Cincinnati Bearcats Rise In AP, Coaches Poll
By Chris Bains
Despite a week of inactivity, the Cincinnati Bearcats have moved up in the major polls. UC is ranked 39th in the AP Poll and 40th in the Coaches Poll. This represents a jump of and three spots, respectively. Cincinnati received 8 votes in the AP and 7 in the Coaches.
It was tough to predict exactly where the Bearcats would fall after week 1 in which they watched from the sideline while the natural movement of teams in the polls occurred around them. But I was a bit surprised to see UC rise, especially among the non-P5 schools, and Central Florida fail to receive a single vote. They were the #1 Group of 5 program heading into week 1 and were a last minute field goal away from downing Penn State in Ireland. But the voters didn’t take any mercy on the Knights as they dropped out of the polls completely.
As a result, Cincinnati is now the third highest ranked G5 team and is pacing the American Athletic Conference. Temple and Memphis also received votes in the Coaches Poll.
Here are where things stand among Cincinnati’s 2014 opponents, the Group of 5, and the AAC.
2014 Opponents
- Ohio State: #8 in AP, #7 in Coaches
- Temple: Unranked in AP, #50 in Coaches
- Memphis: Unranked in AP, #50 in Coaches
Group of 5
- BYU: #35 in AP, #33 in Coaches
- Marshall: #36 in AP, #38 in Coaches
- Cincinnati: #39 in AP, #43 in Coaches
- Louisiana Lafayette: #46 in AP, #37 in Coaches
- Northern Illinois: Unranked in AP, #45 in Coaches
- Colorado State: Unranked in AP, #45 in Coaches
- Temple: Unranked in AP, #50 in Coaches
- Memphis: Unranked in AP, #50 in Coaches
- Boise State: Unranked in AP, #50 in Coaches
AAC
- Cincinnati: #39 in AP, #43 in Coaches
- Temple: Unranked in AP, #50 in Coaches
- Memphis: Unranked in AP, #50 in Coaches