The Athletic Keeps UC in Top 25 College Football Ranking

CINCINNATI — UC is unlikely to stick in the top 25 when the latest polls release this week, but The Athletic still has them as a top-25 outfit.

It will be surprising if UC makes its 46th-straight appearance in the AP Top 25, but the aforementioned site snuck UC in at No. 25.

"Cincinnati went to Arkansas and lost 31-24," Chris Vannini wrote. "A commendable performance that could have had a different result without some key mistakes."

UC dropped in The Athletic FBS-wide rankings from No. 19 to No. 25 after a game where the team couldn't stop shooting itself in the foot. The silver lining from this loss is clear, UC wasn't outmatched in talent against an SEC foe.

Games like this rarely get played in week one of the college football season. Teams often schedule cupcakes to get their version of preseason games to shake off the rust. UC clearly could've benefitted from that with all of the new faces taking on bigger roles.

Alas, here we are. In a world defined by the College Football Playoff, the loss didn't change much for UC. They would've had to run the table to have any shot at the CFP.

New Year's Six Bowl, AAC Title, 10-win season.

All of the main goals of the "reload" are still out there for the taking. No one in the AAC looked like surprise world-beaters in week one. Teams never want to start with a loss, but in college football, it's best to have the one slip-up hit early.

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