma (6.92).

But if you’re looking for the strongest indicator why this season might finally, really be different for a team outside the major conferences, focus on the circumstances. The traditional knock on Group of Five teams is their poor strength of schedule. That’s what the selection committee said in 2018 about undefeated UCF, which was relegated to the Fiesta Bowl.

“(In) the committee’s eyes, the strength of schedule just didn’t hold up...” then-committee chair Rob Mullens said at the time.

BYU has one quality win (5117 over Boise State), and Cincinnati has two (42-13 over SMU and last week’s victory at UCF). Still, a slate of East Carolinas and Texas States has both teams in the 85-115 range in strength of schedule metrics.

The differences this time are depth and potential flexibility. BYU is 9-0 with one game left (32 San Diego State on Dec. 12). The Bearcats are 8-0 with two scheduled games remaining (including a Tulsa team ranked

25th by the committee), plus the AAC championship.

Compare those 10-game regular seasons to the schedules of the Big Ten or Pac-12. BYU has already won more games than Ohio State can win (eight). Oregon can only go 7-0. Coaches routinely talk about how hard it is to go undefeated, and the committee has said the number of total games and wins will factor into their decision-making process.

Will it be enough to get either team past a one-loss Clemson or Florida? We don’t know. But BYU and Cincinnati can bolster their chances more by making their remaining schedules even tougher.

The pandemic has proven that teams don’t have to schedule each other a decade in advance. They can figure it out in a few days, if necessary. BYU and Washington (2-0) discussed a contest this week when the Huskies’ rivalry game against Washington State was called off. That matchup hasn’t materialized, but perhaps another one will.

Like ... BYU-Cincinnati. Neither team has a game scheduled on Dec. 5, which raises an unlikely, only-in2020 possibility.

An 11th-hour, non-Power Five matchup becoming a play-in game for the College Football Playoff.