The "Group of Five" teams in college football have a spot waiting for them in the New Year's Six bowl games, and the Cincinnati Bearcats legitimately could claim that spot this year as the favorites to win the American Athletic Conference in 2015.
2015 SCHEDULE
9/5: vs. Alabama A&M
9/12: vs. Temple
9/19: at Miami (OH)
9/24: at Memphis
10/1: vs. Miami
10/16: at BYU
10/24: vs. Connecticut
10/31: vs. UCF
11/7: at Houston
11/14: vs. Tulsa
11/20: at South Florida
11/28: at East Carolina
Cincinnati's schedule isn't all that tough this year. Perhaps the toughest stretch of the schedule is right at the beginning with games against Memphis, Miami and BYU in three straight games. It's very plausible that all of those games will end up being lost.
If the Bearcats can get through that gauntlet, there's a real chance of running the table. It's a longshot, and the AAC is known for being a wide open conference with numerous head scratching results, but it's at least somewhat plausible.
SEASON WIN TOTAL
The Bearcats have a season win total of seven this year, but the vig is set at -160 to the over. Clearly, there is a lot of confidence here on UC.
Yes, there are six road games on the schedule, but there really isn't a game on the docket which is virtually a certain loss.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
It wasn't all that long ago that Gunner Kiel was considered to be a top quarterback prospect. It didn't work out at LSU before he ever stepped onto campus in Baton Rouge, and he never really found a home at Notre Dame either.
It took a while, but Kiel found a home here in the Queen City, and he threw for 3,254 yards and 31 TDs. He's got one of the best receivers in UC history in Shaq Washington, who is very likely to end this season with the most receptions ever for a Bearcat.
Hosey Williams and Tion Green were both injured for most of the 2014 season, which really hurt the running game. They're back now, and that could help out a unit which ranked No. 72 in the nation on the ground.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
There are some really sizeable losses on the defensive side of the ball for the Bearcats. They no longer have their two best tacklers from a year ago (Jeff Luc and Nick Temple), and they lost their best defensive end, the man who led the AAC in sacks, Terrell Hartsfield.
Considering the fact that this unit ranked No. 100 in pass defense and No. 98 in total defense in the nation, it’s very plausible to say that it could be a struggle on this side of the ball for Tommy Tuberville and the gang.
SEASON PREDICTION
The Bearcats did win nine games last season, and it's entirely possible to think that they could win the AAC this year. However, there's a big difference between winning the American and legitimately contending for a spot in either a New Year's Six bowl game or the National Championship.
There's a reason that this team is 600 to 1 to win the National Championship, so you can clearly look elsewhere. Even if this team did run the table, we don't see a spot in the CFP possible without a ton of chaos wreaking havoc.
That said, Kiel is still a great quarterback, and he should be able to make up for a lot of the deficiencies of this defense. We figure that UC will top out around eight wins or so, which may or may not be good enough to win the AAC.
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