Cincinnati Gets Another Chance to Prove ‘Power 5’ Belonging vs. Virginia Tech

The Cincinnati Bearcats were selected to battle the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Military Bowl (pun intended) on Saturday, Dec. 27th, after this weekend’s 38-31 victory over the Houston Cougars earned them a share of the 2014 AAC championship. This match-up was one that SB Nation predicted a couple weeks ago, and that I previewed here.

The ‘Cats finished 9-3 (7-1 AAC) in the regular season for the second year in a row, and winning a piece of the AAC title give them their fifth conference crown in the last seven years. Even crazier, Cincinnati has been a part of two different conferences and had three head coaches in that same time frame.

Cincinnati has seven 9+ W seasons in the last eight years under 3 different HCs: Kelly, Jones and Tubs. That’s fairly remarkable.

— Paul Myerberg (@PaulMyerberg) December 6, 2014

As for the Hokies, the 2014 regular season had more peaks and valleys than a Va-Tech fan’s EKG. Virginia Tech finished 6-6 (3-5 ACC), a record completely fitting for a team that gave Ohio State its only loss but also lost 6-3 in double overtime to Wake Forest in a game that ended regulation in a 0-0 tie.

This type of bowl bid has pretty much become standard for the Bearcats over the past few years, and by that I mean they will be playing a mid-level bowl game against a decidedly average Power Five conference opponent. In its four bowl appearances since earning a spot in the 2010 Sugar Bowl against Florida, Cincinnati has been 9-3 and played a 6-6 opponent from a power conference in each one.

Excluding the two BCS bowls the Bearcats lost in 2009 and 2010, they have been rather successful during bowl season, winning five of their last six and going 2-1 against power five opponents.

So, what does this bowl bid mean for the ‘Cats and the AAC? Well, for one, it shows where the conference stands in the eyes of those making bowl selections, as the other two co-champions, UCF and Memphis, will play in comparable bowls against similar competition. The Knights are playing the North Carolina State Wolfpack (7-5, 3-5 ACC) in the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl, and the Tigers will take on the BYU Cougars (8-4, Independent) in the first Miami Beach Bowl.

Second, it gives the Bearcats another opportunity to prove they can play with the “big boys” as rumors began to swirl Sunday about Cincinnati as a potential addition to the Big 12 after the conference was left out of the inaugural college football playoff, and may be looking to expand in order to add a conference championship game to its league schedule.

As for Tommy Tuberville, he and his Bearcats didn’t quite get the warm weather bowl game they hoped for, but he is happy to have the chance to visit Washington, D.C., and to play at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

“There’s not a better place to go than Washington D.C., spend four or five days and see some sights and understand our history in the nation’s capital. I’m looking forward to going myself, seeing some sights. It should be a lot of fun to see the Naval Academy,” said Tuberville.

Another interesting back-story to this game is that Cincinnati is facing the school its former athletic director, Whit Babcock, left for to take the same position in January. Babcock hired Tuberville as UC’s head football coach in December 2012.

“We’ve texted a couple of times but we have not really talked. He’s obviously got his hands full, like all AD’s do in the first year of a new job. I appreciate the opportunity he gave me here at Cincinnati,” Tuberville said of his former boss.

All-in-all the match-up with the Hokies in the Military Bowl should be a good one for the Bearcats, and one that provides them with a stage to shine when the eyes of Power Five conference suitors, mainly the Big 12, will be focused on them now more than ever. Plus, as some consolation to Bearcats fans, a victory against Virginia Tech would be one versus the only team to beat the Buckeyes in 2014, which counts for something, right?