Historic playoff with regulars, newcomers
Cincinnati has broken college football's glass ceiling.
The Bearcats will play Alabama in the Cotton Bowl and Michigan will face Georgia in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Eve after being selected to the College Football Playoff as a historic field of four was set Sunday. The winners will play for the national championship on Jan. 10 in Indianapolis.
Fourth-seeded Cincinnati is the first team to reach the CFP from a non-Power Five conference. The Bearcats (13-0) won the American Athletic Conference and are the only unbeaten team in the country.
“All year, we've tried to avoid saying we're carrying the flag” for teams outside the Power Five, Cincinnati coach coach Luke Fickell said on ESPN. “I think you can get lost in a lot of things that are going on.”
The Bearcats made history with little debate. Playoff selection committee chairman Gary Barta said there was strong consensus for Cincinnati at No. 4 ahead of No. 5 Notre Dame, which had one loss — at home against the Bearcats in early October. Ohio State was sixth.
It is the third time two teams from the same conference are in the CFP and second time it's happened with the SEC. In the 2017 playoff, Alabama (12-1) beat Georgia in overtime to win the national title. Georgia (12-1) stayed in the field as the third seed.
As conference leaders consider expanding the playoff from four to 12 teams as soon as 2024, only two Power Five leagues will be represented this season: the SEC and Big Ten. The ACC missed for the first time. The Big 12 was shut out for the second straight season and the Pac-12 for the sixth time will not have a team in the playoff.
The other big bowl games were also set:
Michigan State (10-2) vs. ACC champion Pitt (11-2) in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 30.
Notre Dame (11-1) vs. Oklahoma State (11-2) in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1.
Pac-12 champion Utah (10-3) vs. Ohio State (10-2) in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
Mississippi (10-2) vs. Baylor (11-2) in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
Cristobal to Miami? The Miami Herald reported that Mario Cristobal is closer to coming home. Sources say the Oregon head coach, a former Hurricanes player, and the University of Miami are working out a contract that could be worth in excess of $8 million a year. A UM official said Cristobal is expected to join UM “unless he gets cold feet.” Cristobal would be Miami's 26th head coach.
Oklahoma hire: Brent Venables is headed back to Norman. After leaving the University of Oklahoma to become Clemson's defensive coordinator almost 10 years ago, he's returning to the Sooners' program to be the head coach, according to multiple reports. The Athletic's Bruce Feldman, Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel, ESPN's Chris Low and Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde all reported the transaction, citing sources, as being a done deal.