Florida leads this week’s Misery Index after a 40-17 loss to South Carolina. Here are the others that made the index, a weekly measurement of knee-jerk reactions based on what each fan base just watched:
FOUR MORE IN MISERY
Cincinnati: With College GameDay making its first trip to Nippert Stadium, fans were well-prepared to show the College Football Playoff selection committee what they thought about the Bearcats being ranked No. 6 this week. Among the messages written on various signs were “The CFP committee eats crayons,” “CFP committee killed Harambe”, and “The CFP is more crooked than Gary Barta’s teeth”, referring to the selection committee chairman and Iowa athletics director. But when a fan base whines so incessantly about a lack of respect — egged on by Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell, who jokingly asked on his radio show whether Barta ever played football (he did) — the team better back it up.
And yet, the Bearcats failed to accomplish much in a 28-20 win over Tulsa other than fueling those who doubt whether they’re really among the best four teams in the country. This was a very competitive game from start to finish, with Tulsa out-gaining Cincinnati 446-390 in yards and twice having the ball inside the five-yard line late in the game with a chance to tie.
Though Cincinnati stopped Tulsa on both occasions to preserve the win and improve to 9-0, you have to demand the committee’s respect, not just hope to get it after squeaking by Navy, Tulane and Tulsa in consecutive weeks. We know 9-0 is 9-0. We know Cincinnati has one excellent win at Notre Dame. And we know the Bearcats can’t help that they play in the American Athletic Conference instead of a Power Five league.
But if anything, Cincinnati’s string of lackluster wins should make fans question whether they’re actually ranked too high.
WEEK 10…
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