ESPN Ranks all 32 CFP Teams, Bearcats Land at No. 26

Bill Connelly took stock of every team that's ever played in the College Football Playoff.

CINCINNATI — ESPN's Bill Connelly took a stab at ranking all 32 teams that have made the College Football Playoff since it began in the 2014 season. The Bearcats checked in at No. 26 on the list, while this year's Alabama team is ranked 13th.

"Even adjusting for strength of schedule, Luke Fickell's CFP debutants rank fifth in SP+ and seventh in FPI," Connelly wrote. "We know they can compete physically with the big boys because they did so against Georgia in 2020's Peach Bowl, and they physically dominated a strong Notre Dame squad in 2021. They have the strongest pair of cornerbacks Alabama has seen all season, and maybe the best pass rush too. Now we just have to wait and see how they fare in the biggest game in school history."

UC was near the bottom of the overall list but did take the top spot in Connelly's 15 best 'mid-major' teams of the BCS/CFP era.

"The Bearcats don't top this list simply because they managed to make the CFP -- they also make it for being downright awesome," Connelly wrote in the first-place description. "They faced only three SP+ top-50 opponents but beat them by an average of 20 points per game, and they're elite in the offensive backfield, on both lines and throughout the defense."

Georgia (No. 7) was the highest-ranked team on the list despite losing to Alabama a few weeks ago. There is a stark difference in overall talent from this year's team and the 2020 national championship squad that rolled through an SEC-only schedule by an average of 30.2 points per game.

Cincinnati and Alabama clash at the Cotton Bowl on Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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