A week after dropping a spot in the College Football Playoff rankings, the University of Cincinnati football team dropped another spot Tuesday night.
The Bearcats, who haven't played since defeating UCF on Nov. 21, fell from No. 8 to No. 9 in the 13-member College Football Playoff selection committee's latest rankings, all but eliminating any chance UC had at being the first Group of Five team to crack the playoff.
Cincinnati (8-0, 6-0 American Athletic Conference) now has two two-loss Southeastern Conference teams (No. 8 Georgia and No. 7 Florida) and a two-loss No. 6 Iowa State team from the Big 12 blocking its way to the playoff.
"When it comes to Cincinnati, the committee has shown appreciation for Cincinnati from the beginning," said College Football Playoff Selection Committee Chair Gary Barta, who is also the athletic director at Iowa. "We haven't had a chance to watch them play since Nov. 21, and the teams around them, the teams ahead of them have played two or three games that we've been able to evaluate. And one of the things that holds Cincinnati back, again a great team, they don't have a win against a top-25 (team)."
The Gators (8-2, 8-2 SEC) dropped only one spot following their 37-34 home loss to a 4-5 unranked LSU team on Saturday.
UC is ranked No. 6 in both the Amway Coaches and the Associated Press Top 25 polls. Florida is No. 11 in both polls.
"If I'm Cincinnati, I'm really upset right now," ESPN college football analyst Joey Galloway said during Tuesday night's ESPN broadcast. "I'm really not happy about the fact that we've fallen a spot each week after not playing. It's not their fault."
With only four spots up for grabs, Cincinnati's hopes and the hopes of every other Group of Five program will be crushed barring a major shakeup in Sunday's final rankings reveal (Noon on ESPN).
The Bearcats are scheduled to host No. 23 Tulsa (6-1, 6-0 AAC) in the AAC championship game Saturday at Nippert Stadium (8 p.m. on ABC).