College Football Report, a social media account that releases college football content, recently came out with a list ranking the 30 best Group of 5 college football teams in the college football playoff era, which is from 2014 to the present. The Cincinnati Bearcats had 3 teams ranked, all of which were under Luke Fickell as head coach from 2017 to 2022. The 2021 Bearcats, who made the 4-team College Football Playoff, were the first Group of 5 team to ever make it, and were ranked as the best Group of 5 team ever. The 2021 Bearcats had 9 players get drafted in 2022, including Sauce Gardner, Alec Pierce, Bryan Cook, and Coby Bryant. No school had more players drafted that season. In 2021, the Bearcats would take on Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, losing 27-6 to the Crimson Tide but their great season was not forgotten.
The 2020 Bearcats were ranked as the No. 4 GO5 team from the CFB Playoff era. In 2020, the Bearcats went a perfect 9-0 in the shortened Covid-19 season, picking up key wins against a ranked UCF team on the road, which was led by Dillon Gabriel, and a 42-13 dominating win over No. 16 SMU. The 2020 Bearcats featured a lot of the same players from the 2021 team, although they missed out on the CFP. The Bearcats did make a New Year's 6 Bowl Game, playing Georgia in the Peach Bowl, but losing on a game-winning field goal by Georgia's Jake Podlesny, 24-21.
The 2019 Bearcats came in at No. 25 on the list, finishing with an 11-3 record and a Birmingham Bowl Victory. The Bearcats had won 11 games for the first time since 2009, when they made the Sugar Bowl, in 2009 and Brian Kelly famously left for Notre Dame before the game. The Bearcats would snap UCF's long win streak that went all the way back to 2017, and then trample Boston College 38-6 in their final game of the season.
Ranking The Best GO5 Teams in the CFB Playoff Era 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/8c1rtgTZGo
— College Football Report (@CFBReport) May 17, 2026
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