No. 4 Cincinnati’s steps to historic CFP berth: Win, wait

By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer

The formula for No. 4 Cincinnati to make the College Football Playoff has been to beat the teams on your schedule and wait out the others ahead of the Bearcats in the rankings. It has worked so far for the Bearcats, who have won all 11 of their regular-season games heading into their finale at East Carolina on Friday. Cincinnati has also benefited from the teams in front of them in the CFP rankings slipping up. The latest was Oregon, which fell from third in the CFP behind the Bearcats after a loss last week. Others in front of Cincinnati  — No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Alabama — have tough games ahead of them.