After nearly a month’s worth of heated anticipation and celebration following Cincinnati’s AAC Championship win, the Bearcats are set to kick off the College Football Playoff on New Year’s Eve at 3:30 p.m. ET. Cincinnati (13-0, 9-0 American Athletic Conference) will do battle with the Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1, 8-1 SEC) in a quasi-David vs. Goliath matchup.
Cincinnati represents the past Cinderella’s — Boise State, UCF, Utah and TCU — as an outlet for non power teams to secure a chance at competing for a national championship. Bama, a reiteration of their past selves, triumphantly boasting the glory and spoils of another SEC Championship under famed head coach Nick Saban.