Cincinnati beats Houston, likely headed to CFP

No. 4 Cincinnati took care of business yet again. And now all the Bearcats can do is wait and see if the College Football Playoff selection committee thinks they are one of the four best teams in the country.

The Bearcats improved to 13-0 by rolling past No. 21 Houston 35-20 at home in the American Athletic Conference championship game on Saturday. The game was close for a while, until the Bearcats scored 21 points in the span of just over four minutes early in the third quarter.

That flurry of action extended what was a tight 14-13 lead into a 35-13 advantage, igniting the crowd at Nippert Stadium as they sensed their team inching closer to making history by becoming the first Group of Five program to reach the four-team playoff.

Houston seemed like it could potentially play the role of spoiler in the early going, but Luke Fickell’s group was up for the challenge.

The Bearcats opened the second half with a 75-yard scoring drive that was aided by a questionable pass interference call on Houston on a fourth down play in the red zone.

That made the score 21-13. And on the first play of the ensuing possession, UC’s Joel Dublanko intercepted Houston quarterback Clayton Tune deep into UH territory. Two plays later, Desmond Ridder threw his third touchdown pass of the game, this time to Alec Pierce, to make it 28-13.

CINCINNATI, OHIO – DECEMBER 04: Desmond Ridder #9 of the Cincinnati Bearcats carries the ball past Logan Hall #92 of the Houston Cougars during the first half of the 2021 American Conference Championship at Nippert Stadium on December 04, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Houston then went three-and-out, and Jerome Ford busted the score open by reeling off a 42-yard touchdown run to make it 35-13. Ford, the Alabama transfer, had a 79-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and…

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